Anker C300X Review: Too Good to Be True at Just $199?
Whenever we talk about Anker, we always seem to mention the same things: the fact they seem to strive towards innovation and their commitment to R&D. That’s because Anker seems to be one of the few power station companies out there actively developing new products, not just recycling and updating previous products and ideas. Their latest offering, the Anker C300X Power Station, fits this mold perfectly.
The C300X was introduced as an ultra-portable power station, and when we saw them advertising it with images of people slinging it over their shoulders ready for adventures, we were certainly intrigued. It looked pretty different from their previous models, but still seemed to retain that signature Anker look.
But, as you know, here at The Solar Lab, our opinions can’t be bought, so we put this little fella through some tests and want to give you our honest opinions about it. So, let’s see if this tiny power station actually delivers, or if it’s a rare miss from Anker.
What is the Anker C300X?
Anker launched two versions of the C300: the C300X, which we’re looking at today, and a more basic version, called the C300 DC. The C300X is the larger of two new tiny power stations, and this version includes three AC plugs (standard wall outlets) along the front panel, while the slightly smaller DC-only version drops the AC plugs in favor of just USBs and a 12-volt car socket.
This smaller, DC-only version also features a little pop-up light on the top of it and it’s priced around $50 cheaper than the AC model.
Interestingly, the C300X seems to be a direct replacement for the older Anker 525 Power Station, a model that felt and looked more like a scaled-down power station. This time around, the C300X feels purpose-built with its compact, practical design. It’s much slimmer, and actually does seem like something you could easily bring to a campsite, even if you had to hike your equipment in.
Before we dive into our hands-on experience, let’s go over a quick spec teardown for this unit.
Key Specifications:
Weight: At just 9 lbs, this little guy obviously passes our “Tiny Baby Lift Test”. In fact, it’s light enough he could probably shot-put it across the Atlantic Ocean. It’s so light and compact that pretty much anyone could lift and carry it around, which is really great for outdoor adventures, but could also be pretty appealing for more senior users who might struggle with the heavier power stations.
Battery Capacity: It features a 288Wh battery that is rated for 3,000 cycles.
Inverter Output: The built-in inverter is rated for a respectable 300W—not bad for such a tiny unit.
Charging Options: The C300X can be charged three ways: via a standard 120V wall outlet, through a solar panel, which allows for a 100W solar input, or through a fast-charge USB-C input/output port that is rated for 140W.
Output Ports:
Three 120V AC outlets.
Three USB-C ports (one rated for 140W with the reverse charging capabilities we mentioned above).
One standard USB-A port.
One 12V car socket.
Bonus Features:
The C300X version features Anker’s signature “unibrow”-style light on the front, which we’re huge fans of. It’s a really helpful feature for blackouts, but also just doubles as a practical spotlight if you’re out camping or live off-grid.
The unit also supports full integration with Anker's app, which is great in such a small power station. The app is pretty intuitive and it allows you to remotely control and customize the power station from a smartphone or tablet.
The Price:
At $249, the C300X is really cheap, especially when you consider what it offers. It’s in the price range where we normally see the cheap, less reliable power stations from unknown brands we often see on Amazon, so it’s really nice to have a major player dropping a power station for more budget-conscious buyers.
The option to buy an even cheaper DC-only version also seems like a good decision from Anker, especially given that there are probably plenty of creative types that just need something they can use to top up batteries for their drones, cameras, laptops, and phones. Plus, Anker dropped the full AC-equipped C300X version at an introductory sale price of just under $200, which is crazy value. We’ll have any available discounts listed at the bottom of this article, so you can get the best price.
Still, while $200 may seem like a steal for a name-brand power station, a low price means nothing if it doesn’t actually work well. So, while the specs and price point check out, let’s see if the C300X is actually any good by putting it through its paces.
Performance Testing the Anker C300X
To see if the C300X actually lives up to the specs posted by Anker, we ran it through a series of tests. The truth is, most brands exaggerate specs, which could be down to them testing their products under ideal laboratory conditions, or just because they want to straight up lie, so we always make sure we do our own tests under more realistic, real-world conditions. So, let’s see how it performed.
Efficiency Test:
We started out by running a load test to measure the C300X's efficiency. With its 300W inverter, the power station should last about 57 minutes on a full charge while running a 300W load. In our test, it lasted about 50 minutes, which puts it at 87% efficiency.
For a smaller power station, that’s actually really impressive. Even with the larger power stations, we’re usually happy to see anything above 80%.
Charging Speed Tests:
The C300X advertises that it can fully charge in just one hour using a wall outlet. We tested this claim and found that it charged from 0% to 100% in 1 hour and 8 minutes—that’s actually not far off the mark at all.
If you’re using solar panels to charge it, expect around 3 hours to fully charge with a standard 100W folding panel. Sometthing that we picked up on that is worth quickly mentioning is the fact that we found the C300X took a little bit to actually recognize we connected it to a solar panel. It’s not a huge issue, but could be frustrating for those who are using it for the first time. You might think it’s not working, but just give it a minute, then it should start picking up that charge.
As for the USB-C charging, it worked, but we weren’t able to pull the full 140W input. This was simply due to the fact that we don’t have a USB-C cable thick enough to support that kind of input. Instead, we found it hovered around a 70W input.
Testing the Surge Capacity:
While the C300X is rated for 300W, we also tested its surge capacity by pushing it a bit beyond that. It managed to handle slightly higher loads, but you could tell it wasn’t thrilled about it.
With that said, we ran close to the 300W rating pretty continuously, and it performed really well. No real signs of struggle if you can keep it under that 300W output, which is what Anker advertised, so there’s no sort of misleading marketing there.
Testing Noise Levels:
This unit is impressively quiet. Even with the internal fans running when we pushed it to its limits, the C300X makes virtually no noise. If you’re using it to power something like a CPAP machine at your bedside, or you want to bring it into your tent while you’re camping, the near-silent operation is going to be a big plus.
Pass-Through Charging:
Since, unsurprisingly, solar is huge for us here at The Solar Lab, we always check to see if a power station can support pass-through charging. Basically, this means that a power station can charge devices while its own battery is also being charged.
Let’s say that you have some devices plugged into your power station, but you also have the power station itself plugged into the wall or a solar panel, pass-through charging means that it would be able to charge your devices while also topping up its own battery.
We tested this out, and it turns out that the C300X definitely supports pass-through charging. Whether using AC or solar, you can continue charging your devices even while your little power station is recharging its own 288Wh battery—a huge plus.
What We Like and Dislike About the C300X
Now that we’ve gone through the basic specs, as well as the results of our own tests, we’ll take a look at some of the things we love about the C300X, as well as a few areas we think Anker could have improved the design.
The Pros:
How Compact and Lightweight it Is:
This thing only weighs 9 pounds, so you could carry it anywhere—even your grandma could lift it! It’s compact, with a handy design that makes it easy to grab and go. They even offer it with a shoulder strap.
We weren’t huge fans of the strap, as we felt it was a bit awkward and clunky to have it on one side of your body, but it might be appealing to some users, especially if your hands are full with other gear.
App Integration:
Like most modern Anker products, the C300X integrates seamlessly with Anker’s app, allowing you to adjust settings and monitor the unit remotely. If you're out camping and want to check on its status from your tent, or you just want to flick on the light, the app is super convenient. App integration is also something we don’t often see with these budget power stations, so it’s not something we took for granted.
The Price:
You can’t talk about this unit without mentioning that rock-bottom price point. From our perspective, it’s really nice to see one of the big players in the industry offer more budget-friendly products.
Plus, they even offer two versions of the C300. If you don’t need the AC plugs you get with the C300X, there’s that cheaper DC-only version that could be perfect for those who mainly need USB and 12V outputs. This is a pretty thoughtful decision from Anker, and it’s not something we expected at all.
At this price, buying one doesn’t have to be a major financial decision. Even if you just use it a couple times per year, it’s still a good buy. We even think it would make a great gift for someone who may have never thought about picking something like this up for themselves.
The Built-in Light:
Anker’s signature unibrow light makes a return, and it’s just as practical as ever. It’s bright enough to be useful in a dark tent or cabin and only draws about 3 watts, making it an efficient, reliable lighting option for campers, but also a nice addition if you just want to charge your phone or run some lights during a blackout.
The Silent Operation:
We already mentioned that this thing is whisper-quiet. If you need something for the campsite, RV, or basic emergency prep, this unit barely makes a peep, even with the fans going at full blast. It’s an excellent choice for anyone needing to power sensitive devices in noise-free environments.
The Cons:
The Low Solar Input Limit:
With only 100W of solar input, it takes about 3 hours to charge the C300X using a solar panel. It would’ve been nice to see support for a 200W input, especially for those who rely heavily on solar during outdoor adventures. If you could just throw down a few foldable solar panels while you’re camping and charge the battery in an hour and a half, we’d think it was an even more practical unit.
Pricey Solar Panels:
Speaking of solar panels, Anker’s own brand of solar panels are a bit on the expensive side. While the C300X itself is very reasonably priced, you may be better off finding compatible panels from other brands that offer similar performance at a lower cost.
Given that Shop Solar currently has a low-cost C300X solar panel bundle available, we’d probably lean more that way than pairing it with Anker panels.
The Final Verdict – Should You Buy the Anker C300X?
At just over $200, we have to say that the Anker C300X Power Station offers outstanding value. It’s a really useful, budget-friendly option for anyone in need of a compact, quiet, and versatile power station.
Its performance, ease of use, and convenient features make it a great choice for campers, outdoor enthusiasts, and even those looking for backup power during emergencies. We also like and trust Anker as a brand, so we’d feel far more comfortable recommending it over most of the no-name power stations you usually see at this price point.
And yes, if you’re already thinking ahead, it’s almost small enough to stuff into a Christmas stocking.
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