Nearly Perfect Power In A Backpack

Have you ever been out in the middle of nowhere with a dead phone, dead drone, or stuck in some other situation where a big battery would come in handy? Well Bluetti may have a lifeline for you in the form of its ultra-portable power station. The Bluetti Handsfree 2 ($600 on Amazon) is an ultra slim 700W, 512Wh, bag-based battery pack that you can strap to your back and take pretty much anywhere. It even comes with its own, admittedly blue and branded, rucksack. 

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Bluetti is a company that tends to think outside the box with a lot of its products. For example they also produce a camping cooler you can power with a modular battery system. 

When it comes to the backpack we’re reviewing here, there are obvious practical and personal applications for the device, but you have to wonder if it’s any good. Batteries are pretty heavy after all, so there’s going to be a balance between price and portability. Equally, just what can you do with a power source once you’re off the beaten path? Bluetti shipped a sample to try out — and I’ve spent a couple of weeks seeing what it can power, how easy it is to charge, and just how portable it actually is.

If you’re a nature photographer, drone operator, videographer, or surveyor then there are some obvious applications to this. Drone operators can get an additional 7 charges into the 77Wh DJI Mavic 3, and double that into a DJI FPV according to Bluetti’s figures. A 10Wh camera can be charged ten times, or you could power up a MacBook for on the fly editing.

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It’s a solid source of power that is very simple to pack, and not all applications are work related. If you’re going camping in a group, this is more than enough to keep everyone’s phones and a set of speakers going through the weekend. While it isn’t enough for full-scale emergency power, you won’t be able to run a fridge off this for any real length of time, it may also be handy in areas affected by storms. If the roads are out but it’s safe to walk, you can keep a neighbor or friend’s phone, lights, and radio charged for a long period.

I tried plugging a laptop into one of the 100 watt outlets, and the power station estimated it would last for around 8 hours with said laptop drawing charge. But the laptop in question takes roughly 90 minutes to charge from empty, and can last over 15 hours in the right circumstances. So in reality, that’s five days of heavy usage. Or two working weeks of eight hour days. From a laptop. In the middle of the woods. You could just wander away from civilization with this like a digital nomad version of Walden.

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Different laptops will get different milage, of course. Bluetti estimates the average 60Wh laptop can pull seven charges from its Handsfree 2, and how long those charges last will depend on the laptop itself and what you’re doing with it. A gaming laptop may need to be perpetually plugged in to the AC port, and then you may only get four to six hours of Counter Strike: Woodlands Edition before it all dies. A Chromebook on the other hand may last a couple of centuries.

If you’re content working from a phone, you’ll get an estimated 18 charges there. A 60Wh camping light may work for 23 hours. A portable projector, which is an essential for true “glampers” will also vary, but you’re likely to get a lot of milage from one. The Nebula Mars 3 is pretty bright, and packs a 185Wh battery itself. This lasts the projector around five hours, and you’ll be able to top it up over three times. So you can probably watch the whole “Lord of the Rings Trilogy” twice if you have a full charge on the projector before you start.

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The power station comes with a 60 liter backpack which stands up as a decent item on its own. You can place the power station itself in the compartment closest to the wearer’s back. It fits perfectly and can be secured in place with a Velcro strap. This compartment can be unzipped from weather side, giving you easy access to the power station’s outlets. It’s also well ventilated, allowing the power station to cool itself.

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There’s plenty of MOLLE webbing on the outside of the pack, should you want to attach things there for easy access. There’s plenty of room on the inside too with several other compartments, numerous zippers, and a small fanny-pack sized pouch on the waistband. As the device is partially aimed at photographers and drone operators, it’s no surprise that the main compartment contains dividers perfect for storing lenses, tripods, cameras, and other bits of photography paraphernalia. It’s only Velcroed in, and easily removed should you want more room or easier access in that compartment. In terms of comfort, it contains a chest strap, and another strap around your waist. This should keep it secure and keep the weight distributed evenly. It’s also as easily adjusted as any other good quality backpack.

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There’s a TSA-approved lock on top should you want to take the pack on a plane. With that being said, airlines tend to have a 100 Watt-hour maximum for batteries in the air. So you’ll have to leave the power station behind should you want to take this bag traveling.

The bag is billed as “durable” and it looks and feels pretty sturdy. It can also handle up to 60 pounds, which is a lot of strain for most packs. The stitching itself, and the materials used for the pack itself, all seem very sturdy. It will be interesting to see how they hold up to long term use off the beaten path. However, the bag does have one major construction flaw. 

A couple of days after I believed my review was wrapped, one of the bags buckles was accidentally stepped on. This bit of contact was enough to shatter the plastic completely. I feel like I have encountered far cheaper buckles that would have shrugged that misstep off without a problem. Or at the very worst just deformed slightly. On close inspection, said buckle seems to be made of thin, brittle, plastic which is pretty inexcusable at this price point. Replacing a buckle isn’t the hardest thing in the world, but until you get round to that repair then it’s not possible to wear the pack properly. If this happened a few miles off the beaten path, it could result in a pretty uncomfortable trek back.

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The Bluetti Handsfree 2 would be pretty useless if there was no way to take power from it. Luckily, you have several ways of doing that. Firstly, there’s an AC outlet which can be used to charge the Handsfree 2, or dish out power through a standard American plug. Then there’s the two USB type A ports, which are great for topping up things like phones and tablets.

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Bluetti’s two USB-type C ports are active, and can put out 100 watts of power each, which should be enough for most laptops. Finally, the power station overall, its AC port, and its DC ports can all be controlled via button.

Charging the power station is pretty fast, with the manufacturer promising you can take it from dead to 80% in as little as 45 minutes. In my experience, you can get it from around 30% charge to full in under an hour. This makes sense as slower charging methods tend to be used once you’re past 80% of a battery’s capacity, so you can always expect to take a little longer while getting things to 100%. You have a few charging options too. You can buy a solar panel with it as part of a bundle, though most camping solar panels should be compatible and the standard power station comes with an adapter. You can charge it from the mains via the AC input, and you should be able to top it up from a car via the DC input. 

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Whenever you’re doing anything outdoors, getting a bit wet is a possibility. Even deserts get the odd spattering of rain from time to time. So some rudimentary waterproofing has been applied to the Handsfree 2. It’s received an IPX4 rating, which should be more than enough to fend off splashes of water or light rain. The backpack itself also provides a limited amount of protection, so as long as you don’t go wading through a river your power station should be fine.

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A lot goes into a portable power station, and the cells sometimes need to vent when a battery is charging or working particularly hard. So direct waterproofing can be tricky. However, you can’t help but feel like Bluetti has missed a trick here. Making a waterproof bag isn’t the hardest thing in the world, and this may have been a way Bluetti could have fully waterproofed its product.

Again, the bag has obvious vents to stop the big battery from getting too hot, and it’s accessible so you can use the power station without hefting it out of its pouch every time you need to plug something in. But its a big pack, and a compartment that doubles as a dry bag could be a life saver in certain circumstances. You can get round this by simply packing a big dry bag and throwing the power station in that if a sudden downpour starts, but that’s an added inconvenience that could have been avoided with an extra tier of pack.

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To state the obvious, batteries are heavy and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Solid state batteries may see lighter power banks, but equally manufacturers may opt to double the capacity for the same weight. However, with the Handsfree 2 things aren’t that bad to begin with.

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The setup weighs a shade over 16 pounds, and the bulk of that weight (the power station itself) is close to your back and in a pretty ideal spot as far as weight distribution is concerned. To test it all out, I hiked several hours over varying terrain with the power station and about 7 pounds of accessories with me. After about a quarter of a mile I barely even noticed it, and I’m not exactly in great shape these days.

If you take advantage of the backpack’s significant 60-liter capacity, you may hit or exceed the 30 kilograms (66 pounds) it’s rated for and that is a significant amount of weight to lug through the woods. It’s about the same as a standard portable power station. However, seasoned hikers/campers will know their own limits and can pack accordingly. Less capable adventurers should still be able to manage this, a small tent or hammock, and a handful of MREs should they want to “glamp” it up a little.

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I really like this setup. It seems well thought out, perfectly balanced, and is almost ideal if you need power on the go. The Handsfree 1 has around half the capacity but shaves about five pounds off the total weight. You can also just use the carry handle if you want to save a few pounds on either, the backpack isn’t exactly light. So there’s plenty of scaling to meet your needs, and Bluetti has the option of releasing larger capacity Handsfree 3 or 4s further down the line.

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As things stand, the 2 is a brilliant option. It’s light enough to not bother people, and packs enough power to keep a photographer, surveyor, or drone operator going for a couple of days. It can greatly enhance a campsite, and I truly believe I could get a comfortable week out of it when paired with the right tech. Couple it with a solar panel, and the right weather could stretch that out indefinitely. 

Fragile buckles aside, the backpack itself is excellent on its own. It’s just a shame that corners have been cut on such a cheap yet vital part. Beyond the plastic, the whole thing seems quite robust. Though I’m happy to reassess this if tales of split seams emerge a few months post-release. Still, if you work outdoors, or just love the outdoors, then this is a very sound investment. Even if you’re an overlander who wants to reduce strain on their vehicle’s power supply, this is a solid shout. If you’re one of those people who spends a small fortune on a hobby this is useful for, what’s an extra $400-600?

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At the time of writing, the Handsfree 2 can be ordered from Bluetti’s website at a discounted price of $399 (MSRP $599). Orders are expected to start shipping by mid-November 2024. You can also find the Bluettie Handsfree 2 on Amazon for full price (at around $600 at publishing time).