List Price: $34.99
Official URL: Booninc.com
(Note: You can get the Bug Pod in red anywhere OR in PINK, exclusively at Babies R Us!)
Rating:

The “Bug Pod” by Boon is a large lady bug bath toy scoop that doubles as a shelf and two hangers for your child’s shampoo, bath scrubbies and wash cloth.

To scoop the toys up, you simply unlatch the ladybug scoop from its wall mount and shovel the toys into the scoop. the water flows out of the extra-large holes. To store the toys, you simply latch the scoop back onto the wall mount. Bath toys scooped, strained, and protected from mildew. Mission accomplished. Stick it back on the wall, and suddenly your kid’s crazy collection of bath toys looks manageable, tidy, and even cute.

QUALITY & CONSTRUCTION

The Bug Pod comes in three parts:

A mounting circle that mounts to the wall using either four pre-applied super strong adhesive strips or screws (with a suction cup option coming soon, we’re told). The adhesive strips hold VERY well and can support up to 10lbs of miscellany.

A Black lady bug base that has a mounting clip, the lady bug head, antennae and a surprisingly generous shelf. The lady bug base is made of hollow plastic and is lightweight but very well made.

And the bath scoop which is made of red plastic with a black handle. The “Spots” of the lady bug are large drainage holes that let the water run out quickly and that simplify the cleaning process. The scoop is again, lightweight and well made. It flexes but does not easily (or without great difficulty) break when dropped or sat upon.

The bath scoop is very easy to latch into place and the base does not come off of the wall too easily, which prevents it from accidentally coming off whenever you pull the scoop off.

INSTALLATION

Installation is really very easy. While I fully recommend that you follow the instructions (as I really truly meant to do), I have not seen any negative side effects of my significantly less than perfect installation.

Reading the installation instructions I was a bit intimidated by the idea of having to warm up our bathroom to a balmy 75 degrees for the duration of 24 hours until the adhesive dried. But that trepidation was outweighed by the idea of having to drill holes in our bathroom tiles. Soldiering ahead I dragged the space heater into the bathroom and set it all up so very carefully.

Flash forward two hours and while I was napping my dear sweet husband has decided to unplug the heater (thinking I left it on by accident), and take a shower that left the bathroom steamed up for a good half an hour, followed by his opening the window to let freezing cold December air come rolling in. So much for following the instructions perfectly. In the end I basically made sure to apply the adhesive strips to warm, clean and dry tile. And I allowed it to dry for 2 hours before exposing it to cold and humidity. I tested out the strength and was able to go over the 10lb max allowance for the adhesive strips. I won’t be doing that on a regular basis, though. And I might very well find that the life expectancy of the strips decreases due to the snafus.. But Boon makes it easy to purchase new strips, and the strips are easy to remove with a cloth-covered butter knife. So I’ll cope with that one when it happens.

DRAINAGE & CLEANING

There are 9 holes in the lady bug. The holes have diameters ranging from just over an inch to two inches. The ninth hole is a slightly triangular hole at the base of the ladybug. These super-sized holes are small enough to hold most bath toys in place while allowing water to run through freely. There is none of the wait or trapped water associated with smaller holes in other scoops. The larger holes also keep the unit very easy to clean as you can simply swipe the inside rims with a sponge instead of requiring careful q-tip cleaning. The Bug Pod also does not mildew and become gross the way many “hammock” style bath toy storage systems tend to do.

SPECS

Dimensions: 11″ x 17″ x 7 1/2″,  Mounting options: Adhesive strips (max weight: 10lbs) or screws (max weight: 20lbs), or Suction Cup Bracket (max weight: 5lbs). The suction cup bracket will be available soon.

BOTTOM LINE

This “Bug Pod” is cute, fun and stylish enough to not be annoying. It is very functional, easy to install and easy to use. If you have bath toys and are constantly trying to figure out better ways to store them… This is a great solution to many of your bath-time woes. Added bonus: my two year old loves to help the bug eat his toys, and it has ended many of the bathtime melt-downs that would occur when it was time to drain the water from the tub.