Science

This light bulb costs less than $1 and fits in your wallet

For just 89 cents, you can put a lightbulb in your pocket that will add a glow to summer gatherings -- and maybe even win you a bet or two.

Michael Franco

Freelancer Michael Franco writes about the serious and silly sides of science and technology for CNET and other pixel and paper pubs. He's kept his fingers on the keyboard while owning a B&B in Amish country, managing an eco-resort in the Caribbean, sweating in Singapore, and rehydrating (with beer, of course) in Prague. E-mail Michael.

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Michael Franco

May 25, 2015 10:20 a.m. PT

2 min read

This little lamp slides into your wallet when you're done with it. GearBest

With summer coming, chances are you'll be spending a little more time outside at night than usual. Which means you'll need artificial sources of illumination.

I just came across one such glowing goodie that I needed to share with Crave readers.

It's called the "New LED Design Renovation Credit Card Size Ultra-slim Fold-up LED Pocket Wallet/Purse Lamp/Light," which is truly an unfortunate name for something so cool. I think "Pocket Bulb" or something like that would have done much better.

At any rate, the device is a plastic card that measures 8.6 by 5.3 by 0.3 cm (which is about 3.4 by 2 by 0.1 inches). The center of the card consists of a light-bulb-shaped cutout that pops up and gets illuminated with an LED light. A really nice feature is that the little contraption is powered by a 3V battery that's replaceable, so unlike other cheap LED light sources that tend to be disposable, you can just swap out the battery on this one and keep it going.

The other really nice feature? The Pocket Bulb (let's just go with it, OK?) costs just 89 cents (about £.58, AU$.1.14) on China-based GearBest.com -- and it comes with free shipping anywhere in the world. Delivery times are between 10 and 25 days, so it's no Amazon Prime, but how urgently do you really need a pocket light bulb anyway?

Some of the comments (which are an overwhelmingly positive 4.7 out of five stars based on 212 reviews) say the bulb doesn't really throw enough light to read by, but that the bulb does give off a warm glow. I'm thinking that because of the low cost, getting a batch of these things might be the way to go. They'd look pretty cool at every person's plate at dinner, arranged along the railing at a deck party, or used to light the way to your tent entrance on a camping trip.

They also might be a good way to make some extra cash from you friends when you ask them, "How much do you want to bet that I've got a light bulb in my wallet?" Am I right?