Review: Bluetti EB3A Portable Power Station

Bluetti EB3A in the wild.

The Bluetti EB3A is a compact and portable power station that powers our off-grid cabin, which is located on the remote north coast of British Columbia. It is paired with a portable Honda EU2200iTC generator, which has turned out to be a terrific combination.

The main uses for this “power couple” are to keep phones and radios charged, and to power a Starlink Mini internet system.

With a 268Wh battery capacity and 600W of power (with a 1,200W surge), it’s perfect for this, and features a variety of ports, including USB-A, USB-C, AC outlets, giving plenty of options to power various devices. The display screen is clear, showing the battery status, input/output power, and remaining runtime, which makes it easy to monitor, and re-charge when needed.

While I haven’t recorded the exact times, in actual, normal usage over the past three years the EB3A will run the Starlink for about 4 hours, in addition to charging a phone or two at the same time. This has been more than adequate, as we do not need or want to be online all day, every day. One noticeable feature is its fast charging capability, and the EB3A can be fully recharged in about an hour off the portable generator.

Pros. The best things about the EB3A have been portability, and the ability to have sustained periods of power without having to run the generator for hours on end. This unit is very compact, light, and easy to transport - a key feature as our site is remote, accessible only by boat, and there are 25 stairs to climb from the beach to the cabin.

Reduced generator use allows us to enjoy the peace and quiet of the wilderness more, which is one main reason for being there in the first place, and it severely reduces the amount of gas I need to transport if I were to keep the generator running for longer periods. This is also a huge benefit, since packing jerry cans of gas up up those stairs is a workout!

The EB3A does come with solar charging cables, but so far, since our generator use is very manageable, the cost/benefit of a solar panel isn’t quite there yet.

Cons? So far, not much to mention. It would be nice to have a longer charge, and higher surge capacity to run more energy intensive things like power tools and other appliances, but this unit is simply not designed nor intended for those applications.

In the future, we may add another more powerful unit, but in the meanwhile the EB3A is meeting our needs very well.