Head-to-head test
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 vs Jackery Explorer 300
Pay $220 more and every watt-hour costs you half as much, which leaves the Explorer 300 with exactly one argument: the 16.7 lbs you don't have to carry.
Written by Wenny ZhengUpdated
Portable Power Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
Jackery
Explorer 1000 v2
3,084Power Score · Appliance Class
$499.00 list · direct from Jackery
Jackery
Explorer 300
1,189Power Score · Device Hub
$279.00 list · direct from Jackery
Spec deltas
The Explorer 300 is the more expensive power station here, and it's the one that costs less. $279 buys 293Wh, or 95 cents a watt-hour. $499 buys 1,070Wh, or 47 cents. Taking the small one saves you $220 at checkout and doubles what you pay for every watt-hour you actually get.
That inversion runs through the rest of the sheet. The 1000 v2 pushes 1,500W continuous against 300W, accepts 400W of solar against 100W, and is rated for 4,000 charge cycles against 500. It's five times the output for 1.8 times the money, and reviewers rate it among the strongest mid-size units of 2026A4.
So the Explorer 300 has one job left, and it's a real one. It weighs 7.1 lbs. The 1000 v2 weighs 23.8. If your power station has to ride on your back or in a bike pannier, that difference outranks every number above it. If it's going to live in a closet and come out under a desk, it doesn't.
What the Numbers Reveal
Each conclusion stated first — the numbers behind it on one line, the full analysis below.
Capacity
Priced per unit of that energy, it's twelve cents a kilowatt-hour against a dollar ninety. The $220 you'd save at the register doesn't buy a cheaper power station. It buys the same electricity at roughly sixteen times the price, paid back to you in 293Wh sips until the cells give out.
Explorer 1000 v2: 4,000 rated cycles across 1,070Wh, at $499Explorer 300: 500 rated cycles across 293Wh, at $279
Why it mattersAnyone buying a power station to keep rather than to try should treat $279 as the higher price, because per kilowatt-hour delivered it is.
The output ceiling shuts the same door from the other side. At 300W continuous with a 500W surge, the Explorer 300 can't start the tailgate load at all. Not run it long. Start it. The 1000 v2 starts it and carries the afternoon on 74% of usable capacity, with 1,500W and a 3,000W surge underneath. These aren't two sizes of one product: one runs phones, a fan, a light and a laptop, the other runs an evening.
CPAP Overnight draws 320Wh; the Explorer 300 is rated at 293WhExplorer 300: 300W continuous, 500W surgeTailgate Party: the Explorer 300 can't start the peak load; the 1000 v2 runs it at 74% of usable capacity
Why it mattersIf anything on your list has a motor in it or has to last until morning, the Explorer 300 is out before price comes up.
solar input
That changes what portability means past day one. Carrying 7.1 lbs is effortless right up until it's empty, and refilling it off the sun takes longer than refilling the 1,070Wh unit does. Reviewers clock the 1000 v2 from empty to full in roughly 60 to 65 minutes on ACA3 and call it light for a 1kWh-class unit at 23.8 lbsA1, so this is a choice between portable and very portable, not between portable and heavy.
Explorer 300: 7.1 lbs, 100W max solar input, 293WhExplorer 1000 v2: 23.8 lbs, 400W max solar input, 1,070Wh
Why it mattersTake the 300 if you're walking somewhere with it and charging from a wall between trips; if it has to live off the sun, the weight you saved becomes the thing you wait on.
The specific dimensions that decide these two units — everything else is a tie.
Lifetime Value
Selected because: Four thousand rated cycles against 500, on a $220 price difference.
cost / lifetime kWh
Spread each price across its warranty and the ranking doesn't budge: $100 a year of coverage on the 1000 v2, $140 on the Explorer 300. The smaller unit costs more per protected year and is out of warranty three years sooner.
Cycle life is where it gets stark. On a daily-cycle schedule the 1000 v2's cells are rated for 11 years and the Explorer 300's for 1.4. Buy the small one to work every day and you're on a replacement clock before the second summer, which is the part the $279 doesn't tell you. Weekend duty stretches both, and it stretches them by the same factor, so the ownership cost stays four cents a day against sixteen.
Your Life, Your Pick
Selected because: The CPAP night asks for 320Wh and the Explorer 300 holds 293Wh, which settles the load small units are usually bought for.
Only two of these six loads produce a winner, and it's the 1000 v2 both times: the CPAP night and the tailgate. The other four have no winner because the loads are larger than either battery. The weekend camp wants 2,100Wh, the eight-hour blackout 1,645Wh, and full-time van life 4,685Wh, against 1,070Wh in the bigger box here. Worth being blunt about that: if whole-house backup is why you're shopping, this page has two units that both come up short, and the 1000 v2 just comes up short more slowly.
The remote workday is the one to read closely. It asks for 910Wh. Take the standard 15% off the 1000 v2's 1,070Wh for inverter losses and you have 910Wh of usable battery, which is exactly the load with nothing left over, and it's scored as a miss. That's the honest call, because a desk day that ends with the unit at absolute zero isn't a day anyone plans. The Explorer 300 needs more than three and a half times what it can deliver for the same eight hours.
Portability & Form Factor
Selected because: 16.7 lbs separates them, and it's the only spec the Explorer 300 wins.
weight
7.1 lbs is a one-hand carry you stop noticing. It goes in the top of a pack, a kayak hatch, or a pannier without renegotiating the rest of your kit. 23.8 lbs is a set-it-down-with-both-hands lift, though it's genuinely light for its class and reviewers say soA1. The real question isn't which is easier to carry. It's whether you carry it at all, and most of these units spend their lives moving from a closet to a floor.
The USB-C ports split the same way. 100W on the 1000 v2 covers a laptop directly; 60W on the Explorer 300 covers one slowly, while you're using it. If the whole point of the small unit is that it goes to the coffee shop, note that it's the slower laptop charger too.
What the Specs Don't Tell You
Selected because: Five years of warranty against two, and a UPS switchover that only one of them has.
rated cycles
The switchover gap changes where you'd physically put these. The 1000 v2 can sit between the wall and a desktop, a modem, or a medical device and carry them through a flicker. The Explorer 300 has no switchover rating at all, so it's a battery you plug things into rather than one you leave things plugged into.
Surge headroom tells the same story in a different unit, and it's the reason the tailgate load is unreachable for the small one no matter how briefly you'd need it. The Explorer 300 also has no app, which matters less than it sounds until you want to check state of charge without walking across the room to it.
Strengths & trade-offs
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2
Strengths
- +Larger battery capacity
- +Higher AC output
- +Longer warranty
- +Faster solar charging
- +Rated for 4,000 charge cycles — much longer battery lifespan
Trade-offs
- –Substantially more expensive (+$220) than the Explorer 300.
- –Significantly heavier (+16.7 lbs), making it harder to move.
Jackery Explorer 300
Strengths
- +Costs $220 less
- +Lighter by 16.7 lb
Trade-offs
- –Weaker inverter (-1,200W) limits appliance compatibility.
- –Lacks smartphone app control for remote monitoring.
- –Shorter-lived battery — rated for 800 charge cycles vs the Explorer 1000 v2's 4,000, so it wears out sooner.
Will It Power Your Gear?
Scenario math and per-appliance runtimes, modeled from the spec record.
Scenario verdicts
We ran the math on six real-world scenarios. Here's which unit survives your actual life.
SCN-01 · 2 nights · needs 2,100Wh
Weekend Camping
Two nights off-grid with essential comfort
Neither unit
Neither unit covers this scenario's 2,100Wh: the Explorer 1000 v2 gets through about 43% of it and the Explorer 300 about 12%. This is well outside what either unit is for; the right answer here is a larger station, not a choice between these two.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Phone Charger 15W×6h · LED Lights 40W×8h · Box Fan 75W×14h · CPAP Machine 40W×16h
SCN-02 · 8 hours · needs 1,645Wh
8-Hour Blackout
Keep the essentials running through a night without power
Neither unit
Neither of these covers a full eight-hour outage. The scenario wants 1,645Wh and the larger box holds 1,070Wh. But there's a wide gap between coming up short and not showing up: the 1000 v2 covers most of the night and can carry a router and a desktop through the instant the lights go, while the Explorer 300 is short by more than six times over and has to be plugged in by hand afterward. If eight hours is the actual requirement, neither of these is the answer.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Fridge 150W×8h · Router + Modem 20W×8h · LED Lights (4 bulbs) 40W×6h · Phone Charger 15W×3h
SCN-03 · 8 hours · needs 320Wh
CPAP Overnight
Sleep therapy without interruption — the #1 medical use case
Explorer 1000 v2
You're eighteen inches from this thing at 3 a.m., so only two questions matter: does it reach sunrise, and does it wake you. The Explorer 1000 v2 finishes the night having spent about a third of its usable capacity, at 30 dBA. The Explorer 300 doesn't finish it: 320Wh of demand against a 293Wh battery, and you never get all of a battery. Take the 1000 v2, and take it into a bedroom on the strength of the quieter number too, since the 300 is rated 36 dBA.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD CPAP Machine 40W×8h
SCN-04 · 8 hours · needs 910Wh
Remote Workday
Full work day off-grid without power anxiety
Neither unit
Nobody wins this one, which is the honest result. The workday wants 910Wh, and stripping the usual 15% of inverter losses off the 1000 v2's 1,070Wh leaves exactly 910Wh of usable battery. Call it a photo finish that goes to the load, because a desk day ending at absolute zero isn't a day anyone plans. The Explorer 300 needs more than three and a half times what it can deliver, so if a full day off battery is the goal, shop above both.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Laptop 60W×8h · External Monitor 30W×8h · Router + Modem 20W×8h · Phone Charger 15W×2h
SCN-05 · 4 hours · needs 670Wh
Tailgate Party
Game day power for the crew
Explorer 1000 v2
Here the small unit doesn't lose on capacity, it loses at the plug. The Explorer 300's 300W continuous and 500W surge can't start the peak load, while the 1000 v2 starts it and runs the afternoon on 74% of its usable capacity. Running low on capacity is a problem you watch approaching. Failing to start is a problem you discover with people standing around.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Blender 400W×0.5h · LED TV (55") 80W×4h · Bluetooth Speaker 15W×4h · Phone Charger (×3) 45W×2h
SCN-06 · 24 hours · needs 4,685Wh
Van Life Daily
A full day of mobile living — the ultimate endurance test
Neither unit
Neither unit covers this scenario's 4,685Wh: the Explorer 1000 v2 gets through about 19% of it and the Explorer 300 about 5%. This is well outside what either unit is for; the right answer here is a larger station, not a choice between these two.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Mini-Fridge 150W×24h · Laptop 60W×4h · Phone Charger 15W×3h · LED Lights 40W×5h · Fan 75W×8h
The Load Test
RUNTIME = (Wh × 0.85) ÷ LOAD
None of the six scenarios above exactly yours? Build it. Toggle what you'd plug in; both units are tested against the combined draw.
Essentials
Comfort & Convenience
High-Draw Appliances
Test duration
8h
Continuous draw
205W
Projected runtime
For this load: Explorer 1000 v2 runs 4.4h vs 1.2h.
$499 list · direct from Jackery
Modeled from the spec record — same math as the tables below. Methodology
Runtime by appliance
Real-world runtime estimates for common appliances, modeled at 85% inverter efficiency.¹
Essentials
The basics you need runningscale 0–60.6hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–12.1hHigh-Draw Appliances
These reveal the real limitsscale 0–0.9h¹ Runtime = (capacity × 0.85) ÷ appliance watts. Within each group, all bars share one time scale (the group's longest runtime), so lengths are comparable across appliances; identical runtimes collapse into a single blue/orange bar. Actual runtime varies with battery age, temperature, and simultaneous loads — see methodology.
Conclusion
August 1, 2026
Verdict: the Explorer 1000 v2, on Power Score margin
Buy the Explorer 1000 v2 at $499 unless you're carrying it on your back. It holds 1,070Wh against 293Wh, runs 1,500W continuous against 300W, and is rated for 4,000 cycles against 500. Because capacity scaled faster than price, the bigger box works out to 47 cents a watt-hour where the small one costs 95. The Explorer 300's problem isn't that it's small, it's that it's small and it isn't cheap: it misses a CPAP night on the label alone (320Wh of demand against a 293Wh battery), its 300W continuous and 500W surge can't start the tailgate load, and it has no UPS switchover rating at all. The 300 earns its place only when 7.1 lbs against 23.8 is the entire decision, or when $279 is genuinely the ceiling on what you can spend.
Editor-assigned confidence, based on cited owner research and spec analysis.
List prices as of August 1, 2026. The links below open Jackery's current price.
$499.00 list · direct from Jackery
or check the Explorer 300 price$279.00 list
Written by Wenny Zheng, Portable Power Tester · Station Arena Test Desk · Updated August 1, 2026
Measured Data
Benchmark scores and the full spec record, side by side.
Benchmark scores
Not rated for both units (minimum threshold unmet): UPS, Home Backup, CPAP, Solar Generator.
Full specifications
ᵈ Derived: price ÷ rated capacity. See the data behind our comparisons →
Comparison ToolAdd more power stations, side by sideOpen Tool →How these numbers are produced
Numeric verification
Every figure on this page traces to our spec database or arithmetic on it — no estimated numbers.
Owner claims
Statements about owner experience are cited to published reviews — see Sources & Research Notes below.
Runtime model
Runtime = (rated capacity × 0.85 inverter efficiency) ÷ device wattage. Solar recharge estimates assume panels deliver 70% of rated output. Cold weather, battery age, and stacked loads reduce real-world results.
Power Score
Computed from 14 published spec dimensions, weighted per use-case bench. Higher is better; a unit must meet a bench's minimum threshold to be rated.
See the full weight table and data sourcing on our methodology page →Class ranking (the star rating)
Each unit's star score is a category ranking, not customer reviews — no buyer opinions feed it. We score every station on size-independent quality (value, output, portability, endurance, ports, warranty, and more), then percentile-rank it against the other units in its capacity class, so a class-leading compact unit and a class-leading whole-home unit can both earn 5★. Here, Explorer 1000 v2 rates 3.8/5 (30th percentile of 24 Everyday-class units), and Explorer 300 rates 3.6/5 (19th percentile of 22 Personal-class units).
How the class ranking is computed →Test Notes & Caveats
Hidden gotchas and advantages we spotted that you won't find on the product page.
Explorer 300: No App Control
Without app control, you have to physically walk to the Explorer 300 to check battery level, adjust settings, or monitor power draw. The Explorer 1000 v2 lets you do all that from your phone, including getting low-battery alerts.
Headroom, not just output
The Explorer 1000 v2 doubles its continuous rating when something demands it, 1,500W to 3,000W. The Explorer 300 goes 300W to 500W, about 1.7 times. That ratio decides whether a compressor or a pump actually spins up instead of tripping the inverter, and it's a gap that no amount of patience closes.
The 20-millisecond difference
The Explorer 1000 v2 hands off from wall power to battery in 20 milliseconds, short enough that a desktop, a modem, or a CPAP never notices the switch. The Explorer 300 carries no switchover rating, which makes it a battery you plug things into rather than one you leave things plugged into. If something in your house resents losing power for half a second, only one of these two is in the running.
Warranty Value Comparison
The Explorer 1000 v2 gives you 10 years of warranty per $1,000 spent, vs the Explorer 300's 7.2 years. That's 1.4× more coverage per dollar. An underrated factor if you're keeping this unit for years.
Cycles, translated into calendars
Four thousand cycles against 500 stays abstract until you put it on a calendar. Used every weekend, the 1000 v2's cells are rated for 38.5 years, which is a rating rather than a forecast: you'll replace that unit for reasons that have nothing to do with its battery. The Explorer 300 on the same weekends is rated for 4.8 years. That's the one you'll actually arrive at.
Full record above — the Test Desk pick is the Explorer 1000 v2.
Check Explorer 1000 v2 price →or check the Explorer 300 priceOwnership Analysis
What happens after you buy — true cost of ownership, brand trust, and growth potential.
Lifetime value
Service lifeyears at one full cycle per day
Lifetime energy delivered
Cost per delivered kWh
│ warranty ends · Reaching the cycle rating means ~80% capacity remains — degraded, not dead.
Analyst note
The Explorer 300 is cheaper to buy, but the Explorer 1000 v2 is cheaper to own. At $0.12/kWh over its lifetime vs $1.19/kWh, the Explorer 1000 v2's higher cycle life and capacity make each dollar go further over the years.
Delivers each lifetime kWh for $1.07 less — check the Explorer 1000 v2 price →
Growth path
Explorer 1000 v2
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 1,070Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 400W of solar. Suitable for a 1-2 panel setup.
Adequate ports for most setups, but heavy users may want a power strip.
Explorer 300
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 293Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 100W of solar. Limited to a single portable panel.
Limited ports. You'll likely need a power strip or splitter.
Realistic full solar rechargeat 70% of rated panel output — see methodology
Analyst note
Neither expands, and that's no knock on either — each is a complete unit at a fixed size. Buy the capacity that covers your needs now (the Explorer 1000 v2 gives you the larger ceiling); you can't add to either later.
What Owners Report
Patterns from published owner reports and long-term reviews — every claim cited to its source below.
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2
Reviewers converge on the same summary for the 1000 v2, and it's boring in the best way: light for its class at 23.8 lbsA1, quiet, and rated for 4,000 LFP cycles where the original model ran lithium-ionA2. Charging is the standout. Multiple reviews clock it from empty to full in roughly 60 to 65 minutes using the app's emergency charge modeA3, which is fast enough that forgetting to charge it stops being a scenario.
The consistent criticism is the one number it can't hide. Reviewers who call it among the strongest mid-size units of 2026 name 1,500W continuous as its ceiling in the same breathA4. If your list includes something that draws more than 1,500W, that's the spec that sends you up a class, and nothing else on this page will save you.
“At just 23.8 lbs it's easy to lift and carry — light for a 1kWh-class unit.”
Sources
backuppowerhub.com · outdoortechlab.com · rvoutfitting.com · thesolarlab.com · amusthavething.com
Jackery Explorer 300
Field reports on the small Jackery are warm and consistent about the same thing: it does small jobs without drama. One owner ran phones, a speaker, a fan, and an air mattress across a camping trip and described it as easy, light, and quietB3. Another kept a rotation of small electronics topped up for about two weeks before it needed a chargeB4. Nothing in that record fights the specs. It's a competent little box for small loads.
Read those reviews with one eye on which unit they're reviewing. Much of the current coverage describes Jackery's newer 300-series revision, quoted at 288Wh on LFP with 3,000-plus cycles and 8.27 lbsB1B2, while the unit specced on this listing is rated for 500 cycles at 7.1 lbs. That difference is the entire longevity argument. Buy against the cycle rating on the listing in front of you, not the one in the review you happened to read.
“288Wh capacity with 300W output on LiFePO4 chemistry rated for 3,000+ cycles — over a decade of daily use, a major upgrade from the older lithium-ion Explorer 300 (500 cycles).”
Sources
powerstationlab.com · batteryskills.com · voltagebasics.com · rv.com · bestbuy.com
Sources & Research Notes
Every owner claim in this report is traceable to a published source. The bracketed references above resolve here.
Recurring owner themes
- Light weight, fast ~1-hour charging, quiet operation, and a 4,000-cycle LFP battery make it a well-balanced value favorite; the main limit is 1,500W output. [Explorer 1000 v2 · 3 entries]
- Light weight, LFP 3,000-cycle longevity, quiet operation, and easy portability are the consistent praise for this small unit. [Explorer 300 · 3 entries]
- A1
“At just 23.8 lbs it's easy to lift and carry — light for a 1kWh-class unit.”
backuppowerhub.com / outdoortechlab.com — Explorer 1000 v2 review · 2026 · [positive]
- A2
“Moves to LiFePO4 chemistry rated for 4,000 charge cycles before capacity drops, dramatically increasing lifespan over the original lithium-ion model.”
backuppowerhub.com / rvoutfitting.com — Explorer 1000 v2 review · 2026 · [positive]
- A3
“Fast AC charging — consistently reached 100% in about 60-65 minutes from empty via the app's emergency charge mode, a big improvement over the original's long wait.”
thesolarlab.com / outdoortechlab.com — Explorer 1000 v2 review · 2026 · [positive]
- A4
“One of the strongest mid-size portable power stations of 2026, striking an excellent balance of portability, fast charging, quiet operation, and long-term battery reliability; pushes 1,500W continuous with a 3,000W surge.”
backuppowerhub.com / amusthavething.com — Explorer 1000 v2 review · 2026 · [positive]
- B1
“288Wh capacity with 300W output on LiFePO4 chemistry rated for 3,000+ cycles — over a decade of daily use, a major upgrade from the older lithium-ion Explorer 300 (500 cycles).”
powerstationlab.com / batteryskills.com — Explorer 300 Plus review · 2026 · [positive]
- B2
“Weighs just 8.27 lbs — slightly lighter and smaller than previous models, ideal for backpackers and portability-focused users.”
voltagebasics.com / rv.com — Explorer 300 Plus review · 2026 · [positive]
- B3
“One owner powered phones, a speaker, a fan, and an air mattress on a camping trip with no issues, calling it super easy to use, lightweight, and quiet.”
bestbuy.com owner reviews — Explorer 300 Plus · 2026 · [positive]
- B4
“Another owner recharged multiple electronics daily and ran small-wattage devices for about two weeks before reaching a low charge.”
bestbuy.com owner reviews — Explorer 300 Plus · 2026 · [positive]
Research compiled August 1, 2026.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the Explorer 1000 v2 if you…
- →You want one box that covers a CPAP night and a tailgate afternoon without doing capacity math each time. At 1,070Wh and 1,500W it covers both; the Explorer 300 covers neither.
- →There's a desktop, a modem, or a medical device in the house that shouldn't notice a flicker. Only the 1000 v2 has a switchover rating.
- →You expect to still own this in a decade. At 4,000 cycles it's rated for 11 years of daily use, and the warranty runs five.
Buy the Explorer 300 if you…
- →You're carrying it, not driving it. 7.1 lbs rides in a pack or a pannier and 23.8 lbs doesn't, and that alone is reason enough to accept everything else on this page.
- →Your entire list is phones, a camera, a fan, a light, and a laptop charging slowly, a handful of weekends a year. The 300 does that cleanly, and the extra 777Wh you'd be paying for would sit unused.
- →$279 is the real ceiling on this purchase. Owning a unit that fits the budget beats owning none, and the 300 is competent at small loads.
If neither fits
If an outage is why you're shopping, close both tabs. The eight-hour blackout scenario wants 1,645Wh and full-time van life wants 4,685Wh, against 1,070Wh in the larger of these two, and neither unit expands, so there's no growing into it later. Look at the 2,000Wh-and-up class or something that takes expansion batteries. Buying the 1000 v2 for whole-house backup means buying twice.
The Bottom Line
Take the Explorer 1000 v2. Twenty-nine times the lifetime energy for 1.8 times the price settles it on paper, and the actual evenings line up the same way: it finishes a CPAP night, it starts a tailgate load, and it holds a desktop up through a flicker. The Explorer 300 does none of the three.
The 300 keeps one honest claim and it deserves respect. At 7.1 lbs it goes places the 23.8 lb unit won't, and if you truly are carrying your power station, that outranks everything above it. If you're not carrying it, and most people aren't, you're spending $279 to own the smaller, slower, shorter-lived box. Buy the 1000 v2 and stop thinking about it for a decade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
Is the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 worth $220 more than the Explorer 300?
Yes, unless weight is the whole decision. That $220 buys 777Wh more battery, five times the continuous output, and eight times the rated cycle life, which lands the bigger unit at a lower price per watt-hour than the cheaper one charges. The only clean case for the 300 is carrying it any real distance.
Can the Jackery Explorer 300 run a CPAP all night?
No. A full CPAP night comes to 320Wh and the Explorer 300 is rated at 293Wh, and no inverter gives you 100% of a battery. It lands at 128% of what it can actually deliver, so it quits before morning. The Explorer 1000 v2 finishes the same night having spent about 35% of its usable capacity.
How much lighter is the Jackery Explorer 300?
16.7 lbs lighter: 7.1 lbs against 23.8 lbs, so about a third the weight. That's the difference between slinging it into a pack and setting it down with both hands. Reviewers still describe the 1000 v2 as light for a 1kWh-class unit, so this is portable against very portable, not portable against heavy.
Does the Jackery Explorer 300 work as a UPS?
No. It carries no switchover rating, so it isn't the unit to leave a desktop or a modem plugged into. The Explorer 1000 v2 switches over in 20 milliseconds, quick enough that most electronics never register the handoff.
How long will each of these last before the battery wears out?
The Explorer 1000 v2 is rated for 4,000 cycles, which is 11 years of daily cycling. The Explorer 300 is rated for 500 cycles, or about 1.4 years on the same schedule. Weekend-only use stretches both, but it doesn't change the ratio between them, and that ratio is what should decide this rather than the sticker.
Where to buy
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2Pick
$499.00
$499.00 list · direct from Jackery
Jackery Explorer 300
$279.00
$279.00 list · direct from Jackery
Prices may vary by retailer and are subject to change.