I don’t take a lot of selfies, and going into this review I had absolutely no idea how or why on earth I would use a selfie stick. Mpow is a great company and I’ve done a handful of reviews for them before, so when they said they had a new selfie stick, or iSnap Pro Bluetooth Self-portrait Monopod, I said “what the heck” and had them send it to me. I’m still not sure that this is something that I will use all the time, but it’s interesting and does have some real-world uses. Read on to find out what Mpow’s iSnap Pro Bluetooth Self-portrait Monopod has to offer.
Device and Build
When you open the box, you find the extendable arm, 2 smartphone holders, a small orange rubber or plastic bumper, a microUSB charging cable, and the instruction manual for the device. The extendable arm has a rubber handle, and a charging port and on/off switch on the bottom. The head is adjustable and there is a bolt that you thread the smartphone holders onto. The 2 smartphone holders are different sizes; one for smaller phones and one for larger devices. The small orange rubber bumper slides over the arm on the smartphone holder to protect your phone from scratches, and it also adds a little bit of size to help you get the right fit for your phone. The selfie stick does need to be charged because it connects to your phone via Bluetooth. Mpow only gives you a microUSB charger, no wall adapter included here. This is something that Mpow does with almost all of the things they sell. It’s a cost-cutting measure. It does keep costs down. The iSnap Pro Bluetooth Self-portrait Monopod is only about $20.
The stick and plastic smartphone holders feel like they’ll hold up well as long as you’re not too rough with them. The holders have soft phone to protect your phone, and the stick handle is rubberized and easy to grip. The telescoping action was a little stiff and will probably wear in and become easier over time. You don’t want that to be too loose, though, so I’m fine with it being a little stiff to expand and collapse. The holders fit my Xperia Z2 just fine and should fit just about any phone available today.
Controls
Connecting to the iSnap Pro Bluetooth Self-portrait Monopod selfie stick is easy. It’s just a standard Bluetooth connection. Charge up the selfie stick, make sure that your phone’s Bluetooth is on, and then switch the power button on the stick to the “on” position. Your phone should find the device and pair with it automatically. Bluetooth will typically maintain a connection at up to 30 feet. The stick extends to just over 3 feet so this was fine.
There’s only one button to operate the stick. Once the stick is paired to your phone, you simply press the button to snap a photo. There’s no noticeable lag when taking a photo. This process is smooth and simple.
Using A Selfie Stick
This is where I kind of came up short. Mpow’s selfie stick is fine. The build is decent. The process of pairing the stick to my phone and taking a photo was very easy. I just don’t have many situations where I want to take a selfie, let alone need to get a selfie with a large group of people. The iSnap Pro Bluetooth Self-portrait Monopod would be handy to use if you’re outdoors, hiking in the woods, or someplace where you want to be in the photograph and want to capture more of the scene behind you. Having an additional 3 feet beyond the length of your arm can allow you to get a wider shot. I don’t find myself in many of those types of situations. If you’re into taking selfies and want to add a little something to your bag of photo tricks, this will do the trick for you.
Wrap-up
The Mpow iSnap Pro Bluetooth Self-portrait Monopod is a good selfie stick. It’s built well enough, it’s inexpensive, and it’s very easy to use. It will hold your phone securely and allow you to take a selfie with more than just you in the frame. Maybe you want to have a large group of people with you; maybe you want to capture more of the forest or other outdoor scene behind you. You can find this selfie stick on Amazon for about $20, although it’s sold out at the time I wrote this review.
