Now to start, I love the solitude of a remote hunt or a backcountry fishing trip, but the truth of the matter is that with my occupation, leaving all the electronics behind is not a regular occurrence. This past Fall we had the dire need for a generator while shooting our latest and most extensive elk hunting project. The need to charge camera gear, batteries, and general gear was a must. It just so happened that the stars aligned and we had the chance to try out a new portable inverter generator, the Generac IQ2000.

Upon first impression, the generator is fairly lightweight and compact. The weather resistant finish was a nice touch, and everything seemed very well put together. The setup instructions were extremely easy to follow. The one small fumble I had was putting oil in the generator. They provide you with (oil name here) oil to put in the generator before starting, but they do not tell you how much to put in. You either have to pour extremely slow until you see oil about to overflow or continusely check with a dipstick your oil level. I managed to have a little overflow, but a few sheets of paper towels fixed the problem.

Starting the machine is extremely easy; turn the knob to CHOKE, pull the start cable and then move the knob to RUN position and your generator is up and running. The front gauges are all very easy to read. You have watt usage, gas level (1-gal tank), run time, generator status indicator, and a three power mode switch easily visible. The overall design is simple, energy effecient, and dummy proof.

For us we were using the generator at elk camp to charge our computers and camera batteries at night and during the downtime in the middle of the day. This generator was the perfect tool for this, on top of being very quiet and low vibration. I could actually communicate with the rest of the hunters in camp over the hum of the generator. We were able to run the generator on the ‘economy’ (most gas efficient setting) while charging 1 computer, 1 Nikon battery, 1 Sony FS7 battery, 1 Sony A7s, and 4 AA batteries for about 10-11hrs on 1-gallon of gas.

We tested the generator in 90F weather in Eastern Montana and in 10F in Idaho, and it performed flawlessly. Regardless of conditions it started with a couple pulls.

Overall I was extremely impressed with the Generac IQ2000. It is the perfect size/weight/function I need as a hunter/filmer/photographer on the road. Not to mention it is the best value for its price that I have found. Other reviews online back this same opinion. If you are in need of a 2000watt generator, we highly recommend taking a look at the Generac IQ2000 generator. Quiet, simple, and reliable.

For more information on their products visit: www.generac.com

-Travis Boughton