Jackery Explorer 100 review: This is one of the first items I'll be packing when I go camping this year

I'm sure I'm not the only one that likes to take a bit of technology with me when I go for a holiday in the great outdoors.

Smartphone, tablet, camera, drone, sometimes even a laptop, all come with me to help me capture memories and stay in touch with friends and family.

But keeping all this powered is a bit of a challenge when you're out in the open with just a tent and the British weather around you.

One of the bits of tech I do rely on to help with this is a power bank I've been using for years. It has a chunky 10,000mAh battery and can charge my phone up a couple of times.

But there are a couple of problems. Firstly, when it runs out of battery, that's it. Game over. Secondly, it only has a limited power output. So it's not man enough to charge my laptop, for example.

And then Jackery asked me if I'd like to test its new Explorer 100 Plus Portable Power Station. At first glance it just looks like a very cute version of some of Jackery's range of big power stations, but then I read the specs.

The first one that caught my eye was the size of the battery. It's a 99Wh LiFePO4 battery, equivalent to 31,000mAh - which is three times the capacity of my old power bank. And, while the Jackery is quite a chunky little unit by comparison, it's by no means three times the size.

The next feature that leapt out was the ability to pump out 100W PD charging. This stands for USB-Power Delivery and it's quickly become the industry standard in terms of fast-charging technology. Most modern laptops will need this.

Jackery reckons all this power can charge a 16" MacBook Air in six hours, charge an iPad Pro twice over, or top up the average smartphone five or six times over.

A set of AirPods, for example, which charge at just two watts, could be charged up 99 times on one single charge of the Jackery.

The Explorer 100 Plus charges up the way any other power bank would, through a USB port. It takes around four hours to charge the unit up completely, because it doesn't have a particularly large USB-C input. But if you were to hook it up to one of Jackery's 100W SolarSaga panels, providing the weather was on your side, you could charge it up completely in two hours.

To help me test out its solar charging capability Jackery sent me their compact 40W panel. It's small enough to fold away into a backpack and, even when it's spread out, it wouldn't take up a lot of room on a picnic table.

But it can pump in a fairly reliable feed to the Explorer 100 Plus. I've never quite managed to hit the full 40 watts, but that's the case with all folding panels. Don't expect to get full power, especially in the UK.

That said, it's certainly worth looking into getting a panel, especially if you plan to spend time off grid, because it will extend the amount of charge you can give your gadgets. You could theoretically run things indefinitely if you're blessed with enough sunshine.

The panel comes with Jackery's own round output plug, but an adaptor is included to convert this to USB-C. This means you could, in theory, power gadgets directly from the panel.

It's better, though, to charge up the Explorer unit and then connect that to your gadget. This way the current is regulated and although you'll get a tiny bit of current loss through the conversion, it'll be consistently keeping you topped up.

To help you stay in control of the inputs and outputs, Jackery has handily included a miniature version of its LED displays on the front of the unit.

Above the three USB sockets is a small screen which gives you a large central number displaying the percentage of battery remaining, and then an input wattage and output wattage on either side.

Beneath these, in fairly small writing, is an estimated time. So if your phone is pulling, say, 20 watts, you don't have to do some mental gymnastics to work out how long the Jackery can continue charging for. It's all worked out for you. The screen is rather dim though, especially when the sun's out.

This is quite an unusual feature in a power bank of this size. Especially to get that level of detail. Getting three USB ports (two USB-C and one USB-A) is a lot less unusual. And it does make me think about a close competitor of the Explorer 100 Plus, the Anker Prime 27,650mAh power bank.

This is a different shape, but more compact and a bit easier to carry. It also has the same socket layout, and only a slightly smaller battery capacity. It also has a higher output power and a better input capacity.

But then Jackery plays its trump card. While the Anker power bank costs £179.99, the Jackery Explorer 100 Plus costs just £139.99. And that's before you factor in a seasonal sale on at the moment that brings the price down to £89.

The 40w SolarSaga Mini panel costs a fairly prohibitive £129, which is a shame, but it's honestly such a useful thing to have. And there is a deal on ahead of Prime Day, bringing the cost down to a more reasonable £103.20.

Even just using the Explorer on its own though, without the solar, it's got more than enough power to keep your tech topped up over a weekend or even longer.

And it's small enough to fit comfortably into a day bag, and light enough to lug around for long periods.

It might be the smallest product in the Jackery Explorer range, but it certainly still packs a punch. And if you can get it for the sale price, it's one of the cheapest power banks on the market.

It might have a few limitations, and it's a shame the solar panel is so pricey, but I do absolutely love it.