This time, for the first time on this blog, I'll be reviewing a miscellaneous item: the Capybara Night Light.
The reason I bought it is because we recently had twin babies, and I needed a little light for making milk, breastfeeding, and changing diapers in the middle of the night. Plus, I love capybaras so much that I even use them in the name of this blog (Kazubara) and as the icon on my self-introduction page, so I thought, "I can't do without this!!" and bought it.
I actually used it and found it quite cute and convenient, so I'm writing a review.
appearance
This is the exterior, front view.
It captures the characteristics of a capybara very well; it's a very well done job.
One of the impressive details is that the ears, nose, hands, and feet are not painted, but are made from separate pieces of brown rubber that are securely glued to the main body. This is a welcome detail, as painted parts can look sad when the paint chips off.
Another point I personally found amazing was that they accurately depicted four fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot.
For capybara lovers, the fact that the number of fingers and toes matches is an essential point.
Next is the side view.
My favorite features of capybaras are their narrow eyes and small ears, which are so characteristic of them.
This is a rear view.
Obviously, it doesn't have a tail. The slightly melancholic look of its back is quite appealing.
The exterior is made of thin silicone rubber, so it's soft and squishy to the touch. Because it's soft, it won't break even if dropped, so the chances of small children getting hurt if they touch or drop it are quite low.
It's about the size of an adult man's palm and weighs a light 220g (a palm-sized capybara).
点灯
Let's actually turn it on.
First, turn on the switch located on the bottom.
The light doesn't turn on immediately after turning on the power; you have to press the unit as shown in the next picture to turn on the light (it's a little sad).
In the photo, I'm pressing on its head, but the light will turn on no matter where you press on the capybara's body.
This is a video showing the device being switched on.
Capybara Lights Power On Video
The light has two modes: low and high. One press is low, two presses are high. Three presses turn it off.
Low brightness (apparently the low mode is 50% of the high mode).
This is what the room looks like when illuminated in low mode (it kind of reminds me of Pikachu's Thunderbolt, since they're both mice, right?).
Strong mode
This is what the room actually looks like when illuminated in high mode.
The brightness in high mode is rated at 0.5W, which is about the same as a typical household night light.
If you want to move the capybara while keeping the light on, grabbing its body will turn off the light, so grab its ears instead, and the light will stay on as you move it.
Next, let's look at the 20' mode, which can be selected in the middle of the power switch.
20′ means that the lights will turn off after 20 minutes.
It can be useful in various situations, such as when you're feeding your baby milk in the middle of the night and putting them to sleep, as the light automatically turns off, or when you're sleeping by the bedside.
Incidentally, the meaning of the notation 20′ is a standard symbol used in mathematics and engineering, and is familiar to many as a symbol used in the 60th Act, where degrees (°), minutes (′), and seconds (″) represent angles, so it means 20 minutes.
These inconvenient markings make it seem like it's made in China (though from an engineer's perspective, it's normal marking).
スペックなど
I'll leave the detailed specifications to the Amazon link at the end of the article, and instead, I'll focus on the points that personally interest me.
Let's look at the meaning of the characters written on the bottom of the device.
① Battery Capacity: 1200mAh
This represents the battery capacity. Based on the specifications, it appears to be a 1200mAh lithium polymer single-cell 3.7V battery.
With a capacity of 1200mAh, it has a considerably large battery for just a light. To put it into perspective, although they are older models, the iPhone 3 has a capacity of 1200mAh and the iPhone 4 has 1400mAh, so it has a considerably large capacity and I don't think it will run out of power easily even if you leave the light on all the time.
This capybara costs around 2000 yen, but I feel that a battery of this capacity would cost around 1500 yen (including the charging circuit), so I think more than 60% of the price is due to the battery.
② Charging input: DC5V 0.5A
This is the required charging power: 5V DC, 0.5A, which is the same specification as the USB standard.
The device's power supply is solely via USB Type-C, which perfectly illustrates this point. Incidentally, the power source is located on the capybara's rear end.
You can charge it by plugging a USB cable into this slot. You can use it normally while it's charging.
It looks like it's turned into a normal, cute mouse with a tail.
The included cable is a USB Type-A to USB Type-C conversion cable; a household power adapter is not included, so those who do not have a USB power supply will need to purchase one separately.
③ Rated Power: 0.5W
This represents the rated output. While it might be slightly misleading, in this case you can think of it as representing the brightness of the light (although lumens are actually the correct unit).
With this LED light's brightness, the required voltage is approximately 3V. Since the battery has a rated output of 0.5W and a capacity of 1200mAh, it should be able to stay lit for about 7-8 hours. In low mode, it should last about 14-15 hours.
Of course, this is just a reference value, as it will vary depending on how many times you turn the light on and off and switch between high and low brightness levels.
Finally, what I personally found interesting was that the light switch is operated by a pressure sensor that detects air pressure. So, when you grab the capybara inside the device, it seems to detect the air pressure escaping from the USB port and switches the light on and off.
Therefore, if you grab it slowly, you won't be able to adjust the light intensity or turn it on and off.
Pressure sensor detection video
Summary
From a purely functional standpoint, it's just an ordinary night light with a large-capacity battery, but its biggest appeal is its cute capybara shape (and the fact that it uses a battery instead of dry cell batteries makes it very convenient).
The capybara's exterior design is quite cute, and the fact that it accurately depicts the capybara's characteristic four fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot is a major plus.
We mainly use it for childcare at home, but I think it can be used in many other situations, such as a reading light before bed, so I recommend it.
That concludes my review of the Capybara Night Light.
Capybara Night Light
The actual price is around 2000 yen, which is quite affordable. Besides capybaras, you can also choose from ducks, pandas, and chicks, all of which are adorable.
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