PGYTech’s MantisPod Power charges your action cam while you shoot

PGYTech has announced the latest addition to its lineup of MantisPod tripods. Designed for action cameras, they’re compact and quite versatile. Its full name is the PGYTech CapLock MantisPod Power (buy here).

Versions are being released for GoPro cameras and Insta360 cameras. The only difference between the two packages that I can see is the remote control unit included with each. But both are also compatible with your iPhones and Android smartphones.

PGYTech CapLock MantisPod Power – Easy Power

The concept of putting a battery in a tripod or selfie stick is not a new one. But PGYTech has released a number of interesting little tripods for action cameras in the last few years. They also produce the Insta360 Multi Mount (buy here) that was released with the Insta360 Ace Pro (buy here), and a number of other Insta360-branded products.

I have the Insta360 Multi Mount myself, and it’s proven to be very useful and versatile. So, seeing power come to the lineup is a very welcome addition.

Battery life can be a pain when you’re filming with small cameras. And then you have to stop and wait for it to charge back up. If it’s charging the whole time you’re using it, that’s going to be a big reduction to your downtime.

Of course, you’ll have to stop to charge the handle, too, at some point, but it should last long enough that you can do it when it’s convenient for you, not just because it ran dry.

Nylon and Fibreglass construction for maximum durability

The internal battery is a 5,000mAh 3.7v lithium-ion. To give you some idea of how much that is, the battery that comes with the Insta360 Ace Pro is 1650mAh. So, you should get about three full charges out of it. Knowing this, you can plan your shooting and charging schedule accordingly.

That battery is housed inside a tough Nylon and fibreglass shell. I haven’t tried the MantisPod power, but if it’s as tough as the Insta360 Multi Mount, it should stand up to most abuse that can get thrown at it during a day’s vlogging.

It charges up over USB with a 5v 2.4A connection. This sounds like it’s just regular USB and not USB-PD. It charges in less than 3 hours. Again, schedules. If you find yourself regularly burning through it, it might be worth having two.

The output port provides 5v at up to 2A. This may not be enough for some cameras under extreme load. The Insta360 Ace Pro, for example, uses more battery when shooting 8K, especially if you’ve enabled a bunch of the bells and whistles. So, the camera may still deplete faster than it can charge. However, it will delay the inevitable.

So, your mileage may vary, and you should test your cameras with it. I don’t think buying two or three of these is an odd thing if you think of them as being primarily batteries. We’ll happily spend $35 on an Insta360 Ace Pro battery, but not $70 on one three times the size?

When you look at it that way, the tripod aspect of it just becomes a bonus. And hey, anyone with a few action cameras is always going to need a handful of mini tripods anyway.

Price and Availability

The PGYTech CapLock MantisPod Power for GoPro (and Android/iOS) is available to buy now for $69.95. The Insta360 version of the MantisPod Power is also available to buy now for $69.95.