Looking for real-world use and review of the Jackery 240? You’re in the right spot, as someone who makes a living exploring the outdoors, I’ve come to appreciate off-grid power. Let’s explore the real results from an actual owner of the Jackery 240 and the Jackery 60W Solar Panel.
Like you, my inventory of electronics is always increasing, and that increase in electronic gear is now creeping into my outdoor adventures. From powering my DJI drone and photography gear to keeping a heated blanket running in the deep winter snow camping, electronics do have a place in my camping adventures.
Long Term Jackery 240 Review
Because of my active lifestyle, I find myself road-tripping and camping many nights a year, much more than the average weekend warrior. Previously, when electronics needed to be charged, I found myself either exhausting a small battery bank too fast or leaving my truck running for hours on end to use the built-in power inverter to charge my gear.
At first, this wasn’t a big deal, after all, but after my Toyota Tundra hit 150,000 miles, it dawned on me that I should probably give her a break from time to time. Not only that, but when I started winter camping in places like Jackson Wyoming, and Northern Colorado, I found my Thule Tepui roof top tent to not have enough insulation to keep me warm overnight (even with a 0 degree rated Kelty bag). **Want the Ultimate Guide to Truck Camping? Check it out here, its all you ever wanted to know plus more!
After a bit of research, I decided to try and use a portable power station to keep a small heated blanket running for what I hoped to be the entire night. Even when in warmer months, I could still use the power station for charging my electronics, which seemed like a win/win (but a loss for my wallet).
Deciding Between Jackery 240 vs Goal Zero 200X
As soon as I hit my local REI, I realized they only carried Goal Zero and even then had limited stock. I passed on Goal Zero and decided to grab the Jackery from Amazon. I get it, you probably want to know WHY I passed on Goal Zero, great question!
First, when looking at the box, the Goal Zero didn’t include a car charging 12V adapter as the Jackery did. In fact, that would have been a $40-$50 additional cost. Additionally, the other accessories from Goal Zero seemed to have higher prices and overall the reviews of all the Goal Zero products just seemed pretty marginal at best.
For all sorts of reasons, the user reviews of Goal Zero seemed pretty bad. To Top it off, the associated Solar Panel from Goal Zero, rated at 30watts was priced almost twice as high as the Jackery 60watt panel. Due to all of this, I decided to just try Jackery, it really came down to price for me as I felt both brands were pretty successful at this point despite user reviews.
Fortunately for me, my buddy, CJ bought the Goal Zero 200X around the same time I got my Jackery. We both were curious about the other picks so we decided to test them head to head. We got two identical heated blankets that were low draw 12V heated blankets made for cars. We fully charged each heated blanket and ran a timer once plugged in.
Long story short, the Jackery lasted TWICE as long as the Jackery. Granted, the Jackery carries more wattage (but by very little) and still vastly out-performed the Goal Zero. So, as it stands, using this heated blanket with the Jackery, you get a full night’s sleep of heated blanket goodness in a freezing tent. See the full results and video test below:
How Long Does It Take To Charge The Jackery 240
Jackery provides two chargers in the basic purchase of the Jackery 240, a standard house plug charger, and a 12V lighter car charger. The Household charger will fully charge in about 4-5 hours. The car charger takes longer to fully charge the Jackery, I haven’t done a full charge while driving, but it is over 6 hours. As mentioned above, I also purchased the Jackery 60W Solar Panel and that charged my Jackery from 0-100% on a sunny Colorado day in just 5.5 hours. That was pretty cool!
What Can The Jackery 240 Power?
Jackery Explorer 240 is equipped with a 240 watt-hour (16.8Ah, 14.4V) lithium-ion battery pack. It features 1* AC outlet (110V 200W 400W Peak), 2* USB-A ports, and 1* DC carport to power many types of equipment such as phone, laptop, light, fan, mini cooler and so on with pure sine wave inverter.
For me, I have personally charged my Macbook Pro, Phones, Tablets, Camera Batteries all on the Jackery, along with the all-night heated blanket. Beyond basic personal electronics, the Jackery is rated to charge the following items seen below:
How Long Does The Jackery 240 Last?
The Jackewry 240 will power a heated blanket for 11 hours. Other devices used with varying power consumption will affect how long the Jackery can power the device. Take the number of amps drawn and deduct that per hour from the total amps of the Jackery of 16.8 amp-hours.
Can A Jackery 240 Jump Start A Car?
While a Jackery 240 is a small powerhouse of portable power, it will not have the required cranking amps to jump-start a car. Jackery does sell a jumper cable pack, but that is for charging your car battery with the Jackery, not actually jump your starting a car. I do plan to test this out and record the results, if by a miracle it charges my car, I will definitely update the article.
Where to Buy The Jackery 240
As of now, the only place to buy the Jackery 240, is on their website and on Amazon. Both retailers offer free, fast shipping on the Jackery 240. After it’s all said and done, I really enjoy the Jackery 240 and it has really helped out in so many ways, it’s a keeper for me.
- Included in the Best Portable Power Station for use in the outdoors by Digital Trends.
- MULTIFUNCTIONAL OUTPUTS: Jackery Explorer 240 is equipped with a 240 watt-hour (16.8Ah, 14.4V) lithium-ion battery pack. It features 1* AC outlet (110V 200W 400W Peak), 2* USB-A ports and 1* DC car port to power many equipments such as phone, laptop, light, fan, mini cooler and so on with pure sine wave inverter.
- ENTRY-LEVEL EXPLORER 240 FOR OUTDOOR SCENES: Jackery Portable power station with solid handle, easy to carry and easy to operate wherever you go. A solid portable power can power your iPhone, laptop and camping light up, when you enjoying weekend camping or working from home.
- GREEN SOLAR GENERATOR:Jackery Explorer 240 with built-in MPPT controller that can get the maximum recharging efficiency can easily get recharged with the efficient solar panel, Solar Saga 60W (sold separately) to provide eco-friendly clean power.There are other flexible recharging ways with wall outlet, car outlet and generator.
- WHAT YOU GET: You will receive 1* Jackery Entry-level Explorer 240 (240Wh Portable Power Station), 1*AC adapter, 1* car charger cable, 1* user guide,2 year customer service.For a better customer experience, we will optimize the product from time to time.
Prices pulled from Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.