I've had several portables with BFO (beat frequency oscillator) and one without -- the Sony ICF-2010. Both have pros and cons for pirate radio listening.
While the Sony is a better radio overall the lack of a BFO is a disadvantage for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it needs occasional tweaking to adjust to crystal drift and it's not easy to do with the Sony. And the Sony's VFO doesn't tune in fine enough increments to compensate. The Palstar needs the same occasional tweaking but it's really simple to do and the adjustment screw is easy to access. Without that occasional tweaking the pitch will be off on sideband broadcasters that are dead center on the frequency, or whichever fraction the radio can tune to.
With a BFO it's less critical. Just twiddle the knob until the pitch sounds right. You can tune off-frequency to minimize QRM from an adjacent station, then twiddle the BFO to compensate. I had to do that Friday to catch Northwoods Radio on my older Panasonic portable, while there was interference from an adjacent utility station. I just tuned down to 6934 and twiddled the BFO.
Problem is, BFOs tend to be drifty so I need to retune them every few minutes. Same problem with my old Magnavox D-2935. Great sounding large portable but the BFO is drifty.
Right now my Sony ICF-2010 is off pitch on sideband so nothing sounds quite right. It's great in AM though, especially with the sync detector.
So I mostly use the little Panasonic or the Magnavox for pirates, even though I have to babysit the BFO knob.
The Palstar doesn't have a BFO, but can tune in fine enough increments with the VFO tuning knob to get an acceptable pitch, even with sideband broadcasts that aren't dead center on frequency or even drifty. Chris probably remembers that Rocky Mountain pirate station that we literally had to chase with the tuning knobs as the frequency drifted around wildly. Fun challenge, though, not a criticism. You couldn't automate the reception of that station!
The Palstar is a great radio, semi-portable with AA batteries or an outboard battery pack. But it really needs a good external antenna to be at peak performance. Otherwise you'll do just as well with a good portable on a whip. I've hardly used the Palstar the past couple of years since our apartment complex maintenance crews kept zeroing in on my stealth antennas and tearing them down. They were just cheap magnet wire loops fed with cable TV cable as feedline, but it was a hassle to keep putting 'em back up on weekends and holidays.
I've had many other portables with BFO tuning and they're all about the same, including all the popular Sangean or Uniden made Radio Shack models. All were good enough.