I Took the Bluetti PS72 Camping for a Weekend — Here’s What Actually Happened

I packed the Bluetti PS72 for a two-night mountain campsite to see if it could really handle the basics: lights, phones, a small cooler, camera batteries, and a few creature comforts. No lab charts here—just a real trip with real gear. If you’re hunting for a straight-shooting bluetti-ps72-camping-review, you’re in the right spot.

The setup I brought

Here’s the thing: I don’t camp ultralight. I brought a 12V soft-sided cooler, two LED lanterns, a string of campsite lights, an air pump for the mattress, my phone, smartwatch, a mirrorless camera, and a small grinder for the morning coffee ritual. The PS72 sat in the shady corner of the picnic table, ports facing me, like a polite little power hub. AC, DC, and fast USB-C were all there, so no adapters-on-adapters circus.

What it powered, day by day

Friday evening was simple: top off two phones, run string lights for a few hours, inflate the mattress, and quick-charge a camera battery. The PS72 didn’t flinch. Saturday was the real test—cooler cycling on and off all day, another round of camera charging, a short laptop top-up for photo backups (yes, I’m that person), and more lights after sunset. Believe it or not, the battery meter stayed calmer than I expected.

Battery life in the real world

By Sunday morning, with two nights of lights and constant device top-offs, I still had a comforting buffer left. The cooler is the wildcard—if yours sips power efficiently, you’ll be smiling. If it’s a guzzler, your mileage will vary. For a typical weekend of “comfort camping,” the Bluetti PS72 felt like the sweet spot. If you’re reading this as part of a bluetti-ps72-camping-review search spiral, the gist is this: it’s plenty for lights, phones, cameras, and short stints on small appliances.

Charging while you’re out there

I gave it a partial sip from the car while we drove to a trailhead—easy enough with the included cable. I also tested a folding solar panel at camp. No surprise: sun angle matters more than anyone wants to admit. When the sky cooperated, I added a meaningful chunk back by lunchtime. If I were doing a longer trip, I’d absolutely bring solar; it turns a weekend battery into a weeklong solution. For folks comparing notes for a bluetti-ps72-camping-review, the takeaway is simple: car charging is a steady safety net, solar is your extender.

Noise, heat, and campsite friendliness

The PS72 was polite. Fans kicked on briefly during heavier loads, then faded. No whine, no drama. I kept it off the ground on the table to avoid dust and let air move around it. In a quiet campground, nobody noticed it—exactly what you want on a calm evening under pine trees.

Who it’s for (and who should skip it)

If your camping routine looks like mine—lights, phones, camera gear, a 12V cooler, a little laptop time—the Bluetti PS72 is easy to recommend. It’s compact, friendly to use, and doesn’t turn your picnic table into a cable octopus. If you’re trying to run space heaters, big induction cooktops, or anything with a serious continuous draw, this isn’t the right class of power station. For that, think bigger. But for the classic weekend? This checks the boxes and then some, which is why you’ll see it pop up in more than one bluetti-ps72-camping-review.

The tiny gripes and the nice surprises

Gripes first: like most compact power stations, the screen can be tough to read in direct sun, and you do need to think about where you place it so cables don’t tug on the ports. Nice surprises: the fast USB-C port meant my phone hit 80% before I’d finished coffee, and the DC port kept the cooler happy without the inverter overhead. Small touches, big difference out there.

Bottom line

I came home impressed. The Bluetti PS72 delivered exactly what I want from a weekender power station: easy power for the stuff that actually makes camp nicer. If you want my full test notes, charging timelines, and comparisons to similar units, I wrote everything up for Consumer's Best—search for my bluetti-ps72-camping-review and you’ll find the deep dive. If you’ve got questions I didn’t hit here, tell me how you camp and I’ll steer you straight.