I put the EB55 Portable Power Station through its paces on a recent camping trip over a long weekend in one of NSW's coastal National Parks. It was a non-powered campsite, and the perfect setting to see how the Bluetti EB55 would perform.

I tested the portable power station with a variety of tech devices, including a couple of MacBook Air computers, eleven mobile phones, four Apple watches, a sandwich toaster, and an array of mood lights that decorated the campsite.

The EB55 was called on to keep all these items powered and operating over a three-day long weekend. It handled the demand very well and didn’t need recharging at any time – which was impressive as the EB55 seemed to be in continual demand by one or more campers at any given moment.

The EB55 arrived a few days before the camp weekend, allowing me to get familiar with it. The box came with the BLUETTI EB55 Portable Power Station itself, a user manual, a two-year warranty card, a 200W AC-DC Adapter + charging cable, and a dual-purpose car charging cable and solar charging cable.

This gave me plenty of charging options when powering up this unit. I wanted to make sure I had all my bases covered, so I checked the car charging adaptor and found it easy to plug into the car charging point. Bluetti sells PV200 solar panels separately, and while they are not bundled with the EB55 I could see they would be easy to plug in and operate as well. The EB55 was not difficult to get up and running at all.

The Bluetti arrived with the battery at 60% of capacity, and it took 90 minutes for me to charge it to full. After the entire weekend of use, it was nearly flat and took about 3.5 hours to recharge fully. This was reasonable for its capacity.

I was impressed with how many technology devices the EB55 could handle simultaneously. Admittedly, in my case, the devices were predominately phones, computers, and watches, but the EB55 can charge up to 11 devices concurrently.

At most, I was charging up to eight devices simultaneously, via the EB55’s four USB-A outlets, one USB-C 100W fast-charge output, two AC output 220V outlets, as well as a 15W wireless charging pad which was handy.

It also sports two DC output outlets and while I didn’t use them on this trip, I can see the 12V cigarette plug accommodating a portable powered fridge, with two other 12V barrel plug outlets available. Next time I’ll grab a powered fridge to keep our drinks cold and dispense with the ice coolers we brought instead.

The Bluetti EB55 might be considered a little heavy at 7.5kg, however, this is mainly due to the LiFeP04 battery. This battery will provide a longer life cycle with an impressive 2,500+ life cycles.

Another handy feature around the campsite was the built-in light. It has three light modes - standard, bright, and emergency flashing. If you are a camper, you will know you can never have too many lighting options.

Pros:

There are plenty of pros:

• Well designed, with all the outlets and ports front-facing and easily accessible.
• LiFePo4 2,500+ life cycles - this will last for many years.
• 15W wireless charging pad – I was surprised at how convenient this charging port is.
• USB-C 100W fast-charge outlet – this was very useful.
• 4 x USB ports – again, this was very useful.
• The 2 x 220V output charging outlets – offers plenty of options.
• I liked the fact that you can charge the battery with both solar and AC power at the same time.

Cons:

I was struggling to find any real issues:

• The 220-240 charging box was a bit noisy when recharging with its cooling fan.
• The weight is 7.5kg, however, it felt study and it’s not going to be easily knocked over.
• You need to ensure it is kept away from moisture, so when camping you will need to keep it under cover or in the car overnight.
• The light button needs to be pressed firmly.

The EB55 provides many practical applications and solutions and is suitable for many outdoor lifestyle activities. The obvious one is camping or van travelling, however, it is an excellent option for business and home use also.

For example,

• workers who use technologies in off-the-beat locations, like outdoor photography, often need access to reliable power sources.
• as a home backup system when there are power outages, and you need to keep the lights on.
• independent mobile campers and travellers - the type of mobile holidaying you dream of when it’s only the two of you, your van, and the freedom to go anywhere you want to discover those ‘destinations less travelled’.
• Family camping and fishing trips. Well, we found our idyllic spot just a couple of hours up the NSW coast. The EB55 made our time together more special. The group voted on the best new camping item for the trip and the EB55 was the clear winner.

I recommend the EB55 for your coming Autumn camping holidays. 

The Bluetti EB55 retails for $899.00 but you can save $100 with current deals. There are also Autumn specials for the combination of the EB55 + PV200 Solar Panels.

Remember, don’t leave home without one.