Almost a year ago, we were searching for a better way to charge our electrical units.  We power an IceCo 75L Fridge/Freezer (Dual Zone), multiple accessories (phones, cameras, lights, etc.) and also need a portable unit as a backup unit to our hardwired secondary battery on our FJ (just in case something weird happens).  We cannot do without or go without any of these items as we only carry with us the items necessary for our travel.

Yet, in the past, we have had horrible issues with what we were using to keep these devices running.  When I built the FJ, I was getting low on funds, so I decided that one thing I could get away with spending less money on, was a lithium battery.  I shopped around on eBay and Amazon was found a 100 Ah lithium battery for less than half the price of normal name brand lithium batteries.  I was assuming that they were like the rest of the items in the Overlanding world.  The assumed fact that they all came from the same factory, they just had different names and brands stamped on them.   Well, you know what happens when we assume?

To backup that generic battery system, I invested in several different portable units to power different things and to be a backup of the hard-wired system.  On Black Friday, I could not pass up a deal on a Jackery 1000 on Amazon.  It was almost half price!  I fell for it hook, line, and sinker and a week or so later, we had the biggest boat anchor I could have wasted $600 on.  I sold that and graduated to a different unit, the EcoFlow River with the added battery.  It just couldn’t keep up and wouldn’t do what we needed it to do.

I was scrolling through social media and found this company I had never heard of, Expion360.  I took a gander and checked their website out.  I love what they say right on the very front page, “Lithium battery technology has come a long way in the last decade—Expion360 is taking it further. Our best-in-class batteries are designed and engineered in-house with premium lithium iron phosphate cells while ensuring quality controls at every step. We stand by our batteries with an industry-leading 12-year warranty and support your needs with custom mounting kits and accessories to power the pursuit.”  A 12-year warranty?  That is unheard of as far as I know.  I have never heard of it.  I reached out to them, told them what I needed, what I do, and next thing I knew I was waiting for a product to arrive in the mail.  The customer service was impressive and it made me feel as if the product would be as well.  Some of the other companies I had reached out to wouldn’t even respond to an email.  I talked to someone the very day I sent this one.  That was impressive for today’s standards.

What I decided to go with was the Aura Powercap System.  I really liked this setup as it bolts directly to an actual lithium battery.  It is not a bunch of small cells hidden in a nice plastic case.  It is a power bank that bolts directly to a battery.  In my mind, that would be so much more effective and efficient than anything I had ever experienced and used.  A few days, a couple packages arrived in the mail and the unboxing process began.

My new system, the 80Ah Group 24 LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery and the Aura Powercap 600W Inverter, seemed right off the bat as if it was made with great quality.  It is nice to see things that someone has put a lot of thought into and tested to see if people who live this lifestyle will love and actually use.

The bundle I received is described as the following on the www.expion360.com website.  “This bundle is engineered to fuel your adventurous lifestyle! Our e360 LiFePO4 battery chemistry ensures reliable power where ever the path or road may lead you. Coupled with the Aura Powercap 600W pure sine wave inverter, this system allows you to power your 120V AC appliances and sensitive electronics with ease. The 12 Volt 10 Amp power port allows you to run lighting, coolers, fans, and other 12V appliances. The one PD, one USB-C, and two USB-A charge ports provide ample charging options for your smartphones, cameras, tablets, drones, and other portable electronic devices.”  I was excited and plugged it in to begin charging as soon as the top was connected to the battery (charger was included).

Since that day, we have taken the Aura Powercap on multiple adventures (18 states and 2 Canadian Provinces) and over 9,000 miles of travel.  It has powered our fridge in our Subaru as well as many other devices as needed.  Here are the following things I have noticed in my travels and using this device on a daily basis.

Pros

1. I do love how easy it is to connect the Aura Powercap to the battery. It fits perfectly.  2 bolts and it is done.
2. The E360 Portable Solar Panel Kit keeps the battery at its current level or above when charging. When we were using the Powercap to run the fridge, and had it charging with the solar panel, the solar panel did a great job at keeping the Powercap charged up.  It is a good quality solar panel.
3. The charging capability of the Aura Powercap has lasted much longer (days longer) running items (such as a fridge, diesel heater and accessories) than anything I have ever used before.
4. The Powercap and lithium battery worked well in sub-freezing temperatures. I know there are many that say that lithium does not perform well in extreme cold or heat, but I have not had that issue with this unit.
5. There is an onboard fan that will keep the Powercap cooled off during heat. This was really nice when we had to leave the unit in the vehicle during the heat of the day running the fridge. I did not have to worry about it overheating.

Cons

1. I do not like the rubber covers that are on top of the bolts where it connects to the battery. This is a portable unit and gets moved around a lot.  The covers get hung things and are not connected to be unit very well.  They are constantly coming off.  I don’t doubt one of these will be lost soon.
2. It takes much longer to charge this unit that other units I have had in the past. Now I understand that charging a regular lithium battery may be the issue, and you have to deal with this in order to get the longer charging capability out of it, so this may be a tradeoff, but it is still an issue if you need to get a charge on it quickly.
3. The Powercap does not have an inverter built into it. You cannot charge it going down the road via cigarette lighter, so you have to have in inverter or something else that can convert 12v to 110.  It was a hassle for us when traveling as our vehicle does not have an inverter to keep it charged, so therefore we could only charge the unit while we were parked via 110 or solar.
4. It is pretty heavy. With both the Powercap and a 100 Ah lithium battery, it does make for a much heavier unit than the others I have used.
5. The display on the Powercap is glass and small. We had an issue where ours was damaged and broken.  It took a pretty hard fall out of the back of the car.  I got in touch with customer service and they replaced the unit under warranty.  Another star for customer service.  The display in kind of on the small side so I have to wear my glasses to see what in the world it is doing.

Conclusion

This unit has done exactly what we have needed and expected it to do for us.  We expect it to keep our gear running for several days between charging and it does that.  It is not completely perfect for what we do in life, but it checks most of the boxes.  I believe if I had to do it all over again, seeing all the competition out there of charging stations, I would purchase this unit again.  It has met all my expectations up to this point and do not see it dying out or getting weaker any time soon.

The other big bonus is the multiple times I have contacted the customer service department and have been extremely pleased each time.  They have helped me pick out the unit I needed for what we do, have replaced items, and have answered my questions each time.  I am overly pleased with all of my interactions with everyone there.

There are so many different units you can get on the market today. I have no doubt that, if you are reading this, you have had at least one or two that you have already purchased.  It is hard to find exactly what you need and something that performs flawlessly.  I have always thought that if you want to be let down today, just let everything you do depend on electricity and electronics.  They will sure do it.  Just do your research, ask questions and see if you are able to buy once cry once when it comes to keeping your gear charged.  That did not happen to me, but I believe I won’t be crying again.