This Portable Projector Lets Me Watch Movies on a Big Screen While Camping, and It's 30% Off for Black Friday

Black Friday Sale: The Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air is just $420 right now -- that means you can get CNET's best portable projector for $180 off the usual price, a 30% savings -- as part of Amazon's Black Friday lineup. While this product won't compete with your home theater setup, it beats out other compact projectors by offering a bright picture, crisp audio, 1080p resolution and battery life that should hold up through almost any movie you'd want to watch.

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CNET's key takeaways

• Anker's Nebula Mars 3 Air is a compact portable projector that costs $599 (but is currently on sale for $420).
• Despite its size, it delivers a bright picture and loud audio for a portable projector. It can even double as a Bluetooth speaker. 
• Its size is great for backyard movie nights or car camping but might be a little large for backpackers.

I recently took an epic road trip through a land of giants and there's only one compact projector I would take with me to complete my camping experience.

Anker's Nebula Mars 3 Air made my nights at Kings Canyon National Park, home of the world's largest grove of sequoia trees, even more picturesque, without taking up too much space. 

I review projectors for CNET, and I've also built a DIY campervan, so I know that a lot of the best portable projectors sacrifice too much for their size. Not this one. With the side of my van (which is conveniently white) doubling as a screen, I rewatched some episodes of Andor I'd downloaded from Disney Plus after the sun went down at the campsite, capping off a beautiful day in nature with the right mix of bright picture, loud audio and portability.

If you want to watch a movie with the family while camping, and crowding around an iPad doesn't cut it -- this is the way to go.

My experience with the Mars 3 Air

As far as performance goes, the Mars 3 Air does quite well for its size and price. In my lab, I measured a contrast ratio of 405:1, which isn't amazing, but it's better than most portable projectors. That means the image doesn't look washed out or flat. (You can see all my testing data in my guide to the best portable projectors.)

Sound-wise, the 3 Air's two 8-watt speakers play loudly, offering performance similar to many Bluetooth speakers, which is fitting as it can also double as a Bluetooth speaker. 

The battery life is good as well. You should be able to get about 2.5 hours of playtime for video and 8 hours if you're using it as a Bluetooth speaker. Disappointingly, it can't recharge via USB, so you'll need to connect to AC power to charge it. 

What makes the Mars 3 Air the best portable projector option for camping trips is how it does everything well without doing anything particularly poorly. It's also very easy to use. 

It runs on a full version of Google TV, so it has access to all the typical streaming services. Many portable projectors only have some streaming apps, and if they do support some streaming apps, they might not support the full versions of the apps, which can make portable projectors harder to use.

Keep in mind that the easiest way to watch shows and movies on the Mars 3 Air is to make your phone a hotspot. If you don't have service where you are, like in many national parks, you need to download shows and movies ahead of time. This can only be done via a mobile device connected with HDMI, and sometimes not even then, depending on your phone. Something else you'll want to keep in mind: This projector doesn't show full frame with a USB-to-HDMI.

Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air $420 at Amazon

 The specs

• Native resolution: 1080p
• Lumens spec: 400
• Lamp life: LED
• HDMI inputs: 1
• USB port: 1
• Audio output: Headphone output
• Internet: 2.4/5GHz
• Battery life: 2.5 hours