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EcoFlow RIVER Mini – Review by a Mom

- by MacKenzie Stone

The EcoFlow RIVER Mini is a perfectly size battery that can handle the average emergency for most moms out there. This is not your regular battery that you keep in your purse to charge your cell phone at the kids’ soccer game.

The EcoFlow RIVER Mini is a powerful 210 W battery that weighs about 6 pounds. But what makes us even more unique is it has actual plugs on it, so not only cannot handle the average USB device, but you can plug-in small devices during a blackout too.

I am not going to get technical in terms of how many watts it can handle and how much such and such exactly it charges, but I can tell you that it can actually handle most of the average devices I tested on it. My laptop, my hot tea maker, and just for fun, I plugged in my Amazon Echo.

In addition, it has the usual USB and USB C ports as well as a Qi wireless charger on top

When would I need a battery like this?

This is perfect for that average blackout that seems to happen two to three times a year. It’s not going to run your fridge or your microwave, but it will run enough of your devices to keep you moving and flowing for at least a few hours. It’s super-advanced and even has a countdown clock, so you could see how quickly things are running down.

How technical is it?

What I loved about the EcoFlow RIVER Mini is as technical or not technical as you would like. That is to say, if you are a nontechnical mom like me, you could just plug things in, and it’s running. The device’s feedback is quite instant and very easy to use. However, if you are more of a technical person like my husband, the app gives even more data and will even tell you things that the power drain on every item. He was in there playing with something that allowed it to boost the power so that he could plug-in even more intense electronics into it

Overall

Overall I found the EcoFlow RIVER Mini to be a really welcome device to the household. It’s super lightweight and only six pounds. It’s also useful to bring in for anything like camping trips or the such. Having it as an emergency backup in the house needs it even more useful.

This is definitely not for the next hurricane Sandy type of situation but is perfect for either that short-term power outage or really anything that you’re going temporary off-grid. I can easily see you using this to not only charge my phones and such but also at the next football game in the fall where I can use this to heat up a cup of tea while sitting in the cold. I could use this to easily build my own little camping base while being forced to watch the kids’ latest football game.

MacKenzie Stone