The Gadgeteer
“Oh cool” was my son’s reaction when he saw this… thing. What is this thing? It’s called the Pod Light from Mychanic, a unique take on the work light that goes almost anywhere.
- Sphere is 3.5” in diameter
- Base is 2.25” in diameter
- Sphere + Base is 4.5” tall
- 250 lumens
- Weight: .6 lbs
- Includes 3 AA Duracell(R) batteries
- Durable ABS housing
- Patent pending
The first thing I noticed: Batteries included! It also meant it wasn’t USB rechargeable, something I’ve been looking for in lights recently.
Let’s take a look at that base. It’s magnetized on both the concave side (to hold the pod) and the flat side, for mounting on a metallic work surface.
Feeding time! The Pod Light takes three AA batteries.
There’s a single diamond-shaped button on the top of the softball-sized light. You get a low (6 surround LEDs) and a high (all LEDs) setting. There’s no setting for just the central LED.
Here’s the Pod Light, mounted on a metal part under my hood.
How long does the Pod Light stay lit? To try this, I installed a set of regular rechargeable Eneloop AA batteries and let it sit on the brightest setting. After a few hours, the LED intensity dropped. I’d say the listed 7 hours is pretty accurate.
By the next morning, it was more like a dim night light. The Pod Light kept putting out a faint glow of light (not very useful) for nearly 36 hours before going completely dark. I’m not sure how alkaline AA batteries would fare, but the discharge curve is probably a little different.
Mychanic states that “you won’t be able to put it down” and I think they’re right. The sphere shape just feels fun, and I ended up going around the house to see where I could stick the magnetic base (appliances, shelves, car door). I still wish the Pod Light was USB rechargeable, but at least they were good enough to include AA batteries.
