Power and comfort

Camping Power and Comfort Gear

Portable power stations, tent fans, heaters and solar panels, compared on usable watt-hours, continuous output, recharge time and noise, with runtime worked out for the things people actually run: CPAP machines, 12V fridges, fans and phones.

  • Usable capacity
  • Continuous output
  • Recharge time
  • Noise
  • Ports
What size power station do I need for camping?

Add up the watt-hours you use per night. A CPAP without humidifier draws roughly 30 to 60Wh per hour, a 12V fridge 20 to 40Wh, and a phone charge about 15Wh. Two nights of CPAP plus a fridge lands near 500 to 700Wh, so buy 700Wh to 1kWh for headroom.

Skip the reading:Run a CPAP12V fridgeQuiet tent fanSolar panel
  • 70 products compared
  • 5 specs tracked
  • Data updated Sep 2026

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What we measure in camping power and comfort gear

Capacity on the box is cell capacity. What you get through an inverter is noticeably less, and that gap is exactly where people run out of power at 3am.

  • Usable capacityWatt-hours after inverter losses, not the headline cell figure.
  • Continuous outputWhat it will genuinely run, and what trips the inverter.
  • Recharge timeFrom mains, car and solar, at realistic panel output rather than rated.
  • NoiseFan noise under load, which matters a great deal at 2am inside a tent.
  • PortsAC, USB-C PD and 12V, and whether pass-through charging works.

Power and Comfort Finder

Answer four quick questions and we match you against every product in the power and comfort database, then explain each pick and what it gets wrong.

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Camping Power and Comfort Gear: common questions

What size power station do I need for camping?

Add up the watt-hours you use per night. A CPAP without humidifier draws roughly 30 to 60Wh per hour, a 12V fridge 20 to 40Wh, and a phone charge about 15Wh. Two nights of CPAP plus a fridge lands near 500 to 700Wh, so buy 700Wh to 1kWh for headroom.

Can a power station run a CPAP all night?

Most can, if you switch the humidifier and heated hose off, because humidification can triple the draw. A 500Wh station typically covers two nights of unheated CPAP use, or about one with humidification. Using the DC output instead of the AC inverter saves a further 10 to 20%.

Are tent heaters safe?

Only heaters designed for enclosed spaces, with a tip-over switch and an oxygen depletion sensor, and even then you need ventilation and a carbon monoxide alarm. Electric heaters avoid combustion entirely but need mains hookup or a large power station to run for long.

How long do solar panels take to recharge a power station?

Divide capacity by realistic panel output, which is about 60 to 70% of the rated figure. A 100W panel gives roughly 60 to 70W in good sun, so a 500Wh station needs seven to eight hours of strong daylight. Two panels roughly halve that.