Jackery’s new Explorer 2000 V2 is a lightweight and efficient 2,000Wh power station that hits a lot of the right notes. After testing it out for ourselves, we found it has a low idle draw, impressive efficiency, a built-in light, and at just 40 lbs, it delivers excellent portability.
On paper, that’s all really good stuff, and it’s an easy unit to recommend at its current price. However, if you can swing the roughly $500 extra for the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus, you’ll get more features and the type of flexibility that will make it the smarter long-term purchase for a lot of buyers.
To help you decide if you should purchase the Jackery Explorer 2000 V2, or spring for the 2000 Plus, we’re going to look at the specs, our own real-world testing, and cover everything that we liked and disliked about it. We also decide if it actually is as sledgehammer-proof as Jackery claims. Spoiler altert: it isn't.
So, let’s find out if the Explorer 2000 V2 is the right portable power station for you!
Before we jump into everything we like and dislike about this little 2,000Wh solar generator, let’s take a quick look at the specifications for the V2 version of the Jackery 2000:
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We ran the Explorer 2000 V2 through our usual lab tests and used it in as many real-world situations as we could. Here’s what we found:
The Explorer 2000 V2 reliably delivered the 2,200W continuous output that it’s rated for during all of our testing. We used it to run a huge variety of loads, and the inverter did not struggle at any point. We also didn’t notice any sort of overheating issues, even when we were pushing the output to its limits.
Jackery advertises a surge capability beyond the inverter’s continuous output rating. In our tests, the Explorer 2000 V2 would peak up to about 3,100W for short bursts, but it didn’t seem to like sustained loads above that 2,200W rating.
This means it can surge briefly to start some of your more demanding loads, like a fridge motor, vacuum, or sump pump, but don’t expect huge surge headroom for any sustained period.
The Explorer V2 delivered an outstanding 90% efficiency in our tests, which is excellent for a mid-range power station. We tend to say any power station that has above an 80% efficiency rating is impressive, so hitting 90% means you’re going to be able to squeeze plenty of power out of that 2,042 Watt hour battery.
We also tested the idle draw, which was about 17 Watts. This means if you left the unit in standby mode with the inverter on, the battery isn’t going to drain its battery fast.
When we fully charged it and left it running without any sort of load being pulled from the ports, we measured roughly 5 days of idling. Again, this is impressive, and means it’s a practical option for those who want to use their power station during power outages to run fluctuating loads, like a sump pump or a full-sized refrigerator.
As advertised, the AC charging can reach a charge rate of up to 1,800W. However, we found that the full 1,800-Watt input is gated behind an “Emergency Charging Mode” toggle. Jackery’s rationale here is to preserve long-term battery life by defaulting to a slightly lower charge rate. Whenever you charge a battery fast, it actually degrades it a little faster than if you were to charge it with a lower input.
It’s cool that they’re trying to protect the long-term functionality of their power stations, but it’s also something that buyers will want to be aware of, especially if they just want to charge their power station as quickly as possible. Without that full-capacity charging rate enabled, it seems to hover closer to a 1,300W AC input.
The solar input is limited to just 400W, which is very low relative to the size of both the battery and inverter. For a unit this size, we would have liked to see the solar input up around 800W, or maybe even higher.
With just a 400W input, it’s going to take a long time to solar charge this unit, even if you have a reasonable solar panel setup. If you want to use pass-through charging to run loads at the same time that you’re charging the unit’s battery with solar power, we think you’re going to find that lower input pretty frustrating.
After testing, we felt that there was a lot we really liked about this power station. While it wasn’t perfect, here are just a few of the highlights:
The front-facing LED light is a genuinely useful feature for camping and emergency prep. It’s arguably one of the most practical inclusions on the V2 and one that still differentiates it from many of its competitors.
If you were faced with a blackout, or you were just off-grid camping, you could use the unit almost like a flashlight or lantern. The light also makes it much easier to see the ports and avoid fumbling around in the dark.
For us, efficiency was the real headline for this unit. Basically, the inverter inside the Explorer 2000 V2 wastes very little energy in converting DC power to AC power. This means you get more usable watt-hours out of its battery than what you would get with many of its similarly-sized rivals.
With an idle draw of just 17W, this unit is an excellent option for standby applications and running any type of intermittent load. In other words, the low idle consumption makes the Jackery 2000 V2 a solid choice for “set it and forget it” backup power.
At right under 40 lbs, it’s noticeably lighter than many other 2kWh power stations. The flip-up handle and compact footprint also make it really easy to carry and stash in a car. It’s just a really practical option for anyone who is in the market for a power station that is easy to carry and transport.
Jackery’s app is well-designed, responsive, and really useful. The app allows you to monitor its performance from a distance, and also allows you to remotely toggle things like the built-in light or the Emergency Charge Mode.
You also get a really nice display screen, which is easy to read and functions just as well as the app. Other user-friendly additions, like the inclusion of a 12V car socket and USB-C fast charging port, make it a really intuitive and user-friendly power station.
Pairing this unit with Jackery’s newer bifacial foldable panels improves solar performance over the brand’s older panels. They’re also more reasonably priced than solar panels Jackery has released in the past.
Like EcoFlow, Jackery seems to be leaning into allowing buyers to build out a full ecosystem for their power stations. However, before we go praising their solar panels, we’d remind you about the unit’s unimpressive solar input limit…
Now that we’ve sung its praises, let’s take a closer look at some of the things we didn’t like about the Jackery 2000 V2:
400W is too low for a so-called solar generator that has a 2,000Wh battery. In fact, we would probably say that the underpowered solar charging is our biggest gripe with this unit.
With a 2,042Wh battery and a 2,200W inverter, a 400W maximum solar input is just plain underpowered. If you’re on the go, you can easily pull more watt-hours out than you can push back in with solar alone.
If you plan a multi-day off-grid trip where you’ll be running heavy loads, you’ll need to rely on AC charging or charging it with your car. This hurts the overall flexibility for this power station, especially given the Explorer 2000 Plus has a higher solar input.
The Explorer 2000 V2 does not support expansion batteries. If you think you might want to increase the storage capacity of your power station down the line, the Explorer 2000 Plus version is expandable, and it has more ports and features.
This is actually where we see the Plus version start to emerge as a more compelling option for those with more room in their budget.
The V2 has fewer AC outlets and fewer USB ports than the Plus version of the Explorer 2000. If you frequently run multiple devices at the same time, the Plus gives you a little more headroom and convenience. We also like the extendable handle and wheels you get on the Jackery 2000 Plus.
Given it’s just $500 more than the V2, we feel a lot of people are going to be drawn to the extras you get for that relatively small price increase.
Jackery went a little crazy with the marketing for this unit. They claim it’s incredibly durable, even depicting someone hitting it with a sledgehammer in one of their promo videos.
In reality, we noticed a slightly soft and squishy feel on the housing located under the handle. This is not a reliability issue, but pretending you will be able to hit this thing with a sledgehammer or drop it off a table without damage is pure fantasy.
Truthfully, Tiny Baby could probably smash this thing with his fists alone.
Short answer: If you can afford the Explorer 2000 Plus, buy the Plus version. The Explorer 2000 Plus adds expandability, a larger inverter (3,000W vs 2,200W), extra outlets (including a 30 Amp plug on the Plus), and a higher solar input.
The 2000 Plus is simply more versatile and future-proof than the 2000 V2. While we’d say the V2 version is an excellent option for those who are budget-minded, but still want the performance and portability of a 2,000Wh Jackery power station, the small premium for the Explorer Plus is worth it for meaningful improvements to the overall performance and practicality.
If you’re picking between the two power stations:
If you’re not attached to the Jackery name, you could also consider something like the EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max, the Anker SOLIX F2600, or even the ridiculously cheap Pecron E1000LFP.
Yes, the Explorer 2000 V2 is a strong, efficient, and very portable 2kWh power station. It delivers excellent real-world efficiency at 90%, a low idle draw, has app compatibility, and delivers very useful extra features, including a light, 12V socket, and 100W USB-C port.
For camping and intermittent home backup it’s a great pick, especially if you can pick it up for that discounted price of around $900.
With that said, if you can afford the extra $500, the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus is expandable, has a higher inverter rating, and comes with extra ports, including a 30A plug. For our money, all of this makes it a better long-term investment.
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