VTOMAN Flashspeed 1000: 30-second review

The FlashSpeed 1000 is a great-looking portable power station, finished in matte black and grey, with large carry handles, a decent cable storage system, and a range of inputs/outputs, all neatly arranged on the front. There’s also a large light panel on the back, which is useful for camping or if your car breaks down and you need some powerful illumination.

The rugged design of this portable power station gives the impression that it has a much larger capacity and maximum power output than it actually has. That capacity comes in at 828Wh, and the maximum output is again relatively low at the 1kW mark. Why this is surprising is because recently, when looking at power stations of this size, you'd expect a bit more headroom; however, all things considered, the VTOMAN FlashSpeed 1000 is extremely well priced for what's on offer.

What it does provide is a solid power supply, and during testing, it impressed when powering a variety of devices, from camping kettles and heaters to laptops, cameras, lighting gear, and 3D printers, and being used as backup power in the home. Out in the field, the design of the Flash Speed 1000 came into its own, with its large carry handles making it relatively easy to move around despite its weight. The large size also proved useful, providing a flat surface area to place equipment and even made a handy seat when needed. The build quality is extremely robust, reassuring you that it can take a good knock or two. Whether you're using it in daily life or out in the field for work, it should stand up to whatever use you put it to.

Before diving into the standard uses of the FlashSpeed 1000, it’s worth highlighting the jumper option. This is an interesting addition, although you’ll need the optional jumper cable adapter to use it. Essentially, it enables you to jumpstart your petrol or diesel car without the need to hook up to another vehicle. If you live in colder conditions, then a feature like this is going to be a great option.

In use, it performed well, although the maximum output of 1,000Wh was a little limiting, meaning that running either a small 1kW heater or a kettle required switching off other appliances. However, the 2,000 W surge protection does provide some buffer, especially for the kettle. For more standard uses, such as charging and running most devices, the FlashSpeed 1000 excelled.

While the FlashSpeed 1000 incorporates all the latest technology, its size and internal capacity differ from much of the market, being larger and heavier with a smaller capacity than you might expect. However, it also features more AC ports, and with the option to add a large expansion battery and a solar panel, this kit becomes one of the largest capacity and most affordable power stations available. Despite its relative size compared to some of the other best portable power stations we've reviewed, it offers superb value when fully equipped.

VTOMAN Flashspeed 1000: Price & availability

The standard price for the FlashSpeed 1000 is $999/£999, although it's often heavily discounted to around half that price, which makes it an exceptionally good deal. Not only that, but when coupled with the expansion battery and the 400 W solar panel for just under $2000 / £2000, it becomes a great all-round solution.

When it comes to availability, it can be purchased directly through the VTO Man website as well as major online retailers such as Amazon.

• Score: 5/5

VTOMAN Flashspeed 1000: Design & build

The first thing that strikes you about the FlashSpeed 1000 is that it's slightly larger than most portable power stations of this capacity. However, this is in part due to the number of ports, including three AC on the front of the unit. These include three power input options, three 12 V, six USB, and those three AC sockets (similar to those you would find at home), and two additional, less common ports for a jumper cable to start your car (Diesel or Petrol) and the expansion battery link socket.

This jumper cable feature helps differentiate the FlashSpeed from other portable power stations on the market and makes it a great option for those in the van-life culture or anyone needing a truly heavyweight, powerful portable power station for use in the field. It's particularly suitable for mechanics or anyone working in garages on cars, both for the jumper feature and also for connecting tools.

While the size and design might be slightly larger and heavier than other portable power stations of similar capacity, the size and shape are perfectly adapted to the workplace, especially the large flat surface on top and a handy built-in compartment so you can safely store all the cables needed for the power station and connecting to mains/expansion battery or solar.

In terms of portability, the design thankfully includes two large carry handles, which are needed due to the 17 kg weight. Adding the expansion battery further increases the weight, so it's good to see a trolley accessory is available, and through the test is something we wished we had. Another positive aspect of the design, alongside the carry handles and cable compartment, is the large flat top and solid build, which firstly allows tools to be rested easily on top or otherwise enables the power station to double quite nicely as a makeshift seat when needed.

Another feature we really like about the design of the FlashSpeed 1000 is that all the ports and connectors are located on the front of the unit. This ensures that nothing is hidden around the sides, such as the mains AC input. If installed in a workshop or van, this means you don’t need to pull the unit out each time you want to plug it in to charge. The only thing that is hidden on the back of the unit is the lamp, which isn't an issue.

The design and build of this portable power station are good and solid, and there are small hidden design features that add to the reassurance of quality for this power station, such as the large vents on either side and internal fans that occasionally kick in to ensure plenty of airflow.

• Design: 4/5

VTOMAN Flashspeed 1000: Features

As previously mentioned, the full capacity of the FlashSpeed 1000 is 828 Wh, which, considering its nearly 17 kg weight, isn’t a great deal. However, it does have the option to add an expansion battery, which itself has a capacity of 1,548 Wh, boosting the total capacity to a considerable 2,376 Wh.

When it comes to output, the main battery can deliver 1,000 W of continuous power, and this remains the same with or without the expansion battery. A common feature is the surge protection, which is up to 2000W, which just gives you some flexibility with appliances that often have power spikes when they first start up.

Through AC power (or mains power), you can achieve a 700 W input, enabling you to charge the main battery from 0 in 70 minutes (although you should never allow the battery to fully discharge). There’s also the option of 300 W solar power input, which, on a bright sunny day and in ideal conditions, would allow the battery to fully recharge in about six hours. Alternatively, you can use DC input charging at 200 W per hour, taking 7–8 hours for a full recharge—though this could potentially drain your car battery.

One of the highlights of the system is the use of LIFEPO4 batteries, which are incredibly safe and offer up to 3,000 full life cycles with approximately 80% capacity retention.

Another common portable power station feature is the UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) function. If your house experiences a power outage, then this power station can be connected between your main power source and your devices to ensure no power loss. For example, you could position the power station between your fridge and the mains to ensure the fridge stays powered during an outage.

An interesting additional feature of the FlashSpeed 1000 is the jumper cable connector, which allows you to jumpstart your petrol or diesel car. To use this function, you’ll need an adapter, which is relatively inexpensive and available through the VTO Man website. Once connected, you simply attach the jumper cables to your car battery and start the car as you would when connecting to another vehicle’s battery.

When it comes to ports, you have three AC outlets: 110 V / 1,000 W in the US or 230 V / 1,000 W elsewhere. These are pure sine wave outputs. Then there are three DC outlets: two 12 V / 10 A DC5521 ports and one 12 V / 10 A car charger-style port. Next to these are four USB Type-A outlets—three offering 5 V / 2.4 A and one supporting 18 W. There are also two USB Type-C outlets, both of which support 100 W quick charging (200 W in total).

• Features: 4/5

VTOMAN Flashspeed 1000: Performance

The FlashSpeed 1000 is an interesting portable power station because, on the surface, its capacity of 828 Wh combined with a 1,000 W maximum output, physical size, and weight don’t initially make it stand out as a great option. However, as you start to become familiar with how this portable power station works, you begin to realise why its design is slightly different and how it managed to prove itself over the course of the testing.

Firstly, looking at the design of the power station. It is built to last, with two large carry handles, a cable storage compartment, and a design that, while slightly bulky and heavy, makes it relatively easy to move around. On-site, the design provides plenty of space to place tools and equipment on top or even to use it as an impromptu seat. It feels strong and robust enough to support the weight of most people.

Another benefit is that all the ports are located on the front of the unit, making it easy to plug in both power inputs and outputs without having to fuss with pulling it out of a van or moving other equipment to access the back. For example, charging via a mains AC port or a solar panel is straightforward and doesn’t require repositioning the power station.

During testing, we coupled the FlashSpeed 1000 with the expansion battery, which essentially trippled the capacity. At this point, it transformed from a single large unit to a double, quite bulky unit, but one that was far more useful in the field, with enough power to run all your gear.

When used with a range of devices such as kettles, heaters, camera equipment, lights, and laptops, the FlashSpeed 1000 was more than capable of keeping up with power demands. However, when it came to the kettle and heater—both rated at just under 1,000 W—it became clear that all other devices needed to be switched off or unplugged before operating these appliances individually. It’s impossible to run both the heater and the kettle simultaneously without exceeding the surge protection limit.

For more general use or when running just one high-demand appliance, the FlashSpeed 1000 performed exceptionally well. While the fans kicked into action during periods of high load, they remained relatively quiet during most day-to-day usage.

The arrangement of sockets and plugs is generally well thought out, with one notable issue: the MacBook Pro's transformer plugs. The height of these adapters was just a few millimetres too tall to fit comfortably between the socket and the surface the power station was placed on. To resolve this, we had to position the power station near the edge of a surface so the transformer could hang free.

Otherwise, for all other devices, the Flash Speed 1000 was ideal. Charging the unit was mostly done through the AC input (700 W), which charged the power station extremely quickly. During testing, we didn’t let the unit drop below 20%, and it consistently charged to full in under an hour. Alongside the main and expansion batteries, we also tested the 400 W solar panel. Plugging it into the solar input (maximum 300 W), we achieved about 150 W on a bright sunny day in late autumn/early winter in the UK. While this didn’t allow for a full charge in a day, it did top up the battery by about 20% over several hours.

One of the standout features of the FlashSpeed 1000 is the small LED display on the front, which shows the remaining capacity, power draw, and the type of connector being used. For example, plugging a MacBook Pro into the AC port shows exactly how much power it’s drawing and identifies the connector. If you switch to a USB port, the display updates accordingly. This simple but effective display makes it easy to monitor usage.

Unlike some premium models, the Flash Speed 1000 doesn’t feature a wireless app or additional advanced features. However, its simple, solid design and ease of use, makes it a great power source for a very reasonable price.

• Performance: 4/5

Should you buy the VTOMAN Flashspeed 1000?

Through the test, we used the FlashSpeed 1000 for a variety of purposes, from acting as a UPS for powering the TV and lounge lighting at home to running 3D printers in the workshop and finally providing power in the field for laptops and cameras. In all cases, the Flash Speed 1000 proved to be more than capable of handling the tasks required.

While there are some trade-offs, such as its size and weight relative to its capacity, what you get is a very good and robust portable power station. It may lack some of the frills of more premium brands, but as a power station that prioritises performance, it does exceptionally well—especially when you factor in the available accessories.

What we really liked about the FlashSpeed 1000 is that you can purchase the base unit, which essentially functions as an inverter with a reasonably sized capacity battery, and then expand it to a much larger capacity battery when your budget allows. The ability to plug in solar panels and create a complete power station ecosystem is particularly appealing, especially when considering that its price is significantly lower than many of its rivals. When comparing capacity with competitors, most do not offer the same level of expandability or the ability to handle high input volumes, whether through AC or solar, for fast recharging.

So, while the FlashSpeed 1000 may initially seem like a large, bulky, and slightly underpowered portable power station, its practicality becomes apparent in real-world use. Yes, it is large and heavy, and its 1,000 W maximum output is slightly limited, but what it does offer is a substantial amount of capacity that is delivered safely and quietly.

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For more outdoor essentials, we tested the best rugged phones.

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is a 17-inch inkjet that will interest both professional studios and amateur photographers wanting high quality wide-format prints from an accessible desktop design. Costing $1,300 in the US and £1,500 in the UK, it’s Canon’s new flagship photo printer and it improves on the already impressive Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 with reformulated pigment inks promising superior prints that’ll last 200 years.

I've reviewed almost all the best small business printers, but this one is a little different. As well as using twelve separate ink cartridges to create colorful prints up to 17 x 22 inches, its unique Air Feed system is able to hold large sheets of paper in place while precision spraying ink through 18,432 nozzles. Impressive. But can it justify the high running cost of a cartridge-based printer?

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: Design and build

This lozenge-shaped 17-inch desktop printer looks pretty compact with its flaps folded, but it’s a little larger than its closest 17-inch competitor, the Epson SureColor P900 in all dimensions and it weighs a whopping 71 pounds. If you want to go larger than A2, you’ll need a freestanding roll printer like the 24-inch HP DesignJet Studio 24. The twelve individual inks take up some room, while the replaceable printhead is also quite a handful. With the front and rear flaps extended, the depth increases from 43cm to 115cm so it’ll require some room while in use. There are two paper paths, with the top tray taking anything from A5 to A2 sheets and the fatter rear tray able to take thicker paper from A4 to A2 size.

The textured black plastic of the bodywork gives the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 a rugged look, while the various plastic flaps also feel less flimsy than your average printer. And unlike most inkjets, the printhead is readily replaceable which suggests a machine that is built to last. The large power and cancel buttons are easy to find and the controls are responsive, but it’s a pity there’s no touchscreen interface. The old school three-inch LCD looks under spec on a machine costing over a grand. There’s no memory card slot or USB Host port either. Just the usual USB type B and Ethernet ports at the rear. The wireless connectivity, however, has been improved from the single-band wi-fi of the old model to auto-switching dual-band (2.4GHz/5GHz).

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: Features & specifications

As Canon’s top-of-the-line photo printer, the imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 has an impressive specification and features not one, but two paper input trays capable of handling 17” x 25” (A2) paper. The top tray can take small formats like 6” x 6” papers or up to 150 sheets of plain paper. The manual tray at the rear with its flatter paper path can handle heavier paper and card up to 400g/m2, but only one sheet at a time. It can also print banners up to 129 inches (3.27 meters) long. There are twelve separate LUCIA PRO II inks so you can expect a very wide color gamut, while the Air Feed feature ensures your paper doesn’t slip while the ink is applied.

The maximum print resolution is given as 2,400 x 1,200 dpi (dots per inch), which is actually lower than that of the entry-level Canon PIXMA G650. The imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 achieves its superior image quality because it has more nozzles firing finer ink droplets so those dots are more accurate. While the cheap Canon squirts six inks through 2,304 nozzles, our PRO-1100 has twelve inks and 18,432 nozzles. And if any of those nozzles become blocked, it’s picked up by sensors and substitute nozzles step in. It's the mark of one of the best photo printers around.

It has 1GB of inbuilt memory, which is more than the average photo printer, and it supports Windows, Mac OS and Chrome OS. What the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 cannot do is accommodate a roll of paper and only one of its two input trays can only hold multiple sheets of paper. That’s a maximum of 150 sheets of thin plain paper. The given speed of six minutes to print a sheet of A2 is also rather slow, but in all other respects, its a strong spec sheet.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: Setup and operation

The quick start guide for the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is just a single page, because its really just a case of plugging in, turning on and following the on-screen prompts to complete the setup. The twelve ink cartridges slot in smoothly, but with this inkjet, you also have to install the printhead. It’s a similarly smooth operation with instructions shown on the display. Once in place, you have the opportunity to print a test sheet to ensure the inkjets are aligned and firing. If you download the accompanying iOS/Android app called Canon PRINT, you can use your phone to get the printer onto your wi-fi network. The only thing that would have made the setup process easier is a touchscreen.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: Performance

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 prints slowly, but reliably and exceedingly well, which is the main thing. While this successor to the old Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 sees no improvement in print speed, the reformulated inks bring a real improvement in print quality, especially with difficult dark images and back and white photos.

I printed a wide range of test cards and photos on an equally wide range of paper types and was impressed every time. The detail resolution is consistently sharp, notably with A2, and perhaps that’s due to the Air Feed system holding the ungainly sheets of paper in its steady suction grip. The very wide color gamut and particularly realistic shading of images is certainly down to the twelve individual ink cartridges. With eleven pigments and one chroma optimizer to call on, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 has an advantage over its 17-inch rival, the Epson SureColor P900 with its paltry ten inks.

On high gloss photo paper, the colours pop in exactly the way you want your holiday snaps to do when you have them professionally produced. And these prints are probably more durable thanks to the industry-leading light and abrasion resistance of Canon’s pigment inks. Switching to matt photo paper or Canon’s tactile rough art paper and you can better appreciate the remarkable deepness of the black inks. And with both a photo black and a matte black the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is particularly good at printing monochrome photographs.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: Consumables

As this is not one of Canon’s MegaTank printers, there are no refillable ink reservoirs and you’re locked into buying Canon’s LUCIA PRO II cartridges, which each cost around $60 for 80ml. And by the way, you’re going to need twelve of them. At least you can replace the cartridges individually as they run out and they are no more expensive than the old LUCIA PRO cartridges. There are actually eleven pigment inks and one chroma optimizer, which costs very slightly less for the same 80ml. The improved pigment inks claim to have deeper blacks, richer blues and the ability to withstand light damage for 200 years. I’ll have to get back to you on the light damage, but I agree that the black and blue performance is especially strong. Its prints also passed our smudge and scratch tests easily, which makes the longevity claims seem plausible.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: Maintenance

Being an inkjet, there’s a possibility of the printhead clogging, or drying out when left unused for long periods. It has inbuilt sensors to detect blockages, but you may need to run one or more cleaning cycles if necessary. This could be as easy as ordering a maintenance routine via the Canon app on your smartphone. The chroma optimizer cartridge is likely to need replacing before the pigment inks, so watch out for that. You can also replace the whole PF-10 printhead very easily, but with the cost for a new one being US$414 or £550, you’d probably rather not. You may have noticed that the dollar/pound figures I have quoted in this review are not currency conversions, they’re the current prices on the Canon US and Canon UK websites, which means Brits are expected to pay thirty percent more for the exact same printer. Ouch.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100: Final verdict

If you need studio quality prints on large paper formats, the uncompromising Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 will not disappoint. It’s a solid and evolved design that puts image quality first. The absence of a touchscreen interface or an input drawer capable of holding a stack of blank paper are minor inconveniences compared to the advantage of having twelve separate ink cartridges or an air feed system for holding the paper steady while printing. The print speed is rather slow, but the results are worth waiting for. Photos look realistic thanks to a very wide color gamut and superb detail resolution, while black and white photos really benefit from the inclusion of two types of black ink. It handles large sheets of paper effortlessly, including banners up to 129 inches long. Of course the consumables cost has to be a consideration, especially when there are twelve cartridges to replace, but the excellent LUCIA PRO II inks are no more expensive than other inks in this category.

For more devices, we reviewed the best home printers around.

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