Jackery 300

Just got the latest in the Jackery product line, the Jackery 300. I have SEVERAL other Jackery devices and you may wonder why in the world I would buy a Jackery 300 watt power station when I already owned the 1000 watt, the 500 watt, and a Honda by Jackery 290 watt.  Oh yeah I have the 160 watt too.

To answer…….I’ve not a clue.  It would seem that I have enough……..but I ACTUALLY USE THESE THINGS.

I wouldn’t say I’m a prepper or trying to go off grid but I do find that if I have these things positioned around the house I will use them.  Case in point:  Just the other day I was trying to plug something in near my entertainment center to test it.  but there was a problem.  No outlets left.  Enter the Jackery.

I also make every attempt to charge all my USB type devices (phones, tablets, transistor radios, bluetooth speakers, etc.) with Jackery power stations.  I also make every attempt to charge them up only with Solar power.  I recognize that charging things off power stations doesn’t really affect the electric bill much but hey, a couple of bucks is a couple of bucks.  You’ll never recoup your investment though.

Every review you will read about a Jackery will tell you how many times you can charge something.  And in reviews people will ask all manner of questions about how many times you can charge things or how long it will run a CPAP or something.   Then there will be the “It’s Never Enough” crowd.   I cannot believe nobody ever says “GET TWO OF THEM”.   Yeah, they’re expensive but hey, if that’s your problem, that’s your solution.  I use a 500 by my bed.  When the charge starts getting low, I replace it with the 1000 while I set the 500 in the sun.  End result: There is always a charged Jackery by the bed.

Where these things really shine is in the camper.  Every single time I go camping I carry the 1000 watt with me.  I can run a blow dryer, or a coffee pot.  So again, why have a 300 watt device?  Well, for one thing, Size and Weight.  Okay that’s two things.  Think about it.  How many times do you struggle to find an open outlet or need to charge your phone in the room you are in?  Have you ever wished you had a light in the attic where there is no outlet?  Ever need an extra charging port in the car or truck?  Do you want to have a picnic and  want to power a mini fridge?  Ever spend the night in a tent and wish you had a little light to read by?  I have a tiny USB fan that I put in the tent.  A little noise and air movement is a beautiful thing.

My camper has outlets but it is a very small travel trailer (Rockwood A122) and using the outlets to do things like charge phones or laptops can really create a mess exactly WHERE I DON’T NEED A MESS.   I can set the Jackery on the back corner of the table or back corner of the bed on the opposing wall and keep everything out of way and maximize the use of my space.  Don’t underestimate how important that can be.

If you have a Jackery already there isn’t a lot “new” on the 300 but a couple of things worth mentioning.

Jackery 300 control panel

The biggest thing of note is that this Jackery has a USB-C outlet on it.  AWESOME!  My laptops are USB-C.  Not only is it a USB-C it is a USB-C PD.  PD stands for “Power Delivery”.  PD is a new protocol which allows for faster and more flexible charger.  It can also deliver more than 5 volts if the device connected does a handshake with the PD and says “Gimme More”.

The other “new” thing is one of the standard USB ports is a fast charging 3.0.

Right after USB-C PD it is pretty straight up Jackery.  One thing I like is they finally put a cover on the 12 volt cigarette lighter outlet (aka Car Port).  That was one of my early complaints on previous Jackery devices.  Great big gaping hole in the control panel.

One thing missing is that some Jackery devices have LED’s on one of the ends.  This one does not.  Not a deal breaker for me by a long shot. Might be nice to have a built in light in a tent but to be honest I have never used the LED on any of my Jackery’s other than to see how they worked.  No actual real world usage for me.  Yet.

Jackery 300

It’s a handy little device.  Lightweight, good ergonomics, and it DELIVERS MORE POWER THAN IT SAYS IT DOES.  In some of my tests using various devices it will pull more than 300 watts before it shuts down.  Just be advised that you are not going to power a coffee pot with this or spin a great big drill motor with this.   You are going to charge a bunch of small devices in a power out situation.  Or you can run a 12 volt refrigerator at a tailgate party for a few hours.

The real reason you want this though is for something I already mentioned.  Size and weight.

If you are a maker like I am you can use these things to test mad science experiments like with Raspberry Pi’s or Arduino’s.  Just the other night I built a new Home Automation Pi setting comfortably at the table with my Jackery 300 providing the power to both my Pi and a little USB light………AND TO MY LAPTOP.  Put one of these bad boys on you garage work bench and you won’t believe how much you’ll use it.

If you go on the Jackery website or their Instagram or Facebook you’ll find photos of beautiful women in the middle of the greatest landscape shot ever using their Jackery in the middle of nowhere.  It’s a great sales pitch, it is.  But I use mine on the table, by the bed, in the back yard to power small tools and so on and so forth.

Heck I take mine to hotels.  Never enough outlets where you want them in a hotel.

I’ll close with this……….before you buy a Jackery try to take a best guess at what you’ll really do with it.  Again when I am camping I want to make a pot of coffee outside on the picnic table with my 700 watt coffee maker.  The Jackery 300 WILL NOT do this.   It will give you a little more than 300 clean watts of power which is enough to do a lot of stuff but not the big power demands.

Small, lightweight, portable.