Portable Smartphone Battery Pack Roundup Review

LUXA2 PL3, 10,400 mAh

The biggest of the bunch is LUXA2’s offering, coming in at $49.99 US when purchased from Amazon and rated at a massive 10,000 mAh in capacity – it’s reasonably priced for what is on offer. Complete with a sleek genuine leather outer casing and a flashlight that’s available upon two clicks of the power button, what we like the most about this unit is the ability to not only charge two devices at once, but the ever-handy 2.1A charging Socket.

Your normal USB socket on a desktop computer will provide you with 0.5A of power through each port, bested by many OEM-issued wall adapters being rated at a much larger 1.2A – imagine how fast 2.1A can charge up your device. I’ve been using this product for the longest out of all three, sometimes actually opting for the charger over my wall socket due to the fast charge capabilities and the fact that it’s rated at a gigantic 10,400 mAh. It’s been argued by some however, that the 2.1A charging port can possibly shorten the life of your device – pushing too much power in too quickly. However, over the last four months of use I haven’t noted any issues and I haven’t spotted any notable research articles backing up these claims.

The Luxa2 PL3, 10,400 mAh battery comes complete with a standard cable branded with the LUXA2 logo, alongside a very neat and handy carry pouch – this is seen with almost all LUXA2 products, which helps set them apart from the rest. This method is even seen through their sister company Tt eSPORTS – providing travel cases and pouches for almost the full width of their range.

As for improvements, it’s nice to have a fancy leather case but with many smaller, lighter and simpler mass-produced offerings – it’s hard to justify spending the extra coin just to get something that is meant to make me ‘feel’ like a lawyer or a banker using a specially designed device. We’d love to see a flatter and lighter re-release of this LUXA2 product alongside a few dollars dropped off the asking price. However, if you’re a fan of the design – we can highly recommend this product.

I understand that looks aren’t the be-all and end-all of technology products, however LUXA2 often make special consideration to mention it on their product pages and within their descriptions – with this product claiming that its “leather has been put together with skilled craftsmanship and care to provide that classic finishing touch that only a human can provide.” Rightfully so too, they’re an offshoot of big-name case manufacturer Thermaltake and have a reputation to uphold. It’s up to you to device if the plush finish is worth the extra coin.

To help you judge the size of each model, we will be comparing them next to a standard SATA 3.5-inch hard drive.

To help you judge the charging capacity that these batteries hold within, we’ll show you approximately how much charge this portable solution will provide to your phone:

• Samsung Galaxy S5 – 371%
• Samsung Galaxy note 4 –  322%
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus – 356%
• Apple iPhone 6 – 574%
• Motorola Nexus 6 – 322%
• HTC One M8 – 400%