As you probably know by now, here at The Solar Lab, our opinions can’t be bought—and that’s exactly why reviews like this exist.
After Bluetti blacklisted us for giving their AC500 an honest (and justifiably critical) review, they made it clear they only want to work with reviewers who will highlight the good and ignore the bad—in exchange for money and free products.
Not only is that not how we operate, it makes us question all of the extremely positive reviews we’re seeing other YouTube channels put out about Bluetti power stations and accessories.
Still, we wanted to give them a fair shot, even if they weren’t being fair with us. That’s why we decided to buy their newest model ourselves to give you an honest review you can actually trust. So, Tiny Baby came up with a fake name, used his allowance, and ordered one of Bluetti’s brand-new Elite 200 V2s to his house.
Can the Bluetti Elite 200 V2 redeem the Bluetti name? Let’s dig into what this compact unit offers, how it performed in testing, and whether or not it belongs on your shortlist. Spoiler Alert: yes, it did make us rethink the Bluetti name—at least somewhat.
Before we get into all of the things we liked and disliked (sorry, Bluetti), let’s take a quick look at the specs the Bluetti Elite 200 is packing:
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Maybe we should have just saved ourselves the headache and taken Bluetti’s money, because there was a lot we really liked about this unit:
We put the Elite 200 V2 through all of the same tests we put every power station through. To our surprise, it actually blew us away.
The efficiency came in at 94%, which is the highest we’ve ever seen in a portable power station. Even the idle power draw was impressive, coming in at just 9.5W per hour, which is also the lowest we’ve seen on a unit this size.
Even when we pushed the thing beyond its inverter’s 2,600W limit, it was able to sustain a 3,000W surge for over 2 minutes. Again, way beyond what we usually see in power stations of this size and at this price point.
Compared to similar units, like the Anker SOLIX F2600, the Bluetti Elite 200 has a slightly smaller battery but a noticeably more compact and practical design. For the inverter size and battery capacity, it’s impressively space-efficient. It also has a built-in handle and only weighs 54 lbs, so it’s really easy for a single person to move it around.
Almost all of the output and input ports are on the front of the unit, with only the AC and solar inputs on the side. That means you can tuck this into a corner or under a desk and still have easy access to everything you need. It also makes cable management much easier.
A 1,000W solar input is really solid for a unit with just over a 2,000Wh battery. While our panels couldn’t quite hit that due to voltage constraints (we maxed out at 800W), it still charged really quickly with solar power. The system also includes a splitter cable to help you wire in two solar arrays and get close to that full solar charge speed.
With the right solar panel setup, you could charge this thing up in roughly two hours, which is great for off-grid power during blackouts, or even for RV and camping trips.
Bluetti stuck with a non-proprietary XT60 input for solar charging, which we really appreciate. Some brands (you know who you are) are moving toward proprietary plugs, which forces buyers to purchase that same brand's overpriced solar panels.
Bluetti has kept it simple and consumer-friendly. Rather than being forced to overpay for branded Bluetti solar panels, you can pick up just about any generic solar panels and keep your unit charged.
Because Bluetti didn’t know it was Tiny Baby buying this unit, we got to experience the typical customer journey, rather than being given a biased experience because we're reviewers. And to Bluetti's credit, they impressed us.
The shipping was fast and efficient, and we also got multiple follow-up emails to confirm delivery. They even asked us about the packaging quality and wanted to make sure that there was no shipping-related damage.
This level of follow-through is actually really rare in the solar space. It's even more surprising given we’re talking about a company that didn’t even want us to review their product unless we exagerated about how good it was. Honestly, we were just really satisfied throughout the entire buying and shipping process.
Now, no unit is perfect, even if Bluetti expects reviewers to pretend their products are. While we were certainly impressed with this unit, it wasn’t flawless:
We’re big fans of integrated lights on power stations, and this one misses the mark. For a 50+ pound unit that requires two hands to carry, it’s frustrating to fumble around in the dark with a flashlight and heavy power station. With no built-in illumination, you’d probably need to use a headlamp while you were carrying the Elite 200 V2.
Now, Bluetti is far from alone on this front, but even a stubborn brand like EcoFlow finally equipped their River 3 Plus with a light.
Like many name brands, Bluetti’s own solar panels are overpriced. This isn’t really a knock on this power station in particular, but it’s still something to keep in mind if you choose to buy one.
We recommend buying this unit, then picking up third-party solar panels from a retailer like Shop Solar or Signature Solar for the same performance at a much better price. Since it uses an XT60 solar input, you can pretty much use any panels you want with it.
The Bluetti app works—but it’s a far cry from what you get with power stations from brands like EcoFlow, Anker, Jackery, or even Pecron.
The app looks old, lacks advanced features, and often detects unrelated devices, like random Rich Solar batteries we had in the garage, which suggests that Bluetti is just using a generic app, rather than creating their own.
Even pairing the app with the Elite 200 is a bit weird: turning Wi-Fi on requires holding down both the DC and AC buttons, which can unintentionally launch you into a confusing menu. There’s still work to do here, but it’s not a deal breaker.
This is another minor gripe, but the screen isn’t very bright at all. It works totally fine if you’re indoors, but if you’re outside in the bright sunlight, you can barely read the thing.
After Bluetti blacklisted us, we didn’t expect much from the Elite 200 V2. But to be totally honest—it’s a really solid unit. We’d probably say it falls squarely into the budget-friendly powerhouse category. You get a lot of quality for a price that feels more than fair.
The build is compact, the power-to-weight ratio is impressive, and the performance numbers speak for themselves. It still lacks the refinement and ecosystem support that we’ve recently seen from EcoFlow and Anker, and the app experience could definitely be improved, but at this price and performance level, it’s a worthy option for RVs setups and basic backup applications.
If Bluetti keeps building units like this and opens up to honest reviews, we’d gladly welcome them back at The Lab. Until then, we’ll keep buying and testing them ourselves, so you don’t have to.
We test solar products so you don’t have to. Check out our opinions and which units we think are worth your money and which ones aren't.
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