Bambu P1S Review: 3D Printing Made Easy!
Introduction:
I don’t typically do reviews of products, I’ve always felt I didn’t want to steer someone towards or away from a product because of my singular experience with it. But for the Bambu P1S printer I’d like to break my rule. Only because I love this thing so much after having a less than stellar experience with so many other printers on the market.
The Good:
- Easy setup
- Enclosed printing area
- Fast printing
- Good customer support
I could go on and on about the good things about this printer. A few years ago I decided I wanted to get into 3D printing. I wanted a printer to bring my ideas to life and make useful products for around the house. What I didn’t anticipate when I first started printing was that I would spend more time configuring, installing and fixing the printers I purchased than I would actually printing. This made the process more frustrating than enjoyable. This isn’t a shot at those printers. I think the market was still maturing and a majority of the first adopters were hobbyists who wanted to focus more on the printer technology than the actual printing. After giving it up for a few years, I recently decided to get back into 3D printing based on a recommendation from a family member. He was raving about the Bambu P1S and how easy it was to use so I had to give it a try. After 3 weeks of printing with it I’m blown away at the ease of use and quality. True to its marketing, the P1S took less than 15 minutes to setup. Once it was setup I was amazed at how simple and accurate the calibration and bed leveling were. After pressing a few buttons I had printed my first benchy and it came out flawless. Since that first print I’ve printed so many useful items for around the house!
The Bad:
- Price
- Closed System
The one criticism I’ve seen of the P1S is it’s price and closed system. It seems like Bambu printers are made to work within the Bambu ecosystem and nowhere else. Spare parts have to be purchased through their store only. Their filament is only available through their store and I’ve noticed other filaments don’t print as well. At a price of $649 it isn’t exactly cheap. Bambu does offer some smaller printers at a lower price point but I haven’t tested anything other than the P1S.
Conclusion:
The P1S is a fantastic printer for anyone who wants to start 3D printing out of the box and doesn’t want to spend time configuring and modifying their printer. At $649 it is a more expensive printer than some of the other beginner friendly models on the market, but if you’re looking for a no hassle 3D printing experience, it’s hard not to recommend the P1S to anyone in the market, regardless of it’s price.
