A great-value travel companion with the right capacity, power output, and weight for your hiking or camping adventures.

The Oupes 600W power station and solar kit packs a competitive punch when it comes to wattage, output, and size. Could this lightweight beast be the perfect balance of power and portability?

The Oupes 600W is a very capable battery with a light, compact form factor, and solar companion. Its LiFePO4 battery cells offer durability and reliability, and various outputs including AC can power most things you’d throw at it. Could it be the perfect mix of power and portability at an affordable price point?

The Oupes 600W battery and solar combo kit is available on GeekBuying for $699 - but if you enter the code NNNOUPESRE you'll get $20 off. If you buy without the solar panel, you can use the code NNNOUPES600TE instead (making the price $479).

In the battery and solar kit from GeekBuying, you receive the Oupes 600W power station battery, a 100W foldable solar panel, user manual, a car charger, and an AC charging cable.

The battery comes with a charge, but it’s recommended that you plug the battery in using the AC input to charge up the power station to 100% before first use. Once that is complete your power station is ready to be used!

The design of the Oupes power station is something I’m happy with. It’s nothing sleek, beautiful, or jaw-dropping, but it screams practicality. The battery comes in at 10.5 x 7.76 x 9.73 inches which makes it really simple to tuck into small spaces, whether it be under a bed, inside a tent, on a shelf, or in the trunk of a car. The total weight of the power station is 15Ibs, which makes it ultra-portable for any situation you’d find yourself in. It has a single top handle, meaning one-handed carrying is a breeze, and I never found myself struggling or fatigued carrying this battery from one place or another. In my experience, I’ve found this battery to be one of the best balances of power and portability.

The body is made of hard plastic, so I wouldn’t say it’s the most durable battery you’d find, but it’s solid enough to where I haven’t had any problems with cracks or damage with my normal use.

The chassis definitely is not dust or weather-sealed. There are plenty of seams, vents, and exposed ports surrounding the body of the battery, so just be wary of what kind of weather and environmental conditions you’ll be taking this battery into.

The entire body is surrounded by an orange rubber grip, which is perfect for protection from any accidental bumps and keeps the battery stationary wherever you set it.

It’s definitely not a solid connection—the rubber can be peeled and disconnected from the body extremely easily—but luckily the rubber feet at the bottom have screws in place to prevent them from falling off.

At the front of the device, we have an LED display and an arrangement of buttons. At the top of the display, there is a live reading of the total output power coming from the battery. Below that is the battery indicator relaying how much total percentage is left in the unit. At the bottom, you'll find the estimated time in hours until the battery is depleted.

The display also has indicators based on what outputs are enabled, which can be triggered by the buttons located on the border of the output groups. The power button is located on the lower left, which can also enable and disable the LED display to save on battery life. It features a ring of light to indicate whether the power station is on or off.

The Oupes 600W has a great variety of outputs to offer to charge up to eight devices at time. On the lower right there are a collection of USB outputs, including a USB-C (both input and output) up to 60 watts max, and two quick charge USB-A 3.0 outputs. Above that are the collection of DC outputs, including a 12V car cigarette lighter outlet, and two 12V DC ports.

Over on the left side of the display are two AC outputs, offering a 600W continuous output with a 1,000W peak. These are both two-prong AC outlets, but they share an indent, giving you the ability to plug a three-prong cable into one of the ports. While this is a great convenience, it does limit the ability to use two three-pronged cables at the same time.

As far as inputs go there are only two options. The first is the 100W max 8mm DC input located on the right side of the battery.

This is used for charging via the included AC cable, car charger, or to plug in the solar panel included with the kit.

When plugged into an outlet, the Oupes 600W can go from 0 to 100% in 7.5 hours. Considering that we've seen batteries many times the capacity of this charge to 80% in an hour, this is definitely on the slow end.

Unusually, the USB-C port on the front also doubles as an input, and if you supply your own USB-C charging cable, you can charge the battery in combination with the DC input to get a full charge in only 3.5 hours (or 12 hours using the USB-C input exclusively).

The Oupes 600W comes packed with some safety features that are important to have in a portable power station. As mentioned before the battery cell chemistry is lithium iron phosphate (LFP), meaning the battery is not as susceptible to overheating and combustion as lithium-ion batteries, and the overall lifespan is longer. You should be able to get around 3000 cycles before the battery has degraded to 80% capacity.

The Oupes also has a smart BMS battery management system that includes overload protection, smart air cooling, temperature protection, short circuit protection, and over-discharge protection.

The backside of the battery features a wide 7-watt LED light, with three different illumination options that are low, full, and an SOS mode that flashes the LED on and off.

Not only is this a great safety feature when stranded and in need of help, but a welcome convenience when camping or hiking off-grid.

As a portable battery, solar power is a crucial component of its functionality and portability. Luckily, I’ve been impressed with the solar companion to this unit. It’s only 100W max in direct sunlight, which isn’t a lot, but it's enough for a battery of this capacity. In optimal conditions, it will charge the battery just as fast as the included AC wall charger will, so there’s no trade-off when it comes to charging capabilities.

Keeping the wattage lower also means this panel is ultra-light and portable. When folded, the dimensions of the solar panel are 16.65 x 14.57 x 1.38 inches, while it weighs only 8.6lbs. This makes storing and traveling with the panel really simple and convenient.

It comes complete with a single top handle for easy one-handed carrying, and the backside of the case unzips for the storage of any necessary cables you might need. The front flap connects via heavy-duty Velcro.

When opened, the panel unfolds, giving you the ability to flip out the stands to orient the solar panels in the optimal position for maximum sunlight. It's not a remarkable or innovative design by any means, but it pairs well with the battery at a competitive price point.

When unfolded the dimensions of the panel end up being 67.64 x 16.65 x 0.19 inches, which gives it plenty of surface area to collect sun, while also being a manageable size when being out in the wild. The panel offers 20% efficiency, which is as expected.

Performance goes exactly as planned. I’ve had great results with the various devices I was able to power and charge up. You’ll obviously have to pay attention to the draw of all the devices you decide to plug in, but all my battery-powered devices such as laptops, phones, tablets, Bluetooth speakers, and earbuds all juiced up just as simply as they would when plugged into a wall. It also works great for items that don’t run on batteries, such as running a 60W TV for over 8.5 hours, or even a 345W electric drill for 1.5 hours.

The Oupes 600W doesn't have an enormous capacity, nor will it run any large power tools. It can't charge quickly either—whether that's over solar or AC. This small portable battery certainly isn’t going to power your home for days on end, and I don’t see it powering a full-time off-grid lifestyle. But, for the weekend adventurer, someone who wants to power their devices on a scenic road trip, have backup emergency power, or have entertainment/productivity out in the wilderness, this is a stellar kit to add to your journey at an affordable price point.

The only additional feature I would’ve liked to see would be the incorporation of a companion app. Many of these portable power stations now come with a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connected smartphone app that allow you to remotely monitor power output, and enable/disable ports. This would have been great to see on the Oupes 600W, but the display and the physical buttons are sufficient for the average user.

It has the strength and capacity to power any device you might want to take on a weekend trip such as laptops, projectors, lights, TVs, and cameras, yet both the battery and the solar panel remain ultra-portable. Larger power kits can be a burden to store, pack, and carry on longer trips. The Oupes 600W solar kit from GeekBuying hits that beautiful sweet spot of power and portability. If I was heading out on an adventure but needed to keep my most critical equipment powered up, this would definitely be a convenient option.

As for the competition, the closest competitor is the Jackery 500 with SolarSaga 100 panel. It features less overall capacity at just 518Wh, only one AC port, and works out $100 more expensive. It also uses lithium ion battery cells, which are rated for less 1000 cycles before falling to 80% capacity. Not only is the Oupes 600 better value, it's going to last longer.