GoKawiilis a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for 20 years.
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As an avid vanlifer, I have to carefully curate everything I carry in order to eke out every square inch of storage I can to support life off the grid for weeks at a time. That’s why I jumped at the chance to review DJI’s latest power station.
The DJI Power 1000 Mini is almost half the size of the original DJI Power 1000 released two years ago with the same 1kWh battery capacity. And from my calculations, it’s also the smallest 1kWh power station from the major brands that money can currently buy.
DJI’s little power station also has a few tricks up its sleeve, including a built-in retractable USB-C cable, a light that can be controlled remotely, an integrated MPPT controller that turns it into a solar generator, and the option to fast-charge off my van’s alternator when wired up to the starter battery. Hoozah!
I found myself using the little DJI power station far more than expected in my two months of testing, despite traveling with a giant 8kWh battery system. The Power 1000 Mini is so small that I don’t hesitate to grab it whenever I need to power a projector for an outdoor movie night, keep my Starlink Mini internet running in a field, or power an air compressor to inflate my tires after leaving a sandy beach.
The €579 / £449 Power 1000 Mini’s diminutive size does come with a few tradeoffs — dongles, ugh! — but I think DJI has struck an excellent balance between portability, versatility, and power.
Right now, it’s unclear if it’ll get approved for sale in the US because “the application for authorization is still pending,” according to DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong.
Most people still think of DJI as a drone company, but the Chinese tech giant has branched out into several product categories, where it’s introduced real innovation. For example, the incredibly small and powerful Avinox e-bike drive system it developed has radically transformed what mountain bikers expect in terms of performance.
Similarly, the DJI Power 1000 Mini resets expectations about how large a 1kWh power station should be. Just look at how it stacks up to the competition.
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