(Disclaimer: I purchased the AllPowers R2500 myself and paid retail price on Amazon. I did not receive any discount or payment from AllPowers for this review.)

One of my first purchases for my van was a large 1,000Wh power station. I enjoy camping in my van but I also enjoy electricity. I need to be able to recharge my gadgets during the day and run my CPAP overnight. Back then the going rate for a power station was roughly one US dollar per watt hour, so when I found a cheap no-name model at less than half that, I quickly snagged it. The unit failed within three months, and the replacement I was sent under warranty has its own issues. Lesson learned.

For my next power station I did way more research. I narrowed my search down to five brands (Jackery, Bluetti, EcoFlow, Anker,, and AllPowers) and waited to see who had the best deal on Black Friday. The winner turned out to be AllPowers, who cut the price of their R2500 power station nearly in half that weekend.

The AllPowers R2500 power station is, in both performance and physical mass, impressive. The unit weighs 65 pounds (nearly 30 kilograms), letting anyone who has to carry it know this thing means business. The R2500 uses news LiFePO4 batteries which, without getting too technical, means it can be charged more times and more quickly than older Lithium-Ion batteries.

The R2500 stores just over 2,000 (2,016) watt hours of power, with a peak of 4,000 watts. My “go to” test is my heat gun, which the R2500 had no problem with on both the low (900 watts) and high (1,800 watts) settings. Over the past several months I’ve had no problems running my Maxx Air fan, my microwave, and my television all at the same time all while charging my phone and my tablet. The thing’s a beast.

While most of the fun stuff is on the front face of the unit, the sides of the unit also have a few ports. On one side are the two charging ports: a standard 110AC port, and an XT60 port for connecting to solar. (If you want to charge the battery from your vehicle’s 12V adapter port you’ll need to purchase an additional 12V-to-XT60 adapter.) The other side of the unit has ports allowing the R2500 to be daisy chained to additional batteries. Everything else is on the front of the unit. There’s no wireless charger built into the top or giant LED panel on the rear to turn it into a 65-pound flashlight.

The front of the unit contains three groupings. First are the unit’s four USB ports — two USB-A an two USB-C. The USB-C ports deliver 100w each, which is nice for charging tablets and even laptops. On the other side are three 12V ports — one “normal” sized one and two smaller (5.5mm x 2.5mm) ports. I was able to find 5525-to-12V adapters online, making those other two ports a bit more useful. Across the bottom of the unit are four 110AV outlets and one large 30A port that can be used to feed an entire camper or trailer. In the middle of all this is a bright and easy to read display screen that shows the current battery’s charge, how many watts are coming in, and how many watts are going out. There’s also an estimate to let you know the remaining run time based on the current load.

AllPowers claims that the battery can be fully charged in about an hour under optimal conditions, but those conditions include combining 1,000 watts from a 110 outlet and 1,000 watts of incoming solar at the same time. That… doesn’t seem likely or practical. A more reasonable expectation is about two hours when connected to a standard 110v wall outlet.

The R2500 is compatible with the AllPowers app, which allows you to control the unit and monitor its status using WiFi or Bluetooth. The app clearly displays incoming and outgoing watts, and will allow you to toggle the power of each of the different types of power ports. The app makes it easy to monitor the amount of electricity you’re using or how much power your solar panels are providing when you can’t see the unit’s display (like when driving), but the strength of the unit’s Bluetooth’s signal isn’t very strong. Exiting and stepping just a few feet away from my van is often enough to block the signal, which forces you to close the app, relaunch the app, and reestablish the Bluetooth connection. It’s cool when it works though.

At 65 pounds, the AllPowers R2600 is more “luggable” than “portable.” I can’t imagine carrying it into a Starbucks to recharge it on a road trip, but moving it from inside your vehicle to a tent or picnic table shouldn’t be a problem for anyone with a strong back.

There are a few things I don’t love about the unit, but mostly they’re cosmetic. The design isn’t too exciting, and a wireless charger built into the top would have been nice. My biggest design complaint are the ports on the side which are hidden by pop up doors that almost seem like they were designed to be broken off. If you leave your unit connected to solar like I do, the side door is always open and I know it’s just a matter of time before I do something dumb and break it off.

Aesthetics aside, the AllPowers R2500 is a tank. Even without solar panels, I was able to run my refrigerator, CPAP, and Maxx Air fan an entire weekend. If you are constantly worrying about when and where you’re going to charge your power station, consider the R2500. Just put on a lifting belt before carrying it too far.

Below are my Amazon Affiliate links to a few things that appear in this video. I get an anonymized report each month that shows if anyone used any of my links and while I would love to see an AllPowers R2500 show up in my report, I would be tickled pink (yellow?) if one of those popcorn machines shows up. I love that thing.

AllPowers R2500 2,000Wh+ Power Station: https://amzn.to/4cNp4n1
AllPowers SF200 Flexible 200w Solar Panel: https://amzn.to/469s4rr
Solar Cable – 12v-to-XT60: https://amzn.to/3A0TDacM
25′ Extension Cord (Yellow): https://amzn.to/3G9BN51
Standing Foam/Gel Mat: https://amzn.to/3MQPyZG
Nostalgia Popcorn Machine: https://amzn.to/3Zpnkg2