Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Battery, inverter, various outlets, amp meter, volt meter, regulating various input sources. Trying to piece tougher a compatible solar system that can be charged from multiple sources and power items with various 12-volt attachments can be a wiring mess and complex to figure out, especially for relatively minor electric needs. The Yeti 400 has figured this all out so you don't have to and offers it in one convenient package. Simply plug it into a standard household electric outlet, your car's cigarette lighter or a solar cell to charge with no need to worry about what regulator/controller you need to charge it properly without overcharging. Various outputs are also ready to use, making it very adaptable. While very convenient, the included 33 AH battery offers fairy limited storage capacity for a 12-volt system. This can be doubled or tripled however by chaining additional compatible batteries, to create a 100AH system. I used this primarily to power a small dometic fridge on road trips when base camped for a couple days when 110 or car power was unavailable. (one additonal battery chained) Most complaints, I've read are not so much problems with the unit itself, but people not realizing how limiting a 33 AH capacity battery really is, or not understanding how solar cells really charge. Here's a few key points that have been mentioned in other reviews, that I think are worth mentioning again: 1. 33 AH isn't a lot storage. You can't expect to power notable electric needs with this. Calculate your actual needs before purchasing. No 33 AH battery system will fulfill a 50 AH need without recharging. 2. in fact, a 33 AH capacity doesn't even mean you can power something requiring 3.3 amps for 10 hours. Many things won't run on a near dead battery, draining, a battery to zero isn't good and when trickle charging especially, it's hard to get a full charge. (One could write an entire book chapter on the nuances of this alone) 3. If charging via solar, realize a 100 watt solar cell will not increase your battery storage by 100 watt hours for every hour light is shining on it. 100 watts is the max output that solar cell will produce under ideal conditions. Many factors can decrease the efficiency of your solar charging. Read up on it. Other reviews and other sources go into great detail about how to calculate electric needs, what you get from a given capacity, and how to calculate what you will get from solar charging. My point is simply that if you have unrealistic expectations, you will likely be disappointed.(with any 12-volt system) Spend the time to accurately figure out your needs, whether this meets your needs as is, whether you need to chain additional batteries, add more solar, etc. Having wired a couple sailboats myself, I have to say the convenience of a single self contained, portable system has it's benefits, but total storage is not one of them. In terms of a well thought out, convenient system, I might give the Yeti 5 stars. I give it 4 primarily due to the relatively high cost for the relatively low storage capacity it has. Some better accessory cords would also be nice. Chaining with allegator clips for example. I certainly have no regrets about this purchase.