Anker Solix C300x review: the ultimate festival accessory?

Festival camping means different things to different people. For some, it’s sleeping in a puddle and surviving on cereal bars. For others, it’s turning your tent into a low-key hotel room. If you’re in the second camp – the one with a fully-charged phone, a mini fridge full of booze, and a properly inflated airbed – the Anker C300x could be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s compact, powerful, and surprisingly easy to live with, whether you’re off-grid for the weekend or just want to power a few things in the garden without trailing cables everywhere.

Build and portability

It looks like a small speaker but weighs just over 4kg, so while you probably won’t want to be lugging it around in a rucksack all day, it’s easy to transport from the train to the campsite. The top handle’s solid, and the shoulder strap comes in handy if your hands are full. It feels solid and the rubber base keeps it steady on grass or decking, while the casing’s built to take a few knocks.

Sockets and charging

You get two UK plug sockets (300W output, 600W surge), three USB-C ports – two at 140W, one at 15W – a 12W USB-A, and a 12V car socket rated at 120W. It handles phones, of course, as well as laptops, drones, and practically anything else that tops out at 300W. Enamored by the ability to plug actual appliances into a portable battery, I tried a full-sized pedestal fan and even my TV during testing, which both ran with no problem – perfect for power cuts or zombie apocalypses. More practically, it’s been keeping my 10-foot garden pool’s pump going for around eight hours a day, saving me running an extension cable through the garden. You can even plug in a mini fridge and keep your cans cold all day, or power an airbed pump to save valuable time when setting up your pitch. Once it’s out, you’ll keep finding excuses to plug new weird and wonderful things in to those handy AC ports to test their prowess.

Recharging and solar use

The C300x recharges from the wall in about an hour, or 80% in 50 minutes. You’ve also got a plethora of other options – USB-C input, car socket, or solar panel up to 100W. The Anker PS100 solar panel is the officially recommended solar companion, and really brings the C300x into its own. It’s waterproof, folds flat, comes with a built-in stand, and on a sunny day can give you a full charge in around three hours. You can even charge or power your devices while the battery tops itself up in the background. Just leave it in the sun and let it get on with it. That said, it can take a few attempts of angling and positioning the panel before you get the most power out of it, though that’s just part of the fun.

Display, app and extras

A display on the front is bright and easy to read. It shows your current input and output, battery percentage and an estimate of how much time you’ve got left – either to charge or until the juice runs out. If you’re into this kind of thing, it’s oddly satisfying to see the numbers shift as you plug things in. The built-in LED light is decent too, providing a simple way to guide you at night as you stumble into your tent. An app gives you all the same info remotely over Wi-Fi, allowing you to monitor stats and even enable or disable individual ports and set timers.

Price

The Anker C300x officially retails for £269.99 but is currently on offer for £189.99 direct from Anker’s website. The Anker PS100 solar panel goes for £249.00, though Anker currently has a bundle deal for both at £409.98, saving around £30.

Verdict

Whether you’re camping at a festival, powering the garden for the afternoon or just not a fan of extension leads, the Anker C300x proves its worth. It’s compact, powerful, easy to carry and handles far more than you’d expect. With fast recharging, proper AC sockets and solar support that works well, it’s a versatile accessory you may wonder how you ever lived without.