Flashfish E200 Power Station and Solar Panel (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
Portable power stations are large, bulky devices, usually designed to power large appliances for long amounts of time thanks to massive batteries within. For many, that's an incredibly useful thing to have on-hand, but for others, it might be a little overkill. Sometimes, you want to take plugged-in devices with you, but if you're not preparing for disasters and are more interested in a useful utility for occasional activities, FlashFish's budget-oriented E200 power station might be up your alley.
Coming in at around the $100 mark, the E200 is a lightweight power station, with a 40,800mAh battery and 200W output. That kind of capacity puts it a little bit above the amount of battery life you'd get out of a power bank, but gives you the ability to plug in AC or DC-powered appliances. There are three USB-A ports on the front, along with one grounded AC outlet, a regular AC plug, and two DC ports. It almost feels a little overkill for the capacity it offers, but it's nice to have the options, all the same.
The FlashFish battery is very lightweight, at only 4lbs, making it easy to just take with you wherever. If you're wearing a backpack, the power station is compact enough to fit in, assuming it's not already crammed full of other supplies. It's useful for lower-watt things--mainly laptops, camera batteries, or an outdoor fan, but it has enough drive to power important devices like a CPAP machine, too. You won't be able to get portable espresso making with it, however, since it will instead just trip if you try to overload it with something with excessive draw.
You can charge the E200 a variety of ways, ranging from plugging it directly into the wall, using a cigarette lighter plug, or, most efficiently, plugging it into a solar panel. FlashFish sells solar panels as well, which cost the same price as the E200 itself--a little pricey, but it folds up nicely and works well with the device when you're off the grid and still need to recharge.
The solar panel is a foldable two-panel device that comes with a DC cable, along with attachments for various other plugs. I wish the cord was a little longer, but it gets the job done well enough. Since the panel is only 50W, it's not going to charge up the E200 quickly, and the slow charge is especially noticeable if you try to use the FlashFish panel with a larger capacity power station.
Annoyingly, you can't see how fast the FlashFish E200 charges up, because the display informs you of absolutely nothing, other than a vague power icon that gives you a rough estimate in 25% chunks. There's no information as to how fast the E200 is charging, what the solar panel is bringing in, or if you've even charged it to full, or just something between 75% and 100% capacity. I understand that budget-minded devices have concessions, but the lack of any details on the power station was irksome.
For those looking to have power without being tethered to a wall, or that find themselves needing something a little more heavy-duty than a power bank, the FlashFish E200 is a nice little budget power station that can handle outdoor use pretty well. You shouldn't expect the world of it, but for its price, it gets a lot done.
Verdict
- Solar panel is very compact
- Affordable
- The display gives you no idea of charge input/output
- Capacity is a little underwhelming
