Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro: Bigger and Better Than Ever
For the past decade, Jackery has been pushing the envelope when it comes to making portable power stations that appeal to a broad audience. The company has consistently made products that offer a lot of bang for the buck, giving customers everything they need in affordable, easy-to-use packages. This has made its trademark orange devices so popular that several knockoff brands have copied Jackery’s designs just to cash in on its success. And with its latest offering, the bar has once again been set higher, with a model that is easily its biggest and best yet.
Photo Credit: Jackery
Impressive Specs
The new Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro is a power station that offers a tremendous amount of capacity and features yet somehow still manages to stay somewhat portable. I say “somewhat portable” because at 64 pounds, it is by far the heaviest Jackery model ever. But thanks to a built-in telescoping handle and rugged wheels, moving the solar generator around is surprisingly easy. A pair of large handles allow users to lift the unit when necessary while giving the impression that it doesn’t weigh as much as the scale might indicate.
The reason the Explorer 3000 Pro is so big is due to its large battery packs. The device offers a capacity of 3024 watt-hours and a sustained output of 3000 watts with a surge peak of up to 6000 watts. To put that into context, the power station can recharge a smartphone more than 100 times or run a 60-watt TV for up to 35 hours. It also generates enough power to run high-capacity appliances, such as a coffee maker, electric grill, microwave, or a refrigerator.
Jackery has equipped the Explorer 3000 Pro with plenty of ways to supply power to mobile devices, laptops, and other gadgets. The unit comes with four 120-volt AC wall outlets, a 12-volt car-charging port, two 18-watt USB-A ports, and two 100-watt USB-C ports. It also has a heavy-duty 25-amp plug for appliances that require extra capacity. Of note, the power station doesn’t have any 12-volt barrel ports, which have been common on power stations in the past. The vast majority of people never use those plugs, however, so it is easy to understand why they weren’t included here.
Photo Credit: Kraig Becker
Recharging the Solar Generator
Like most power stations, the Explorer 3000 Pro has multiple ways to recharge its batteries. Jackery ships the unit with a very high-quality AC cord, which plugs directly into a wall outlet in your home. It also comes with a charging cable that connects to the 12V port in a vehicle. Both options work very efficiently, but charging via a wall outlet is impressively fast, replanting the large battery in less than 2.5 hours.
As a “solar generator,” the Explorer 3000 Pro can also recharge using energy from the sun. While testing the unit, we connected two 200-watt Jackery solar panels and placed the entire system in direct sunlight. Over the next three hours, the power station’s battery went from about 20% capacity to a full charge, which is fairly rapid for a device of this size.
This bodes well for use at the campsite, allowing owners to recharge the power station throughout the day while powering their devices and appliances. This quick-charging feature is a game changer for the Explorer 3000 Pro, making it a much more useful option in the field. Older power stations often struggle with efficiently harnessing solar power to recharge their batteries, but newer models are much better in this regard.
Photo Credit: Jackery
Smartphone Connectivity
Another feature that has become common in power stations in recent years is remote monitoring and control via a smartphone app. The Explorer 3000 Pro has this ability, too, allowing users to connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The Jackery app gives power station owners plenty of information, including current charge levels, energy input and output, and which ports are currently active.
The app also includes a digital users manual, which is handy when using the power station in the field. Explorer 3000 Pro owners can also adjust settings, such as charging speed and how long the built-in LCD screen stays active. The app will also periodically upgrade the power station’s firmware, improving efficiency and adding features and functionality over time.
When testing the solar generator, the app worked well most of the time. While connected over Bluetooth, I was able to get real-time readings and make adjustments to the unit without any issues. That said, I could never get the power station to connect to my Wi-Fi network to enable remote monitoring from further away. The device operates on the 2.4 Ghz frequency, and even when I set my router to that band, it simply wouldn’t recognize that the network existed. To be fair, I was using a beta version of the software, so I expect this issue will be resolved as the Explorer 3000 Pro makes its way out to more customers.
Photo Credit: Kraig Becker
Bigger and Better
There has been a trend in the portable power station market of late to make larger devices that provide more capacity. While in theory, that sounds like a good thing, in execution, it hasn’t always worked out so well. Some of the larger units currently available are big and bulky, making them very difficult to move around. Thankfully, that isn’t the case with the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro. This model finds a balance between power, weight, and portability, which isn’t necessarily true about much of the competition.
If you’re in the market for a large power station for use at the campsite, you’ll definitely find options that have more capacity than Jackery’s latest model. But most of those units are bigger, heavier, and built for use at home, making them much more awkward to take with you on the road. The Explorer 3000 Pro fits nicely in a vehicle due in large part because Jackery hasn’t abandoned the “portable” aspects of a portable power station.
Everything about the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro is bigger and better than the company’s previous models. The unit is rugged and exceptionally well-built, its wheels and handle are actually very useful, and the device has plenty of ports to charge your gadgets. And best of all, it offers outstanding capacity and power output in a package that you will actually want to take with you. Its efficient use of solar charging is a fantastic upgrade too.
The Explorer 3000 Pro sells for $2,799, although as of this writing, it is available at an early-bird price of $2,519. While that is obviously a serious investment, it is also competitively priced for what this model offers. This unit occupies a space in the market that few other power stations have entered, making it an ideal option for RVers, vanlifers, car campers, or anyone who needs plenty of power on the go. If you’re someone who fits that description, this is the best option currently available.
To learn more about the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro, visit the company’s website.
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