P2S vs P1S - opinions

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First - apologies if this topic has been covered but I couldn’t find anything through the search. (If it has, please link the discussion!)

Quick breakdown…I have an A1 Mini, an A1 w/AMS Lite and a P1S. I also have an addiction, though I’m still in the infant stages of learning to create my own models.

I was going to wait for the last day of the sale and decide if I wanted to purchase another P1S. But, they sold out and when I checked the closest time I’d get one was January 14. At the time I thought, “Oh, well. I guess the higher powers were telling me I don’t need another printer!”.
I went to BB last weekend and, lo and behold, they had one P2S sitting there (that was all they had for 3D printers). Not what I was wanting but pulled out the credit card and brought it home.
My plan is/was to leave it sealed up until I really needed it…and hoping that checking the websites I’d find a P1S again that was available sooner, and then take the P2S back.
Then I started thinking to just keep the P2S and have fun with it. Until I read Tony1’s thread on the power surge that the P2S pulls. I then decided I’d wait for a P1S and take the P2S back, so I ordered a P1S.

I’m a novice printer and just enjoy printing out the tons of creations on Maker World! As a school teacher I’ve printed things for students and staff and don’t charge a thing…I just enjoy seeing happy faces!

So, if you were me (scary thought :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: ) would you keep the P2S and stop the P1S order? Or take the P2S back and wait for the P1S to arrive in late December? I’ve watched many videos on the differences between the two, and since the P2S is already sitting in my printing room…is it really worth it over the P1S? Is it something that I’d probably grow into later on as I learn more?

Appreciate everyone’s opinions! :+1:

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The P2 is, according to several users’ claims (thus, those who have bought the P2), an improved P1. Obviously, there are plenty of pros and cons about it going around. And while the P2 may very well be what most users say (I can’t speak about whether is it true or not, as I haven’t bought one to test it), there are a number of aspects that you may want to consider:

  • Both P1 and P2 deliver what they promise (plug and print, right out of the box);
  • Both have highly attractive features (and are reasonably priced) for someone who’s starting to dive in into the 3D modeling and printing.
  • Both have their specific issues, that aren’t always easy to solve, especially with the "high level of customer support " Bambu is currently (actually, since Bambu launched its so called “customer support service”) “offering”.
  • Both are good machines, and though P2 is supposed to be the successor of P1, it’s my opinion that P2 doesn’t target the same users that P1 does.

And while the P1 has already a proven track record and plenty of solutions, workarounds and improvements to various tech issues that have popped up since its launch, mostly shared by the more advanced users, the P2 is a more technically complex and demanding, kind of a differen type of “beast” that would not be easy to repair by a beginner (and from what I’ve read on this forum so far, not easy to repair by more experienced users as well).

You need to decide for yourself what exactly do you really need, what you’re usually printing (or want to print), how much print space you require for such prints, the types of filament you are regularly using (PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, engineering materials), and how much time (and money) will you be prepared to spend, should your printer decide to go sideways, and would require replacement parts and performing repairs.

As said at the beginning of this post, I’m not a P1 or a P2 owner (I own a number of X1s, XLs, and Elegoos), so take this opinion with a pinch of salt, check other users opinions, reviews, comments, analyze what you want against what you really need, then decide how far (and deep) are you prepared to go, and start from there.

Good luck in your 3d printing trip, whatever you may decide.

(Later edit)
You may also want to consider that the P1 will, in the near future, reach its EOL, and most likely will suffer the same fate like the X1 (be discontinued). On the other hand, spare parts for the P1 might be cheaper and easier to find than those for the P2, at least for the time being. Also, P1 might prove to be a cheaper and easier way to get into the 3d printing, allow for an easier learning curve and give you the time and knowledge to decide later what kind of printer you really want and need.

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Great advice, thank you! And I agree with your notion that the P1 (especially at the very low sales price now) is probably going to be defunct soon as that’s what I was thinking when I saw their Christmas sale.

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Again, it’s your call whether you want to go for P1 or P2. However, from personal perspective, I wouldn’t invest yet in a new and still not long enough tested printer like the P2 or H2, at least for the time being, at least not until enough time has lapsed and Bambu has tackled the tech/soft/firmware issues that inherently show up in the first 10-12 months and the early adopters confirm that most (if not all) issues have been successfully resolved.
As said earlier, personally I’d go for a P1 (cheaper, easier to maintain/repair, proven reliability, plenty of addons and improvements available) and would also acquire sufficient spares for it to last for a number of years. Eventually each of the Bambu’s printer models will be discontinued at one point in time or another.

Having enough spares and with good maintenance a P1 could very well be used long after Bambu discontinue manufacturing the model… possibly, like it happened with the X1 a little while back, someone will manage to break free the firmware from Bambu’s “walled garden” (see case in point the 3rd party X1Plus firmware).

Obviously, it’s a matter of personal choice. In what I’m concerned, I’ve purchased enough of spares for my X1s to last me for quite some time (if need be), and will continue using them for as long at these work (or can be repaired).
In the meantime the 3d printing machines are getting better, new technology improvements are added to new models, the competition (and pressure) between manufacturers is increasing, which results in better and more reliable printers at less cost than we currently pay, which ultimately benefits the end users.

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Excellent points to consider!

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Well, I just received my P1S this afternoon and took the P2S back to the store for a return. I decided to keep to what I already know as I haven’t delved into any major projects (far from it!).
When Christmas break comes up I’ll have some time on my hands to learn more about the P1S, as well as learning how to create models.

Thanks for the opinions, it helped a lot! :+1:

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