An update in my search of the best way to get rid of the money burning in my pocket--

While there are many brands of power stations, in truth there may be only a small number of distinct manufacturers. After comparing products in the similar price range, I saw that sometimes they look mostly identical. I find this frustrating, as this way of doing business complicates things and makes it easier to commit fraud. The company you buy from could be an ephemeral entity that just rebrands stuff. They will not stand behind their products, and if you try to hold them responsible, you'll discover they have vanished into thin air.

I also learned that the field is evolving. I notice many YouTube reviews of power stations complain about the charging time. Suddenly Jackery released a 300W power station last month that is supposed to charge a lot faster. Other problems that YouTube reviewers complain about seem to be design decisions rather than engineering problemw, and as the consumers grow more sophisticated, the manufacturers will start adding features that you could use.

So if you can wait, it's probably better to wait. In a year or two you may have better options than today. But if you're worried that another hurricane or tropical storm is going to hit the Gulf Coast this month, that's a different story, I guess.

It also seems to me that the quality of the power end stuff (under 500W) is probably just lower. There are more suspicious brands at this range, so beware!