(Last Updated On: June 29, 2022)

 

It’s the best time to get a power station because in recent years, many brands have spent time developing their own, and this competition has caused more innovation. The innovation has now brought us to a point where there are various tiers of power stations, such as ones with incredibly high capacities and wattage output, to those on the mini scale with low capacities and low outputs. You don’t have to shell out tons of money and can choose a power station for your specific needs.

This review looks at this Fanttik EVO 300 portable power station with a 299Wh power capacity and 300W output. This is a premier lower spec power station for needs on the lower wattage side. It’s more reliable than you may think.

Power

Power Capacity:

The power capacity of this Fanttik EVO 300 power station is 299Wh (83,200mAh); that’s a lot of power to use for charging most phones, tablets, and laptops to full power multiple times. If all you’re using the EVO 300 is for charging devices via its charging ports, then phones can be charged to full power about thirty times. Tablets and laptops with similar-sized batteries can get to full power five times. This Fanttik power station has a capacity on the lower end when it comes to power stations in general, but even so, you can depend on it for charging for many days or weeks, depending on how much you’re using it.

Power appliances are more about the wattage of the appliance, as the higher the wattage appliance you use, the less time you will have to use the power station. A timer on display at the front shows you the time remaining when you’re using the power station, and the time either goes up or down depending on how much wattage you’re using. There is even a timer for recharging.

To give you an idea of usage time, though, you can power a 300W appliance for an hour as the max output of the power station is 300W. If you want to power a 150W appliance, it’ll last about 2 hours. A 50W output can last you five hours of usage time, and you get the idea. Being able to power two appliances that still fit under the 300W threshold and still have the power station last for hours is what this Fanttik power station is made for. That’s how we used it in our tests, so let’s take a look at real-world applications of the power station.

Output Charging:

With the Fanntik EVO 300 being a mini power station, the selection of ports and outlets is enough for most needs, especially with the 299Wh capacity and 300W output range. There’s a 12V car port, two 12V DC ports, four charging ports, and two AC outlets.

Charging Ports:

The charging ports are beneficial for most charging needs. There are two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports. One of the USB-C ports has a 60W Power Delivery output, while the other has a standard 5V/3.0A (15W) output. One of the USB-A ports features Quick Charge for fast charging most Android phones, and the additional USB-A port has a 5V/2.4A (12W) output.

We charged a Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 via the 60W USB-C PD port, and the laptop was able to charge at its max speed. Next, we connected an LG G7 via the 15W USB-C port, a Galaxy Note 9 via the USB-A Quick Charge port, and a Galaxy A51 to the standard 12W USB-A port. The Lenovo laptop continued to charge at its max speed while charging three phones simultaneously. The Galaxy Note 9 was able to fast charge from the Quick Charge port, but the LG G7 and the Galaxy A51 were only standard charging as the 15W USB-C port and the 12W USB-A port don’t use fast charging.

So the 60W Power Delivery port is easily the most reliable one to charge most USB-C laptops, and it may be a bit of a letdown that it’s not a 100W PD port, but this is more of a budget power station. Keeping specs on the mid-range standard is most important to keep the power station practical, affordable, and easily portable. A 60W Power Delivery charge rate gets the job done, and you can charge another three devices, and you can still use the two outlets, two DC ports, and one DC car port simultaneously.

Using all ports simultaneously resulted in a 60W total power output.

DC Car Port and Two DC Ports

Like most power stations, the DC ports will likely be the least used ports on the power station. There’s one car cigarette lighter port and two DC 5521 ports. The DC car port will likely be more used as more appliances can use its connection; while the barrel DC ports are more meant for charging DC port laptops, there are still quite a few appliances that can be powered from the barrel type of DC ports, too.

In our test, we used the DC car port to power a VIAIR tire inflator and used 55W of power. So traveling with this power station and a tire inflator makes it even more reliable if you don’t want to use your car to power the inflator and run the risk of blowing a fuse in your car.

AC Outlets

There is a 300W max output limit on what appliances you can use with this power station. Full-sized blenders, microwaves, refrigerators, and other high-wattage appliances are off the table regarding the Fanttik EVO 300W. It still has many capabilities, so long as you know what you plan on using it for.

Even when charging a few devices from the charging ports, we started using the AC outlets simultaneously. We plugged in a Lasko fan and a lamp, with the total power output reaching 110W.

We then unplugged the light in this test and plugged in a Nikon battery pack charger, and the wattage dropped closer to 95W. After that, we unplugged the Nikon battery pack and plugged in an electric can opener, and the max output jumped to 140W.

With another test, we were charging the Lenovo laptop and two phones; we also had a 32-inch Samsung TV and a tower fan plugged into the AC outlets; this resulted in a 145W power output. We connected two tower fans while also charging devices, and the output was 140W.

We also powered a crockpot that pulled a 225W output. From our testing, we found the 300W output to be adequate and, in some ways, more than enough because you can take the power station outside, have a fan running, have food cooking, or be kept warm in a crockpot and charge phones simultaneously. You could also have two fans running while you’re relaxing outside to keep the mosquitoes away in the spring and summer; this way, you don’t have to deal with bug sprays.

The different combinations of cases you can use this power station, even when it comes to using appliances with a wattage lower than 300W, are impressive. Of course, if your needs are to power appliances that go over the max 300W output, you won’t be very impressed, but if it does fit your needs, just as ours, you’ll find the power to be quite flexible.

Input Charging:

Recharging the Evo 300 power station can be done in four different ways. Included in the box, you can get an AC charger and a car charger; additionally, you can charge the unit with a solar panel or a USB-C Power Delivery wall charger.

Using the AC charging brick alone gives you an 80W recharge rate that can get the power station back to full power within 4 hours; however, the bright side is that you can use the AC charger and the USB-C PD input at the same time and this can recharge the power station at 145W. A 145W recharge rate gets the EVO 300 back to full power in only 2 hours.

When it comes to solar recharging the power station, we used Fanttik’s very own 100W solar panel that can be used to charge the EVO 300 power station via its Anderson powerpole connector located at the back.

The solar panel is sold separately, and the panel includes the solar cable. We used the Fanttik solar panel to recharge the EVO 300 power station, and it was able to recharge the unit at about 75W, which is pretty good considering that’s near the AC recharge rate.

We also used the car charger for recharging, which recharged the power station at 70W. Overall, if you want to recharge the Fanttik power station as fast as possible, we recommend using the AC and USB-C recharging options simultaneously.

Design

Size and Weight:

Bringing all the powering capabilities together makes the size and weight more convenient. This Fanttik power station has a length of 9.8 inches, a width of about 6 inches, and a height of 8 inches. The weight of the power station is 8.8 pounds. So it’s definitely on the mini side, and it’s realistic to take this unit with you when you go camping or hiking because of its lightweight. The weight is manageable primarily by the sizeable fixed handle at the top that doesn’t have any foldable movement.

The small size also makes it easy to store this in your car for a road trip or storage in your home. Also, if you’re powering and charging many devices/appliances simultaneously, the EVO 300 will likely take up the least amount of space and be out of the way.

Functional Components:

The power station includes a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, a car charger, an AC charger, an accessory carrying case, and the manual. An outstanding accessory collection is coming straight out of the box because you already have two methods to recharge the EVO 300 right out of the box; you only need a 60W Power Delivery charger to use with the included USB-C cable to make it three.

Using the power station itself is very simple to use. You’ll find nearly all the ports, outlets, buttons, and displays in front. The best design feature is the large screen that shows the remaining power capacity, the DC or AC section is activated and the input/output wattage in real-time as you’re using it or recharging. The screen also shows the remaining usage time and recharge time next to the wattage input/output.

There are three buttons under the screen: the DC, display, and AC power buttons. The DC buttons activate the DC car port, DC barrel port, and charging ports. The AC buttons activate the two AC outlets.

The display button turns on the screen. To turn off each button function, you have to press the button again. The ease of use, is in some ways, better than other power stations. It’s all just controlled with single button presses—no need to hold the buttons down.

At the back, there’s a flashlight with a power button that turns it on; the flashlight has three settings: low, high, and SOS. It’s a pretty bright flashlight that can be useful for power outages or if you’re in the wilderness. Also, at the back is where you’ll find the Anderson connector that lets you recharge via solar panel.

Build

Structure and Material:

 

The Fanttik EVO 300 has insanely rigid and well-built housing. Sure, it’s all plastic, but all of it is thick and put together where nothing moves. It can withstand bumps and hits while traveling within your car; in general, we felt we could move it around without worrying about it getting damaged.

The top handle is one of our favorite non-power-related features of the power station because it’s not foldable, so the unit doesn’t wiggle around when you’re moving it. They knocked it out of the park for the brand’s first power station.

Tech:

When it came to powering the crockpot and the fan simultaneously, we thought the unit would start getting warm, but after feeling around, we didn’t feel any heat on the housing. This is likely due to the internal fans keeping the power station cool whenever you use the AC outlets. They are pretty audible when turned on; we don’t mind, though, because keeping a power station cool is essential to keep it functioning.

We also tried to use an electric duster that was well beyond the 300W max output of EVO 300, and after hitting about 450W for about 3 seconds, the unit automatically turned off.

Reliability

If the 300W max output and port selection fit your needs, then this Fanttik power station will be very reliable because you can plug in a variety of devices at the same time. It’s not reliable for powering larger appliances such as microwaves or blenders. Still, it does well on the mini side, or at last, large devices that may use lower wattages like in our review how we used a tower fan; a significant and valuable appliance that doesn’t require too much power.

The included accessories are a great benefit. You get nearly three ways to recharge the power station right out of the box because you only need a PD wall charger with the included cable. You can also charge the power station via a solar panel that Fanttik sells separately.

Summary:

Power:

This isn’t the most powerful power station, but with its 299W power capacity and 300W max output, it’s surprisingly capable of quite a bit. You can power two appliances while charging four devices and still have the power station lasting for a few hours. It’s all about your needs, and as long as they fit that 300W threshold, the EVO 300 performs well.

Design:

The snappy design of the EVO 300 is one of our favorite parts because you don’t have to hold any of the power buttons down. The screen at the front is huge, has a host of helpful info, and can easily be turned on and off with its power button.

Build:

The power station feels like it was forged from molten lava, which sounds strange, but it feels well put together with nothing moving around. You can hold the handle and rotate the power station around, and it doesn’t feel awkward. The unit is also kept cool with internal fans and has side vents where heat is pushed out.

Reliability:

As long as you know your powering needs, which should fit into your 300W range, this Fanttik power station will be reliable. Of course, then you have to wonder if two AC outlets are reliable enough, and we think they are considering that the max output is 300W. There isn’t exactly that much flexibility, but just enough.

	Fanttik EVO 300 Portable Power Station
Model	EVO 300
Power Capacity	299.52Wh (83,200mAh)
USB-C 1 PD Output	5V/3.0A | 9V/3.0A | 12V/3.0A | 15V/3.0A | 20V/3.0A (60W)
USB-C 2 Output	5V/3.0A (15W)
USB-A QC Output	5V/3.0A | 9V/2.0A | 12V/1.5A
USB-A Standard Output	5V/2.4A (12W)
DC Car Port Output	12V/10A
DC 5521 Port Output	12V/5A (120W)
AC Output	100-120V 60Hz, 300W Rated (600W Peak)
DC Input	12-30V 120W
Anderson Solar Input	12-30V 120W
Size	9.8 x 6.9 x 9 inches
Weight	8.8 pounds

Conclusion:

The Fanttik EVO 300 portable power station is a balanced power source that mainly has necessities, but that doesn’t mean it’s minimal. 300W and two AC outlets can do a lot; add on a 60W Power Delivery, another three charging ports, and DC ports, and you’ve got yourself a capable mini power station that can be used daily.