About Gear Lab

Who We Are

Gear Lab started in a garage in Portland with one question: Why is every power station review either a press release or a spec sheet?

We're a small team of engineers, campers, and chronic over-preparers who got tired of sifting through marketing fluff to figure out which power station actually works. So we started buying them, running them into the ground, and writing down what happened.

How We Test

We buy the products. Every unit in our guides was purchased at retail price — no freebies, no sponsored units, no "review samples" that were hand-picked by the brand. If a company wants to send us something, we buy it anonymously through Amazon like everyone else.

We run real tests. Not just "we turned it on and it worked." We measure:

Actual usable capacity vs. advertised capacity
Charge cycle efficiency over 50+ cycles
Inverter efficiency under varying loads
Surge handling with real appliances (fridges, microwaves, power tools)
Solar charging speeds in actual sunlight conditions
Noise levels at different loads

We break things. If a power station has a weakness, we find it. Overload protection that trips too early? We document it. App that disconnects every 10 minutes? We mention it. Warranty process that's a nightmare? We warn you.

Our Testing Setup

Load bank: 0-3000W programmable load tester
Environmental chamber: -10°C to 50°C for temperature stress tests
Solar array: 400W of mixed panels (fixed + portable) for solar input testing
Data logger: Continuous voltage/current/temperature logging over 72-hour runs
Sound meter: Class 2 decibel meter for noise testing

Our Review Policy

No sponsored reviews. If we didn't pay for it, we don't review it.
No affiliate program influence. Our top picks change when better products come out — not when commission rates change.
Update or kill. If a product we recommended goes downhill (new revision, price hike, quality drop), we update the review or remove the recommendation. Our "Best of 2026" guides are living documents, not set-it-and-forget-it lists.
Reader corrections welcome. If we got a spec wrong, tell us. We fix it within 48 hours.

Affiliate Disclosure

Gear Lab is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. This doesn't influence what we recommend — our top picks are based on test results, not commission rates. We disclose affiliate relationships transparently in every article.

Contact Us

Email: hello@gearlab.space
Correction submissions: corrections@gearlab.space (we read every one)

Want Us to Test Something?

Got a power station you think we missed? Email us with the model name and why it deserves a spot in our testing queue. We add 2-3 new products to our pipeline every month.