The Review
Just before the Christmas rush began, LUXA2 reached out to me and asked if I'd like to review two of its power banks, or mobile rechargeable batteries. Of course, I'm not going to deny this, but I love going in blind, not knowing what I'm going to be sent.
The first one I reviewed is the one we're looking at today: the PL1 2800mAh Leather Power Bank. It features a very unique design, and is made from some great quality leather. It also includes a "Handy Bag Tag Feature," which lets you lock it onto your bag. Not that I would want to do that, as it could easily be lost or stolen, but the option is there.
The MSRP on the LUXA2 PL1 is not too bad at $34.95.
Let's take a look around the packaging first.
On the front of the package, we have a look at the PL1 charger itself. The "Handy Bag Tag Feature" is shown on the right. We see that it has a 2-year warranty, has an ultra-thin 10mm design, and can charge the iPhone 5 up to 1.5 times on a single charge.
On the back, we have some more details on how to use the PL1 itself, which is not too hard at all.
Taking the package apart, the contents are: a PL1 Quick Start Guide, the PL1 charger itself, the Handy Bag Tag Feature cable, and a micro USB to USB cable for charging.
Our Latest Portable Chargers Review Coverage
And there we have it, the PL1 on its own. It has a striking design, with a great feel to it. It would definitely have its fans, but unfortunately I'm not one of them. We'll get to that in a minute, but you should begin to see why with this next picture.
[ imgsbs]08[/imgsbs] Once you open up the PL1, the ports are too far away from the holes in the leather. Why, LUXA2? Why?!
Now that we have the usual "let's take a look around the box" stuff out of the way, let's get into the real-world use of the LUXA PL1.
First we'll tackle the elephant in the room: the design. I truly don't understand what LUXA2 was thinking, apart from "style, or nothing". It looks and feels great, that's not the issue. My biggest issue is having to pull the leather to the side so I can plug in my smartphone to charge. I shouldn't have to do that to use the charger, should I?
The charger being 10mm-thick is great, and the 2800mAh battery inside includes enough juice to charge my Nexus 5 smartphone once, leaving a little power left inside the PL1.
Do I recommend the LUXA PL1 power bank? No. Not if I have anything to do with it. However, if you're a fan of the aesthetics, then yes - of course, but you have to be prepared to put up with the annoying leather next to those ports.
