In the crowded market of power banks, it is difficult for a startup company to really make its mark. Dark Energy, the guys behind the Reservoir are giving it a try. Lets see how they do.

Design

The Reservoir is actually a really nice looking device. With its soft plastic feel and dimpled texture it feels very classy in the hand, although at roughly the same size as a Galaxy S 4 it isn’t the sleekest power pack around.The LED and power button are well concealed so as to make the whole unit look like one solid pack. I like the design a lot; the flat shape and relative thinness of the Reservoir also makes it easy to slide into a pocket with the phone attached as well as sitting nicely on a desk.

Power

Dark Energy say that the Reservoir will give “A Weeks Power” and while that sounds good in a marketing way I’m not sure that holds water with the more enlightened Android user. A Galaxy S 4 has a 2600 mAh battery and will last you maybe 12 hours. With the Reservoirs 8,000 mAmp power you could recharge the S4 roughly three times before depletion. Running the numbers I would say that this power pack is never actually going to give you a weeks worth of power. Basically what I’m saying is Mileage May Vary.

Conclusion

This is of course a short and sweet review. There really isn’t too much I can say about power banks at this point that you don’t already know. Would I pick this pack over the it’s competitors in the 8,000 mAmp category? It almost got a yes. It’s nice to look and the form factor makes it great for charging your phone on a train table where you can put it on the table and the phone on it. The design is almost perfect to stop slipping and sliding. Unfortunately, I couldn’t recommend for one big reason: The price tag is $129. Too much, much too much.