Runhood Rallye 1200: massive power on the go

Last year, we brought you word (here) and then a hands-on review (here) of the Runhood Rallye 600. That was a great compact powerhouse, and the bright orange fit well with an outdoorsy situation. But what if you want something that offers an even higher output wattage, as well as some upgrades over the 600? That’s where the Runhood Rallye 1200 comes in.

Runhood Rallye 1200: what’s different?

Obviously, the Runhood Rallye 1200 hits a higher maximum output wattage (1200) over the 600. It accomplishes this even with the same battery packs (two of them) inside that the 600 uses. The battery packs actually don’t impact the output – just for how long it can output power. So, how does it hit the higher wattage? There’s just additional components inside the 1200 that allow that higher maximum. As a result, you can see that the 1200 has a larger footprint as well.

Next up, let’s talk charging. You can charge the Runhood Rallye 1200 with the Runhood solar panel, so that’s a great backup. If you recall from our 600 review, you can plug into the wall to power things as well. For the 600, this required an inverter box. For the 1200? You’re simply plugging a cord into the unit, and then direct to the wall. In other words, all the inverter stuff is built in. Which means – and their product page confirms – you could reasonably use this as a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your home devices if you wanted to.

Finally, we’ve got some additional power out options. In terms of USB, you’ve got the same: 2 USB-A, and 2 USB-C. You also get the same 12V accessory port (ie, the cigarette light port for us oldies). Now, for the changes. For AC power, the Runhood Rallye 1200 adds a third AC outlet to plug into. And you also get a qi-compatible wireless charging pad on the top of the unit. So, definitely giving you a little more flexibility for how to use the battery banks.

About those battery packs

Each of the battery packs can hold 324Wh of power in them. While you can certainly charge them within the Runhood Rallye 1200, they’re also setup (with the right connectors) to be charged outside of the device as well. What this means is you can easily have extras sitting on the shelf that can be swapped in when you need them, to keep the electrons flowing in an emergency (or out in the woods).

We also asked about the charge cycles, and discharge rate. For charging, the battery packs are rated for 1000 cycles before they are degraded to 80% of their max capacity. In other words – if you’re using these for emergency backup, they’re going to last a good long time. And while they don’t have specs on the shelf drain, they are designed to just be sitting there ready to go when the power goes out. In other words, the drain is virtually nothing if they’re not being used. And we can confirm that we’ve seen that with the Rallye 600 that we’ve had here since last year.

Putting the Runhood Rallye 1200 to use

Last year, we took the Rallye 600 camping, as well as used it to power a portable pellet grill. This time, we decided to put it to a larger test, and I had it powering my full-size pellet grill. Now, to be fair, once the grill is going, it’s not like it draws a ton of power. Just the auger to feed more pellets in, and keep the electronics going. Still, it felt like a fun test (and I got dinner made as well), so that’s what we did. As you can see from the slideshow above, it pulled just a few hundred watts at peak, and over the course of cooking dinner, I ran the batteries down about 40%. In other words, more than capable.

We also took it camping. While slightly larger, I appreciated the fold-down handle of the Runhood Rallye 1200. This meant that it conformed to a more regular shape, making it simpler to pack into the back of the vehicle in the midst of all the other camping gear. While we did have power at the site, it was handle to be able to charge up the phones and other things, without needing to run the extension cord.

Wrapping things up

Frankly, devices like the Runhood Rallye 1200 just make sense to me to have on-hand. They feel like something that is a bit redundant, especially if your power rarely goes out. I was in that boat, until a few summers ago we had tornadoes in the area, and we were without power for 3 days. Having the Rallye around would have been a major help, particularly with some additional batteries for it, and the solar panel hookup as well to be able to top things off during the day.

In other words, something like the Runhood Rallye 1200 is a great idea if you think a whole-house backup generator is overkill, but you still want to have some sort of backup in case of an emergency. As we’ve shown here, they’re also a great way to get power out to where there isn’t AC available, like when you’re camping, or when you’re working off in a far corner of the yard.

If you want to get the Runhood Rallye 1200 on your shelf, you’re looking at price tag of $999 (though it looks like it’s currently $100 off). It’s not an inexpensive option, but still much more affordable than a Generac. And when you can use it to keep your fridge or freezer going in a power outage, well, it’ll be worth it to keep from having to throw out all that food. If you don’t need the 1200W output, you could save some coin with the redesigned Rallye 600. If you’re undecided, and have the extra funds, it couldn’t hurt to have the extra output capacity. You can check the Rallye 1200 out at runhoodpower.com

Details

• Portable. Best for camping & home backup.648 Wh capacity, 2400W peak power, and 1200W AC power. Fast recharge with the solar panel, car port, and AC wall outlet. Powering most camping activities and home emergency use, such as mini coffee makers, phones, laptops, portable refrigerators, etc.
• Solar generator optional.Choose our SERI 100 solar panel for camping as an additional option to fully recharge the power station or the swappable batteries. Run 9 essential appliances simultaneously without worrying about overloading. With a whole host of ports, from 1200W AC outlets to USB-C, all your device’s plugs have been covered.
• Swappable battery.Best portable power station for home backup, outdoor travel, and emergency. The innovative technology of a hot-swappable battery supports swapping batteries on the go without ever losing power.
• Unique modular design.The only modular design power station on the market. The swappable battery enables the user to swap the batteries when they run out of power. No more waiting for the recharging. The energy bar batteries can be recharged individually, anywhere, and at any time.
• Safe and money-back guarantee.2-Year Warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee when ordering from our Official Website. Safety and reliability design is the first consideration in the design of this product. Enjoy zero-risk use of the RUNHOOD portable power station.