At last I have managed to get my hands on the hands free 1 during the pd event. Just a quick review first impressions are really good.first the backpack It’s very well made as I have come to expect from Bluetti the zips are all weather sealed for light rain and for the heavy times there is a waterproof cover. Loads of storage compartments.
Hands free 1 fits very well in the bag nice and secure easy access to all ports from both sides of the rucksack and has all the ports you need. Very light and portable the perfect combo.
I bought the Handsfree 1 and Handsfree 2 when they came out, after seeing a Hobotech review, and the price was too good to pass up. I was more excited about the backpacks, which are very nice with some very thoughtful and useful touches, but I regularly trade off using one Handsfree or the other to just operate an LED lamp in my office that is plugged into a BT remote so I can turn on two lamps at the same time. Even though these use AC and therefore the inverter, I find them very efficient, and they are easy to solar recharge. I found a great panel to use with them, the ZoupW 100W n-type 16BB. It reliably performs near, at or over the rated watts. In these collages, I was trying out the panel on my new portable solar tracker, the pSolBot. This is a fantastic setup for running a DC fridge while camping, as both the panel and the tracker provide maximum, steady wattage all day, as long as you have good solar potential to begin with. I just charged up the Handsfree 2 today, in fact, testing out another new panel, though that panel, a 150W flex, turned out disappointing results.
Look at my man here living life. Come on, you gotta love this guy! I have solar stakes from that same company. While a tracker is sweet to have, its a bit of a luxury IMHO because I can just position my panel for the most optimal angle during peak solar, on top of the fact, it would be a pain to take down if there is a spot rain shower and my panel is not IP68 rated. I was tempted to buy a Handsfree for my hiking camping adventures I plan on doing next year, but I’m still up in the air about it because since I plan on living out of my Moonlander I’ll always have a home base, but it would be sweet to have some portable power on the go.
The ZoupW panels I have are IP67, and the pSolBot can be left out. It is designed to return to east position after sunset and turn on with the sun, but I haven’t gone camping with it so haven’t tried that. It solar charges whatever I give it for the day. It only weighs about 5 lbs. I love using it with a BougeRV 100W CIGS (short form) or a 50W or 100W SunPower Flex panel, and those too can be left out in the rain.
Compared to the large and heavy solar trackers, the pSolBot is affordable and very portable.
Handsfree 1 seemed like a limited usefulness device because of the low capacity. Handsfree 2 was somewhat more interesting. I loved the idea of hiking with a friend, sitting down somewhere, pulling out an electric coffee pot and making us coffee from the backpack power! Handsfree 2 was quite inexpensive ($300) at that time. I resisted though, partly because the backpack itself isn’t well designed for hiking. It’s more like a giant camera bag, intended for videography. I got an EL100v2 instead, less portable but more sensible imho.
It’s hard for me to understand the usefulness of 120VAC power in a backpack, other than pranks like the coffee pot. Most stuff that I can imagine hiking with can be powered from USB-C, or USB PD if necessary. USB power banks (even PD) are far lighter per WH than the Handsfree packs. But, I don’t know what weird voltages the video and drone camera folks use. Maybe they need to run a bunch of different chargers at once, so the 120VAC simplifies things for them.
Tbh I’ve never really wanted any type of power station when camping. A small flashlight and (nowadays) my phone is enough. At worst, add a small USB powerbank to keep the phone charged. I’ve never understood why “camping” is always listed as a use for large power stations. YMMV of course.
Well, i think everyone have another definition of camping. Some just want to enjoy the nature and some people just enjoy the community on a camping place and dont want to make compromices when it comes to electronic devices.
The Handsfree is a really special product and is more for adventures people (like photograhing and stuff) instead of being a real hiking bag, just like you say.
The Inverter in the Handsfree is something that make it different from a normal Handsized powerbank. Not everything runs from a USB-C Cable. 300W for the Handsfree 1 is limited for sure, but triple as much as the USB-C can deliever. One real cool usecase is actual to charge a e-bike batterie on the go in combination with a solarpanel.
For charging an ebike the handsfree 2 seems like a better choice, or just bring a spare ebike battery. They are usually 350 to 750 WH depending. They will be much lighter than either Handsfree power bank. Wearing the backpack while riding an ebike sounds pretty uncomfortable!
Honestly, I didn’t buy either Handsfree model to use with the backpack. I mainly wanted the backpack.
The form factor for the Handsfree is useful to have behind the driver’s seat in a car. The lack of a 12V cig port and/or 5521 barrel output limits the usefulness though. I could see them being used on a desk or bookshelf or in a home office for charging things like phone and using the AC outlet for lighting or laptop. There are other power stations that would work for camping and some could fit in the backpack, like the Bluetti AC20. With the right cables and adapters, multiple PowerBens could run up to an 1800W appliance as well as 12V DC fridge and everything usb. An Anker C300 can do 300W AC. For coffeemaking, a battery powered portable like the Outin or HiBREW H4C that can accept pods as well as coffee grounds and even battery powered grinders are more compact than a Keurig or similar. I could see using the padded divider space in the Handsfree backpack for all my coffee gear
Here’s the OG AC20. I got one long ago, after my first power station, the AC200 (and second, the AC50S). I love the aluminum case and very compact design.
Dang, we should have talked a few months ago. I wanted the HF2 power station but not the backpack. I do like the thin format power station. In a car you’ve got 12V power directly at hand. Making coffee from battery power is nuts! Get a tiny butane camp stove for that. Or even an overpriced Jetboil with their coffee gizmo. For lighting and phones I think USB power banks are much more portable and cost effective than a 120VAC power station. I can understand if they don’t suffice for a 12V fridge, but the HF1 probably doesn’t suffice either, and the HF2 is marginal at best. Tbh a plain 12V battery would make more sense than a 120VAC power station for powering a 12V appliance.
But, I never had trouble plugging laptop power bricks into 120VAC modified sine wave (MSW) using 12VDC automotive power. The power brick immediately rectifies the incoming AC power anyway, so the MSW doesn’t bother it. I’m surprised to hear that the Bluetti power stations don’t like MSW input, and it’s disappointing.
