(Last Updated On: April 19, 2023)

If you’re versed in the portable power station market, you likely already know that power stations are transitioning from Lithium-Ion to LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate). This change in batteries being used is a substantial upgrade because, with regular Lithium batteries, you’d get 500 to 1,000 charge cycles, while a LiFePO4 power station can get 3,500 charge cycles; this is why so many new power stations are using these newer batteries.

In this review, I’m looking at this BougeRV FORT 1000 power station that formerly used Lithium-Ion batteries but has now upgraded to a LiFePO4 version. This is an excellent example of a brand upgrading an existing power station to reach market standards. So let’s take a closer look.

Power Capacity

This BougeRV FORT 1000 power station has a 1120Wh capacity, so this is on the higher side, and you can run appliances for a pretty long time as long as the wattage is low enough. That said, just like with all my power station reviews, I have done an AC and DC capacity test to see how much of the 1120Wh capacity you can use, as some power stations can have pretty terrible efficiencies. You’re not getting your money’s worth.

For the DC capacity test, I used a load tester and plugged the load tester into the cigarette lighter port on the BougeRV power station. I could pull the total 120W that the cigarette lighter port can. After about 8 hours, I had a 983Wh capacity, which gave me an 87% DC capacity efficiency. So the DC capacity efficiency is excellent on this power station.

I used a heater and a watt meter to measure the AC capacity efficiency for the AC capacity test. Once the power station reached 0% after running the heater, I had a 920Wh capacity, which gave me an 82% AC capacity efficiency.

Overall, you can use most of the capacity from this BougeRV FORT 1000 power station; although some power stations have better efficiency, being in the 80%+ range is good.

The DC capacity test shows that a 100W load can make this power station last about 8-10 hours. If you want to run high-wattage appliances like a 1000W heater, that could last about 1.5 hours. You can also run a 1000W electric cooktop for some cooking and still have excess capacity when you’re done, provided that what you’re cooking has a short amount of cooking time.

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Output Charging

The output options for using this BougeRV power station fit into the unit’s capacity and total wattage output. You get three AC outlets, two DC 5521 ports, one cigarette lighter port, and four charging ports.

I had no appliances to test with the DC 5521 or cigarette lighter ports, but they can output 120W. I can confirm that I could pull the full 120W from the cigarette lighter port, so it works.

The charging ports are good, with two standard 12W USB-A ports, a single USB-A Quick Charge port, and a 60W USB-C Power Delivery port.

Charging Ports

I did test out the charging ports by fast charging my Galaxy Note 9 from the USB-A Quick Charge port and charging my Lenovo laptop at about 50W from the USB-C Power Delivery port. Overall, the charging ports performed how they were supposed to. You can fast charge most USB-C chargeable laptops from the USB-C PD port on this power station, and it can also be useful for fast charging most phones.

However, considering this is a 1120Wh power station, having a 100W Power Delivery port would have made more sense.

AC Outlets

You can do quite a lot for the AC outlets with a 1200W max Pure Sine Wave output. The first appliance that I tested was a heater. I first set the heater to its high setting, which pulled about 1450W, and the power station could power it for about 30 seconds until it automatically turned off. So I consider the AC outlet to have a 1200W hard limit which is expected.

So I was able to run the heater on its low setting, which pulled about 750W, and the heater ran very well, and you’re still able to power a more powerful heater as long as it’s within the 1200W range. That said, I would stick to a 500-700 watt heater because you want a decent runtime for the power station, too.

I was also able to run an electric cooktop rated for 1000W, and I was able to boil four cups of water in a saucepan with no problems. 

I also did a heavy load test by running my heater on low and a heat gun simultaneously with a total power output of 1100W continuously for 5 minutes. The power station was able to handle it with no problems.

The 1200W output from the AC outlet is excellent. Considering that you have three AC outlets, you can plug in multiple appliances simultaneously and run them for a decent amount of time if the wattage is low enough.

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Recharging

The recharging for this BougeRV power station is good. Still, I wish the LiFePO4 battery upgrade also came with a direct AC recharging connection upgrade that many other power stations use now. Instead, you get an AC charging brick in the box to recharge this power station, which can recharge the unit at 200W.

A 200W recharging speed for a 1120Wh power station isn’t very fast; thankfully, you can use the USB-C port and the AC recharging simultaneously and get a dual recharging rate of 260W. Going from 0% to 100% with the dual recharging method will have to wait about 5-6 hours for a full recharge.

Solar & Pass-Through Charging

The solar recharging for this BougeRV power station is done through the Anderson input port, and the unit has a 200W max solar recharging speed. In my testing, I used an AlphaESS 200W solar panel to recharge this power station and got full sun exposure on the panels, which got me about 155W of solar recharging into the unit; this was an excellent solar recharge rate.

I kept the panels recharging the power station for about two hours and was able to take the BougeRV power station from 0% to 32%, which is impressive, but these were under ideal conditions; that said, solar recharging is a viable option for recharging this unit, but I highly recommend using a 200W panel.

Also, if you’re wondering, yes, this power station does feature pass-through charging, as I could recharge it from the DC input and USB-C port and still power a heater from an AC outlet simultaneously.

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Size, Weight, and Design

Considering that this is a 1120Wh power station, it’s pretty small, which surprised me. The BougeRV FORT 1000 power station has a length of 12.5 inches, a width of 9 inches, and a height of 11 inches. The power station weighs 28 pounds.

So it’s not exactly large, at least; I don’t consider it to be. The weight is heavy, and thankfully two large handles at the top of the unit make portability easier.

All the functional parts are at the front when using the power station. At the front is where you’ll find all the ports, buttons, and screens. There is a main power button that you can use to turn on the power station, and that also turns on the screen; if you want to turn on a section such as the AC, DC, or charging port section, then you have to hold down the power button for them.

Once a section is powered, it shows up on the screen. The screen shows the remaining battery capacity, output, and input wattage. Unfortunately, this power station does not show the estimated runtime.

Build Quality

This BougeRV FORT 1000 power station’s build quality is solid and built like most other power stations, with most of its parts being made of plastic. However, the center silver part of this unit is made of aluminum, which can’t be said about most other power stations.

So the same rules still apply to this power station, meaning you shouldn’t drop it or expose it to water.

The one setback for this power station is the internal fan, in my opinion. The reason is that the internal fans are loud and have one speed. Is this a good thing? Well, yes, because it keeps the unit cool, but the noise that is continuously made by the fans is bothersome as the unit doesn’t have varying fan speeds.

	BougeRV FORT 1000 1120Wh LiFePO4 Portable Power Station Specs
Power Capacity	1120Wh
Battery Type	LiFePO4 Battery
AC Ouput	3 x 110V, 1200W (2000W Peak) Pure Sine Wave
Cigarette & DC5521 Output	2 x DC5521, 1x Cigarette Port, 12V, 10A 120W Max Total
USB-C Output	5V/3A | 9V/3A | 12V/3A | 15V/3A | 20V/3A, 60W Max
USB-A Quick Charge Port	5V/3A, 15W; 9V/2A, 18W
Standard USB-A Port	2 x 5V/2.4A, 12W
USB-C Recharging	20V, 3A 60W Max
AC Recharging	25V, 8A 200W Max
AC + USB-C Recharging	260W
Solar Recharging	12-30V,8A 200W Max
Size	12.59 x 9 x 11 Inches
Weight	28 Pounds

Conclusion

The BougeRV FORT 1000 power station is a welcome upgrade with LiFePO4 batteries; the other unit parts hold up well. It performs exactly how it’s supposed to and can be worth the purchase if you’re looking for a solid 1000Wh power station.

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