Oupes Mega 1
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Pros: It’s a compact, powerful unit that can handle surges up to 4,500W, and it weighs less than 30 pounds, making it quite portable for the power it supplies
- Cons: The handles aren’t very comfortable for extended carrying.
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I cover a lot of portable power stations here on ZDNET and use them in my personal life, as well. After coming in contact with so many, most of them are made by one of the big three names in this market: EcoFlow. I test a lot of power stations from other manufacturers, but the truth is that many just don’t make the cut.
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But the Oupes Mega 1 did make the cut. In our lab testing, we found it was the most efficient portable power station in the small-size category (600-1,100Wh), which is why it received a ZDNET Lab Award. And in my hands-on testing, it’s found a place in my truck as a reliable portable power station.
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The unit is a 1,024Wh unit with 2,000W (4,500W peak output) unit and weighs in at a shade under 30 pounds. It can run things from CPAP to refrigerators, and can be recharged using AC, vehicle 12V, solar, or a combination of AC and solar, giving it a great amount of flexibility.
The weight puts the Mega 1 squarely into the portable category, and makes it perfect for in-vehicle usage. A 60+ pound unit is quite a hefty and unwieldy box, while a 30-pound unit will fit into a trunk or footwell of a car, or in the bed of a truck, and it can be picked up and moved about with relative ease.
All the ports work as expected, and put out what they it says on the spec sheet. I pushed the AC outlets up to 4,500W peak load and the unit handled this, and when pushed beyond this it carried out a gracious failsafe, and worked fine again after a restart. The unit is rated to IP54 which means that it’s has limited protection against dust ingress and is fine around splashing water from any direction. A modest, but realistic rating.
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Oupes, knowing that it’s the new kid on the block when it comes to the power station market, is offering a five-year warranty along with a 30-day return window, which is quite generous.
At this price, the Mega 1 should definitely be on the radar of anyone who’s looking for a powerful yet portable power station, doubly so if they’re looking for one that can be expanded using external batteries.