INTRODUCTION

    Just like with powerbanks which you can use even while at home or the office (you may not be right next to a wall socket at all times) portable power stations can also prove to be very useful, even if you don't go camping. There are many people who either use portable power stations for emergency situations (blackouts) or instead of UPS devices and so there's a far wider range of uses for them than what many people may believe. Needless to say, this all depends on the capacity and power output of a portable power station but the good news is that there are models out there tailored for use even with low power devices like the R600 by Allpowers.

    Allpowers was established in the United States, with over 350 employees and three research and development centers in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen; Allpowers establish flagship offline experience stores for Guangzhou and Shenzhen brands; Having a factory area of over 20000 square meters in Shenzhen and Dongguan, it is a national high-tech enterprise, gazelle enterprise, and national military certified enterprise that integrates the design, development, production, and sales of solar energy storage power applications. It is a technology driven industry leading solar energy storage brand solution company. The company was founded in May 2010. The company has 15 core patented invention technologies, such as solar energy embedding and flexible manufacturing process, intelligent energy storage, and has established 4 brands in the United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, and so on. The company has established independent research and development institutions for ID&structural design, 3D printing, mold development, injection molding, SMT and photovoltaic laser cutting, environment and performance testing laboratories. The new products developed by the company have been successively published by CCTV & US VOA.

    The R600 portable power station by Allpowers is currently available in silver and gray and beige colors and is the smallest member of their R line which just like its brothers is a pure sine wave inverter model featuring LiFePO4 battery cells (299Wh/12000mAh capacity) which can hold up to 80% of battery even after 3500+ cycles. It also features a maximum supported power output of 600W (1200W peak), total of 8 power outputs (2xAC 600W max sockets, 1xDC 12V 120W cigarette lighter, 2xUSB-C 200W max, 2xUSB-A 36W max & 1xWireless 15W), solar charging input (220W max), real time LCD display and an LED torch (with SOS mode).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Allpowers ships the R600 inside a plain cardboard that has their logo and a product drawing at the front.

The product specifications are printed on a sticker located on the right side of the box.

Typically, the power station is placed between two thick pieces of foam.

Along with the R600 and its power cord inside the box you'll also find a social media card and the user manual.

THE R600

The R600 model by Allpowers measures 285mm in length, 190mm in width and 195mm in height.

At the top we find the wireless charging area and a convenient plastic handle.

All outputs are placed at the front of the power station so from left to right we have the 12V DC cigarette port, two AC ports with their on/off button, two USB-C and two USB-A ports with their on/off button, on/off power button, light mode button and the LED torch.

Both sides are perforated but on the right side we also find a small plastic door just over the power port, overload protector (breaker) and the solar panel port.

The device has four rubber feet on its base and another four at the rear so you can position it even with the outputs facing upwards.

When the R600 is turned on the LCD will display the current battery level, input/output, power plug display when the AC power ports are being used remaining hours (based on the current power consumption).

TESTING METHODOLOGY

    In order to cover a wide range of electrical and electronic devices i decided that I’ll be using 3 different ones to test portable power stations, the VEVOR SH-C22 Bluetooth car refrigerator (DC, around 45W consumption - not continuous), Delonghi Aria Dry Light dehumidifier (AC, around 662W consumption) and a generic air cleaner (AC, around 55W consumption). Of course, my ExTech HD600 dBA meter will also be used at around 10cm away from each portable power station to record the maximum noise coming from the built-in fan/s.

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

    The R600 is the 3rd smallest portable power station I've received in the lab/office and well, it can't be really compared with the larger models, not just in terms of battery capacity but also power output. So, if you're looking for a power station capable of powering devices surpassing 300-400W for a significant amount of time the R600 model is simply not capable of that. On the other hand, the R600 is a great alternative to regular power banks since it easily surpasses most not only in battery capacity and power output but also available connectors (AC & DC support). On top of these you can also use a small solar panel to recharge the R600 when outdoors so if size (and occasional noise) is of no concern, it's the perfect replacement for large power banks. As for noise levels my sample was inaudible most of the time during testing, both while charging and while giving power to other devices. I only recorded noise a couple of times when things were getting very hot but again, for very short periods of time. I am pointing this out because Allpowers has made changes to the R600 lately and the speed profile of the internal fan seems to be among those changes.

    As of now the R600 portable power station by Allpowers retails for USD219.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 229.24Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) so it’s priced well. Overall, the R600 by Allpowers may not be among the highest capacity and output portable power stations out there but if you’re looking for a great power bank alternative it more than fits the bill and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Power Output (600W / 1200W Peak)
- Battery Capacity (299Wh)
- Charging Ports (2xUSBC / 2xUSB A / 2xAC / 1xDC / 1xWireless)
- Pure Sine Wave Model
- Allpowers Smart App
- Available In Silver/Grey & Beige Colors
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Price (Current)

CONS

- Small Capacity & Power Output