iTel Power Tank vs Cola Solar 1000 Plus: Full Comparison & Honest Verdict

iTel Power Tank vs Cola Solar 1000 Plus: Full Comparison & Honest Verdict

A few minutes ago, I sat here and reviewed the Kolasola 1000 Plus power station. And you guys asked me to compare it with the Itel Power Tank, so you guys know the one that gives you the best value for your money.

They both have the same 1000 watt-hours in terms of the battery, right? For the output, they both have 500 watts. They’re both LiFePO4 batteries, and the prices are very much similar.

Well, since you guys asked for a head-to-head comparison, this is it over here. Now, on paper, these two devices look identical. They’re like identical twins with just probably different packaging and all. So, they are both targeting the exact same audience.

If you’re a content creator like myself, you’re a developer, you’re a student, a small business owner, a work-from-home person, right, and you don’t want to keep on buying 1000, 2000, 5000 naira fuel every single day, but yet, you don’t have up to 3 million or 2 million for a full solar setup, you guys are their target audience.

So, I’ve spent a few days testing both of them with identical loads, you know, good fuel simulation and the whole works. And I’m here to tell you that what happens on the spec sheet of these power tanks is not what really happens in real life, I would say, when you’re using it.

Today, we’re going to settle the debate. We’re going port for port. [laughter] Okay, the AC ports are over here. So, yes, we are going port for port, watt for watt. I’m going to run live bench tests.

So, by the end of this 20-minute masterclass, you will know exactly which one deserves your hard-earned money.

First things first, let’s talk about the unboxing experience, because right out of the gate, these two companies are telling you exactly who they think their customer is.

The Itel Power Tank comes packaged like a premium smartphone device. Glossy box, neatly bundled accessory pouches, a very slick presentation. Inside, you get the power tank itself, a standard AC charging cable, MC4 solar data cable, and a polished user manual.

For the Kolasola 1000 Plus, they don’t care about unboxing aesthetics. It comes in a thick industrial cardboard box suspended in massive blocks of high-density Styrofoam. No tissue paper, no fancy pouches, just practical protection. You get the heavy unit, the manual, an AC charging cable, and the heavy-duty XT90 to solar connector cable.

Now, look at these included accessories. The Itel gives you the standard MC4 connectors. They are actually very fine, right? They do the job. But the Kolasola gives you this XT90 cable. In case you don’t know, XT90s are professional-grade high-amperage connectors used in serious off-grid setups.

It is a chunky T-gauge wire designed not to melt under heavy current. This immediately tells you that this machine was built for heavy lifting.

We are done with the unboxing experience. Let’s talk about the build quality and also the design, because these two do not look anything alike.

Let’s start with physical hardware because we are going to be living with either of these boxes for about 5 to even 10 years.

So, on my left here, the Itel Power Tank, right? They focus more on this kind of desktop aesthetics. It has this built-in carry top, so you can just carry it around anywhere.

Let me carry this. This is actually very heavy. And it integrates a hybrid inverter, a battery, and an MPPT solar controller into this very box.

So, this weighs around 10 kg. 10 kg. I suppose they go to the gym on the regular, but [clears throat] real? Let’s drop this.

So, this looks more like it was built for a smart home. Now, here is the Kolasola 1000 Plus.

First of all, it weighs 9.5 kg, so about 0.5 kg lighter than the Itel Power Tank, right?

And now, when it comes to the design, do you guys remember when we were in primary school? Those lunch boxes. Be honest. Do you guys remember? Let me know in the comment section. This reminds me of it.

Because look at the handle. It’s just inside, right? Unlike this one that comes out. So, the handle is inside, and you can just lift it.

And when it comes to the color, I actually think I love the color of this. But somehow, based on how this handle is, I prefer this.

Now, when I try to move both of them, this felt more comfortable moving around. Okay, because if I probably go for camping or go out for picnic or something, I have to just pick one and go with it, you understand?

So, in terms of how it looks, right, I would go for the lunch box. [laughter] Remember, this is subjective because of how it looks, right?

Now, let’s move to the display. As you can see, Itel has this display that shows you the battery percentage, right? However, this does not have it. Now, it has this 4 LED light indicator.

Now, when it comes to this LED light indicator, I do not really like this. Let’s say it shows three bars. You’re guessing, is this 75% or is this 60% or is this 51%? You are not so sure. You understand?

But with this, as you can see, this is 75% showing here. I don’t know if you guys can see it, right? It is 75% showing currently when I’m making this video. But right here, it is showing just one bar. Okay, so I don’t know how many percent this is, you understand?

And when it comes to the display, I would actually go for this because I can tell the percentage. It’s just like our normal phone battery, right?

But now, there is one downside to both of them. They don’t tell you how many watts you consume. Okay, because they both have 500 watts max output. So, they should always tell you, “Oh, I’m consuming currently 200 W. I’m currently consuming 100 W,” and the rest of them.

So that you know, “Oh, this is already 400 W. You don’t want to max it so that this does not trip off.”

So, whichever one you’re going for between both of them, you still need to get this external watts calculator. This has been helping me check, “Okay, hope I am not overloading either of these power tanks.”

And I’m actually selling this at a very affordable price, just 50,000 naira. This is my WhatsApp number right here. So, you can just get yours. Once you plug it here, it just shows you, “Oh, this is 100 W, 200 W or 300 W.” So, you do not go above it and make either of these power tanks trip off.

Now, when it comes to the display, or let’s call it the body build and the display, they’re both tied. No, that won’t be fair. Itel takes one because of this LED indicator, that battery percentage, right? Unlike this, where we have to be guessing.

But when it comes to moving around, I actually love this. Okay, so it’s more like a tie on both ends, you understand?

Now, let’s talk about the heart of the system, which is the battery.

Let me shift this first. Man, truly, this is way heavier than this. [laughter]

So, the Itel Power Tank packs in a 1,000 Wh Class A LiFePO4 battery, while the Kolasola 1000 Plus packs in a 1,024 Wh LiFePO4 battery.

Mathematically, a 24 Wh difference is kind of nothing, right? But this is going to give you about 10 extra minutes on a standing fan or probably maybe up to 20 minutes to power up your phone or so. You understand?

So, while I will say it’s a tie based on the watts, we also need to look at the fact that if my phone is 0% or 1% and they are both running down, this is going to give me that extra 20 minutes to plug my phone, which, if my phone is fast charging, I can get probably over 50% and I’m good to go.

But guys, the capacity isn’t the story here. The chemistry is. Like I said before, both brands actually use lithium iron phosphate battery, that is the LiFePO4. And if you watched my previous video, I told you guys that this is the best battery to go for.

If you’re going for anything power tank, power station, solar setup, always ask for that. Forget lead acid, forget tubular batteries, forget the standard lithium ion. This is very nice.

The reason is that these batteries last for years. Itel claims this has about 6,000 plus charge cycles, which is roughly 10 years, one decade, right?

Now, Kolasola claims between 3,000 and 8,000 cycles depending on your discharge. If you watched my previous video too, I’ve explained the depth of discharge, right?

So, make sure you’re following now because this is like a full masterclass. [laughter] If you’ve not watched my previous videos, and this is the first time watching my video, when it comes to the cycle count, if this is 0%, you charge from 0 to 100% once, that is one cycle count.

If you charge from 50% to 100% two times, that is one cycle count because 50 plus 50 is 100, you understand?

If you charge from 70 to 100, then 30 to 100, that is one, you understand?

So, when you calculate this thing, give or take, it can last from about 8 to 15 years depending on how you use it.

Now that we’ve seen the battery size, what really matters more is how fast or what can you actually bring out from both of them.

So, both the Itel Power Tank and this Kolasola, they have this 500 watts continuous pure sine wave inverter. Because they are pure sine wave, right, the power coming out of this AC socket over here is actually cleaner than your gen and sometimes even what NEPA gives you.

It is perfectly safe for your MacBook, your medical CPAP machines, and your high-end audio gear.

Now, for the surge, they both have 1,000 watts surge limit. If you’re wondering, what is the surge limit? Like I said, I have videos explained previously. So, you get to understand this better.

Because if you don’t understand the surge limits or the surge capacity, this may also affect your Itel or Kolasola, whichever one you decide to go for. So, check them out after this video. Okay?

Now, before we get into the real-world testing, you see this power tank thing, they’re actually moving very fast. Okay? And if you’ve lived in Nigeria long enough, we already know that [laughter] once something starts selling very well, the fakes start coming out too.

It has happened with phones, it has happened with generators, it has happened with drinks, medicine, a whole lot, right?

So, to save you the wahala, I’m putting the WhatsApp contact of the person I bought my own units from in the description box and also in the pinned comment below.

The original product, fair price, it is verified. You also get your warranty. I’ll talk about the warranty later. That is where all of these brands also win.

Speaking about the price, right, these two products, I’ll talk about the price later, but the person I bought them from sells it way more affordably than what I saw in other places. You understand?

So, no need to thank me. Just like, subscribe, and share this to someone who has been asking about any of these power tanks or power tanks in general, you understand.

Now, when it comes to the real-world usage for the both of them, I will actually personally go for this.

Now you’re wondering why? So, the Kolasola 1000 Plus has rock-solid voltage regulation. The light is low, the light is high, it can actually handle it better compared to this.

Now, I’m not saying that this doesn’t have it though. Remember, when it comes to the unboxing, this gave us the whole solar rugged kind of cable, right? Unlike this. And you guys know what I said at the beginning of this video based on how they packaged both of them and the build, you understand?

So, they both last how long they should last. They’re both 1000 watts. So, what this means is if you’re going to plug something after using the computer to check what I’m plugging, let’s say it is 100 watts now.

You are seeing here, okay, this is 100 watts. It’s going to last you about 9 hours.

Now why is it not 10 hours? Because when you do the maths, it’s meant to be 10 hours, but no. When you turn this on, it converts the energy from the battery inside to this usable DC output. You understand?

So, about, let’s say, give or take 10 to 15%, and that’s why I said this may last around 8 to 9 hours but not 10 hours. All right?

So, same goes to this. They both last within the same time frame. But this, based on that extra 24 watts, lasted just a few minutes longer than this.

Now for the charging speed, here is where the Kolasola loses. Yeah.

So, this has 500 watts. It can take up to 500 watts charge, right? When it comes to charging, I think for solar it is around 400 watts. So for light, give or take, light and solar, give or take 2 hours, this is going to be filled up from 0 to 100%.

But this also charges at 500 watts capacity. For light, it takes 2 hours to fill just like the Itel Power Tank.

However, when it comes to the solar panel, this uses 300 watts max while the Itel is 400 watts max. So, give or take, it’s going to take a little above 3 hours or so to charge with solar, while when it comes to the Itel, it’s going to charge way faster.

And now, when you combine charging from the grid and also from the solar, the Itel Power Tank is going to charge within 1 hour 30 minutes, while the Kolasola will charge around, give or take, 2 hours.

Now for the warranty. So, Itel gives you 2 years warranty, which I think is very nice, while this gives you 1 year warranty.

Okay, and the warranty depends on what caused it, you understand? If you probably threw both of them inside water and you are complaining, that is null and void.

But in terms of company defects, manufacturer defects, this wins: 2 years, 1 year.

So, verdict time: which one should you go for? If I’m to pick one of these, which one will I go for honestly?

First off, let’s start with the price. This is priced at around 350k and this is priced at around 370,000 naira, 20,000 naira more expensive.

So, looking at the price and all the specs I listed out, you see that they are very much identical. Right? The only difference is the solar charging, which the Itel is 400 watts and the Kolasola is 300 watts.

But everything, they are going bun for bun. So, at the end of the day, it still now depends on which one you want to go for.

But if you are to ask me, “Oh Smart Tips, which one will I go for between the Kolasola Plus or the Itel Power Tank?” Honestly, I’m going for the Kolasola Plus because, like I said, it has better voltage regulator.

Let me know in the comment section which one you will be going for after I’ve given you guys my honest review.

And like I said before, before you go pay for any of these, make sure you use a trusted vendor. So you don’t, after spending 300,000 plus, 350 or 370,000 there, next thing, they’re giving you fake that maybe this one now will have only 100 W surge capacity.

[laughter] I wonder, I say, ah, what did I tell you, or what is Smart Things review? You understand?

And that’s why I left the vendor’s number in the description box and also in the pinned comments. So, it is easy for you to access, okay?

And now, whichever one you’re going for, I already have individual full reviews for both of them. So, you can also go and watch them.

So, yeah, I’ll see you guys in the comment section. Wait, tell me which of these you’re going for. But for me, I would honestly love to go for this after seeing.

But this doesn’t mean this is bad, oh, please. This is not bad. This is my preference, right?

I’ll see you guys on the next one.