Soon after my article of the EcoFlow RIVER Pro portable power station, the company got in touch to see if I’d be up for a bigger challenge—quite literally. That particular venture is still in the works but then EcoFlow decided to go join the LiFePO4 club with the all new RIVER 2 series. This time I opted to cover the baby of the lineup, simply titled RIVER 2, thanks again to EcoFlow for providing a sample to TechPowerUp!
EcoFlow has two product lines of portable power stations split into the so-called DELTA and RIVER series. The DELTA series accommodates the larger, less portable units, and the RIVER series is far smaller in size. The RIVER 2 series is a recent release that shifts away from Li-ion batteries in favor of the newer LiFePO4 batteries that allow for much greater longevity, and I’d urge you to go over this article for more details on the chemistry involved, explaining why the RIVER 2 series is already a great update. There are three entries in the RIVER 2 line ranging in size, capacity, and feature set, going from this RIVER 2 with 256 Wh and 300 W output all the way to the RIVER 2 Pro at 768 Wh and 800 W output. The RIVER 2 continues the EcoFlow trend of offering internet connectivity and a mobile app, to make these far more user friendly on the go. Oh, and did I mention the part where it only weighs 3.5 kg to make it far easier to pick up and take with you?
Unboxing and Closer Examination
EcoFlow operates a web shop in the various regions it has a presence, including the UK and mainland Europe, which is where this sample shipped from and also why I inadvertently ended up with an EU model. It ships in a thick cardboard box with appropriate warnings as to the battery inside. Open this shipping box to see this is also the product box, surprisingly enough! There is a thick foam sheet machined to fit over the power station, with smaller cutouts on the sides to help remove it. The power station itself is placed on another foam sheet for further protection, with the various accessories placed above it (paperwork) or to the side in a separate compartment. EcoFlow includes a reminder to use the accompanying app, which we will get to soon enough. There is also a handy quick-start guide, (online copy here), and two charging cables in the form of an AC mains power adapter cable as well as a male XT60 to car charger outlet cable. There is no solar panel compatible cable provided here!
EcoFlow’s RIVER series is for on-the-go auxiliary power, with this RIVER 2 being the smallest entry in the new RIVER 2 series, as previously mentioned. It has a battery capacity of 256 Wh and output of 300 W (360 W max) to make it an update for both the RIVER Mini and RIVER units from before. The power station takes up 24.5 x 21.5 x 14 cm of space and weighs 3.5 kg, to where it’s a weird in-between product considering power banks on one side and larger power stations on the other. The feature set is closer to the latter thus, at least with this model, making it a portable power station after all. The front houses an LCD display without touch controls, which is about par the course for such devices, as it is only useful indoors or in cloudy external conditions—good luck making anything out in direct sunlight. The display is large and clear enough to do its job of showing various status indicators, some of which we will see soon. The left side has a single car charger outlet connector (12.6 V, 8 A for 100 W max) with a dedicated DC charging on/off button underneath. Underneath the display is an indicator LED, the power button, and three USB ports—two Type-A (5 V, 2.4 A for 12 W max) and one Type-C (5/9/12/15/20 V, 3 A for 60 W max) that also doubles up to charge the RIVER 2 in addition to being a power output. On the right will be the AC outputs, which on this EU model had a single connector that I had to use an adapter with for my UK appliances. The US model should have one 3-prong and one 2-prong outlet, and all models will have a dedicated AC charging on/off button below.
There is an integrated handle on the top that extends further on the back to make it fairly oversized and easy to carry the RIVER 2 by. The power stations employs a gray and black color scheme to the plastic exterior and there isn’t much to see on the sides. The bottom has four rubber pads for additional grip; not that this unit will move anywhere by itself.
Inputs are kept to the back thus also aiding in cable management. This includes the AC mains input to the left and the XT60 input on the other side of the cooling vent. Notice the fan behind the vents here as well as the lack of any latch cover over the charging inputs, as we saw on the RIVER Pro before.
Performance Testing
Charging the unit can happen in multiple ways including the two on the back or the Type-C input on the front. The XT60 connector also allows you to use car charging from the provided cable, or you can purchase an optional solar panel cable to use with a compatible solar panel such as this one. The RIVER 2 does not come with said cable, although the RIVER Pro did, and I had no problem using my own solar panel to easily charge the unit. Turning on the power station is as simple as pressing down and holding the power button on the front, at which time the LCD display and indicator LED both turn on. Don’t be alarmed if you see the display looking strange after removing the plastic sticker on top, it will automatically refresh and appear normal within seconds. The display comes in handy to give you a visual look at the current status of the RIVER 2, including run/charging time, the current battery level, as well as the various active input and output connections. There are additional symbols to denote the power station being connected online to the app, any alarms ongoing, or even the internal fan running during AC charging/discharging—audible but not unpleasant. Finally, the display also shows if there is any firmware update in progress, as seen in the final image above.
What makes the EcoFlow RIVER 2 all the more exciting is the aforementioned IoT connectivity and support from a first-party mobile app, available for free on the Google Play Store and iOS app store. Reviews are middling at best, with most complaints talking about connection issues for other units that I have not experienced myself, or with the older RIVER Pro. The app relies on your mobile device seeing the RIVER 2 via Bluetooth before asking you to provide your own WiFi internet credentials to the power station.
Once connected, the WiFi indicator will pop up on the screen as well and the app is fairly straightforward in allowing status indicators at a glance, in addition to controlling the various outputs and inputs. Not pictured in the GIF above is a time chart for charging and discharging power levels, which shows how long the various charging inputs have been on for and how efficiently at that—quite handy for solar charging should you need to see whether to move portable solar panels around to better face the sun. The connection is over WiFi, so you can theoretically monitor the power station from a good distance away, which is handily paired with pre-set alarms that will pop up as notifications. The settings menu has plenty of other options, some of which are shown here. In particular, I appreciated the ability to set the maximum charge level, which can be useful even on this LiFePO4-based battery unit that is good for 80%+ capacity after 3000 cycles compared to the Li-ion RIVER Pro, which only had this 80% rating for the first 800 cycles. As such, you can be rest assured about using the RIVER 2 daily for years at a time, and this is also why EcoFlow has increased the warranty period to five years on the RIVER 2 lineup from the two years previously offered. You can also select the maximum charging levels in each mode, limit the output as deemed necessary, and have firmware updates done to the unit that can add more features or resolve any bugs typically seen early in the product life cycle. This app removes the need for an onboard menu with touch screen or navigation buttons, keeping the unit physically smaller and providing more customization, control, and monitoring—a very useful selling point in itself.
Despite the smaller size of the unit, I did appreciate the Type-C charging when pairing the RIVER 2 with the Ugreen Nexode GaN 140 W wall charger. Indeed, it’s a weird cycle whereby you could use the two in different charge/discharge cycles easily to power the RIVER 2, take them both along for a weekend trip, then charge your phone/laptop/any other Type-C device easily. There is enough juice from the power station, especially with the boost mode allowing the max output to go from 300 W to 360 W when needed, to be a decent camping partner. It’s otherwise not going to compete favorably with larger power stations and is far more restricted as a home device.