You’re probably familiar with portable power stations that you can bring along on camping trip to charge your phone and power string lights. You’re probably also familiar with home backup systems like the Tesla PowerWall that can keep your entire house running when the electricity runs out. But you’re probably not familiar with the Bluetti AC500, which combines the power of the latter with the portability of the former. And it’s nuts.
Sized like a cooler and every bit as heavy, the AC500 can kick out a peak of 5,000 watts, which is more than double what the typical outlet in your home can deliver without popping a breaker. If that sounds like way, way more juice than you’d ever need in the woods, it is. Which is why I had to contrive an absolutely absurd scenario to test it.
Sure, it could power some lights, a speaker, a laptop. But can it power a fridge? A microwave?…