This portable power station just set the gold standard for me - and it's priced well

EcoFlow River 3 Plus ZDNET's key takeaways One of the most intuitive solutions I've seen to making an expandable power station High-efficiency circuit for sub 100W devices massively boosts battery runtime The unit is built like a tank to take bangs and drops. $299 at Amazon Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Just when you think that portable power stations have become as good as they are going to get, a company goes ahead and makes some big changes that you just didn't see coming. Regular readers will know that I'm a huge fan of EcoFlow's RIVER series of portable power stations. The River 2 Pro has been with me on many an adventure, including on a UFO hunt to Rendlesham Forest, the location of Britain's own Roswell UFO incident. It's also been with me in my hammock on numerous cold, wet nights. It's been one of those Goldilocks power stations -- not the smallest, and definitely not the biggest. Also: The best portable power stations to last through power outages But it's time for an upgrade. And what if this new power station could be smaller than the RIVER 2 Pro, but also become bigger The River 2 Pro has given way to the River 3 Plus. And this has a few tricks up its sleeve. The RIVER 3 Plus is a portable power station with 286Wh of capacity that measures 9.2 × 9.1 × 5.8 inches and weighs 10.4 pounds. It has three AC outlets -- one on the front, two on the rear -- good for 600W continuous load and a surge load of up to 1,200W. That power capacity is smaller than the 768Wh of the RIVER 2 Pro, but it's also almost 7 pounds lighter. The unit also features a tough yet comfortable handle on the back for ease of moving. Also: I tried an Android phone with a 22,000mAh battery - it made my iPhone 17 Pro Max look small The batteries are automotive-grade LiFePO4 cells designed to last 3,000 recharge cycles -- which is around 10 years of everyday use -- before their capacity drops to 80%. The cells are protected to IP54 standards (protected against a limited amount of dust and water splashes from any direction), and the shell of the unit is made from a fire-retardant polymer designed to survive a 3-foot/1.5-meter drop. It's also got one 100W USB-C port, two 24W USB-A ports, and a 12V car outlet. Cool light on the front is very useful when camping or during power cuts. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET One of the features that I was particularly interested in trying out on the River 3 Plus was what EcoFlow calls X-GaNPower. This is a high-efficiency mode that kicks in when the unit is running loads under 100W, and it pretty much offers double the runtime. A small 3W load that might have otherwise run the unit to zero in about 19 hours can now run for 35 hours. I've tested this claim and got results that align with EcoFlow's promises. Also: The magnetic USB-C accessory I can't live without - and why you need one too This is very impressive, and given that a lot of what people run from their power stations falls into this category, users will see a huge runtime boost. There's an AC input port and an XT60 port for charging in the car or from a solar panel. For those wanting to use the River 3 Plus as an in-home uninterruptible power supply (UPS), the unit can switch from the grid to battery in under 10 milliseconds. There's also a USB-B port to allow it to communicate with PCs or NAS devices and turn them off in case of a prolonged power outage. The ports on the rear are covered by a flap. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET You get options when it comes to charging the unit. Using the grid, you can go from zero to 100% in an hour, solar using the XT60 can be as quick as 90 minutes, and car charging can take around three and a half hours. Also: Why I travel with 3 different portable power stations (and can't get out of the habit) But there's more to the River 3 Plus. On the underside, there's a port that allows it to be attached to expansion batteries -- the 286Wh capacity EB300 (currently 22% off and only $209) or the 572Wh capacity EB600 (currently with 24% off and is yours for $418) -- and this is what allows the River 3 Plus to become a bigger power station. As well as offering a massive energy boost, the expansion battery has a 140W USB-C port that can be used to power devices and charge the expansion battery (a process that takes 7 hours). The expansion port on the bottom of the RIVER 2 Plus. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET This is the most innovative solution to making expandable power stations I've encountered. No cables are needed. I love it! The unit runs completely silently most of the time, but when the fan kicks in, it's a quiet 30dB, which is unlikely to feature on most people's radar, even if they're trying to sleep. Also: This $12 USB-C accessory solved the biggest issue I had with my laptop's charger On the front of the River 3 Plus is a very cool light -- perfect for power cuts and camping -- and a snazzy display that lets you know everything that's going on with the power station, from input and output power to fan status. And for those wanting an even deeper dive, there is, of course, app connectivity, which also offers remote control. The cooling fan is super quiet when it kicks in. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET ZDNET's buying advice I review a lot of power stations in a year, but the EcoFlow River 3 Plus is the first this year to make me go "oooooh" a few times. The design is quite similar to the other units in the RIVER line, but the innovative expansion system and the extra runtime for low-power loads are certainly very cool. The unit itself is only $299, making it very competitively priced. If you're looking for a good deal on a small power station, this is for you, doubly so if you think you might want to expand its capacity at some point.