I’ll Never Go Camping Without This Backpack That Can Charge My Phone 18 Times
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- This solar remandable power plant is also a backpack that can transport my camping essentials. I was able to load my laptop six to nine times, my phone 18 times and my drone five times in a load cycle.
- The Bluetti Handfree 2 backpack costs $ 599 at a high price, but it is often on sale for $ 450.
- It’s heavy. He weighs 16.5 pounds by himself before adding other equipment.
The Bluetti Handsfree 2 backpack, which is also a solar reinforceable power plant, is my new essential outdoor. This portable power allows me to keep all my favorite electronics fully loaded, even when I am deeply in the desert.
The Bluetti Handsfree 2 is named the best Cnet power plant for camping because it is the only one – on hundreds that we have tested – which is combined in a backpack. It can be fully loaded using solar panels or traditional wall load. The battery fits into the rear pocket of a large camping / hiking backpack, with a lot of space in the main compartment for all my other camping essentials, even food, clothes, equipment or all the devices that I will feed with the spacious battery.
This last iteration of the Bluetti portable power station is not only for glampars like me. It’s great for anyone who really wants to work from a distance or whose work takes them well with the grid. It allows you to use a wide variety of equipment supplied without having to transport a central massive and traditional traditional generator. It can also be a huge boon for all those who work in emergency services, where portable backup power can be a (literal) rescue buoy.
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My experience with the Bluetti Handsfree 2 backpack
The backpack can contain 66 pounds when it is completely loaded, but it weighs 16.5 pounds alone.
I spent several days using the Bluetti Handsfree 2 to assess how much he kept me connected during glamping. I took it out on the hiking trail with me for several hours and I tested it with several devices and accessories.
The heart of the Bluetti power station is a portable battery unit, offering an impressive 512Wh of power storage and a maximum output of 700W. The battery adapts perfectly to the interior of the rear compartment of a large 60 -liter blue backpack feasted with hoops, straps and curls. It’s not the most attractive thing, but it works.
The 512Wh battery life depends entirely on how you use it or the devices you are in charge. For example, I was able to fully fill a laptop battery six to nine times, a phone 18 times and a large drone five times. It could also continue continuously a 10 W LED bulb for more than 40 hours without the need to be recharged.
The power station can associate with a solar panel (not included) to allow you to load out of network.
There is a lot of space to hang accessories, everything, from the camera equipment to the covers or a tent. The straps include curls to allow you to set up a GoPro or another action camera to help capture your adventures in savagery. The main compartment also has removable dividers that allow you to divide the internal space as you wish or leave it as a large room.
The Handsfree 2 offers five outings, which can all be used simultaneously. There is a CA output (up to 700W) for devices with a standard electric cord, as well as two USB-C ports (100W each) and two USB-A ports (valued at a 15 W output).
It has enough outing to supply a mini-refrigerator to keep my favorite adult drinks cold, even without access to ice, and circulate air in my tent on hot desert nights with a full-size box fan.
The power station is delivered with a practical handle and fits into the backpack with other items.
There is a CA input and a DC / PV input to load the battery. I connected a standard AC cord and I got a full load in about an hour and 20 minutes. You can also load it via your car. This took me almost six hours with a 12 V charger or just over three hours with a 24V charger.
The title loading option is solar. Although Handsfree 2 is not delivered with a default solar panel, you can get a 100W or 60W solar panel as a pack or pick up an autonomous portable solar panel from 60W to 350W. At 350W, Bluetti says that you can fully load the battery in two hours, while at the lower end, the 60W panel would take about six hours to fill the vacuum battery.
Weight and durability
The 60 -liter backpack may seem spacious, but the portable power plant inside occupies a large amount of space.
With the loaded battery, Handsfree 2 weighs approximately 16.5 pounds. If you add a significant weight with your own equipment, and especially if you wear a tent, water bottles and other accessories outside the pack, it can become heavy quickly. Bluetti says that Handsfree 2 can support more than 66 load pounds in total due to its reinforced back and bottom panels. If you plan to do a lot of hikes, you may want to limit the weight of the other equipment that you load in the Bluetti.
The battery itself is a solid and dense brick in the gray of the milling, weighing about 15 pounds. Although it is not exactly light, it is lighter than the other power solutions approaching its capacity of 512Wh, and the way it integrates into the backpack makes it balanced enough to transport with relative ease (at least on short distances).
Although it is not entirely waterproof, Handsfree 2 is water resistant. It includes several features to keep your equipment (and battery) sheltered from rain, including waterproof zippers and rain blanket, and the backpack is made from splash resistant fabric.
Inside the backpack are compartments with removable dividers, allowing you to store accessories and attachments.
Specifications
- Battery capacity: Battery 512Wh LifePo₄ (lithium iron phosphate)
- Output power: 700W (AC output)
- Exit ports:
- 1 x AC socket (700W max)
- 2 x USB-C ports (100W each)
- 2 x USB-A ports (15W each)
- Entrance load options:
- AC load: up to 600 W max, fully loaded in about 1.3 hours.
- Solar load: up to 350 W max, invoice entirely in about 2 hours with a 350W panel.
- Car loading: approximately 5.8 hours (12 V) or 3.1 hours (24 V).
- Dimensions: 12 inches (l) x 4.1 inches (w) x 15.2 inches (d)
- Weight: About 16.5 pounds (with loaded battery)
- Backpack capacity: 60l
- Backpack loading capacity: Up to 66 pounds
- Water resistance: An splash -resistant fabric, waterproof zippers includes a rain blanket. Not completely waterproof.
- Additional characteristics:
- Passage
- UPS mode (supply without interruption)
- Bluetooth application control
- Integrated screen display for energy consumption and remaining costs
- Soft compatible backpack with external attachment points and removable internal dividers
- 5 year warranty
CNET purchase advice
The power plant included with Handsfree 2 is capable of loading your phone up to 18 times.
The Bluetti Handsfree 2 is an excellent backpack and a combo of portable power plants for campers, hikers and photographers. Not only was I able to load things like a phone or laptop quickly and easily (and even simultaneously), but the Handsfree 2 also allowed me to supply real luxury accessories.
If the price is too high but you need electricity on the move, you can consider an ordinary food bank such as Instago Infinitylab or Anker Powercore for about $ 45. Keep in mind, however, that these portable food banks are only good to charge a phone once or twice.
Although technically portable, power plants have more power capacities than portable power banks, but most are too heavy to get stuck during hiking. Portable power plants are intended for campsites and VRs. They sometimes have wheels and can be raised, but they are not seriously portable like the Bluetti Handfree 2, which can simply be transported with you, no matter how difficult the terrain is.
