The r.Pod (by Misemet) is a giant pill that cures many ails.
As a backup battery supply, it offers 4100mAh worth of extra juice for your phone, tablet, or digital device. As a flashlight, the 170 Lumen LED lamp is bright enough to light your way through the darkest of corridors. As a lamp, it brightens up a tent or office without blinding your friends or colleagues.
I have spent a few weeks playing with the r.Pod, using it as a backup battery supply for our smartphones and have come to appreciate the flexibility. Its pill shape and silicon housing make for a fun, if not abstract, take on the traditional power block. Sure, you’ll show it to your friends or co-workers and be met with smirks and snickers. Once they see what it does, however, they’ll invariably come up with cool reasons to own one.
As a guy who spends a few weeks camping each year camping, I am anxious to take the r.Pod with me on the next outing. I love the low-light lamp effect that glows bright enough to fill a room yet doesn’t blind or distract. Peel off the rubber cap and the light becomes very strong, powerful enough to take late night excursions. The clip is also handy as it can hook to a belt, backpack, or canopy to add ambiance or a source of light. It’s safe to say that this will be a staple around the camp setup this summer.
At 4100mAh, the internal battery is strong enough to juice up the average smartphone twice over. Charging up the r.Pod is as easy as anything else; microUSB saves the day, again.
For those who do not have a power supply to charge up the r.Pod, the solar panel fills in and handles the job. Results will vary depending on cloud cover and time of day however I found that charging took most of the day, or 10-12 hours. With that in mind, the r.Pod should be able to pull in enough juice every day to keep things charged and ready to go.
What we liked:
- Multiple functions (lamp, LED flashlight) separate it from other power packs.
- Fun, colorful alternative to the standard blacks and greys
- Solar charging fills in where microUSB cannot
Room for improvement:
- Could be a touch smaller
- Carrying solar charger and cords could be easier by including a pouch
Where to buy:
Misemet offers the r.Pod directly through Amazon.com where it can be purchased in a variety of color options (green, yellow, red). The list pricing of $120 is a tad high for our liking however the current sticker looks to be $75, a bargain if you ask us. NOTE: Not sure how long it will last, but the red version is only $69.99 right now.
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