NEBO Poppy Puck: A Small Rechargeable Light for Power Cuts

The NEBO Poppy Puck is a small rechargeable light that works as both a torch and a lantern. It is a puck light and lantern in one, with a 300-lumen floodlight, a warm flickering flame mode and a magnetic base, and it weighs 82g¹. For a household preparing for power cuts, that combination matters: it is light enough to keep in a drawer or a grab bag, bright enough to light a room briefly, and it can be stuck to a fridge or hung from a hook so your hands stay free.

The trade-off is run time. On its brightest setting the maker gives 50 minutes, and as a low lantern it runs for up to 6 hours². That makes it a light for a task, a trip to the fuse box or a child's bedside, rather than the one light that carries a whole evening. Plan to pair it with a longer-running lantern or a torch that takes standard batteries.

This page sets out what the Poppy Puck can do, how to switch between its modes, how to charge it safely and how to use it around the home without harm. It is a maker's product, so the specifications and instructions below are NEBO's own, named as such, with independent safety guidance where it applies.

What the Poppy Puck is and who it suits

The maker describes the Poppy Puck as a multi-directional puck light and lantern featuring a 300-lumen floodlight and a warm flickering flame mode². It is built from aircraft-grade aluminium and has a collapsible accordion body that can be articulated to angle the light¹. In plain terms, it is a compact disc of a light that you can fold, aim, stick or hang.

That shape suits particular jobs in a household. It is a good light to keep by the bed for a child who is frightened in a power cut, because the lantern mode is dim and warm rather than a harsh beam. It suits a cupboard, a loft hatch or a fuse box, where you want light exactly where you are working and both hands free. It suits a tent, a caravan or a shed. It is less suited to being the main light for a family sitting out a long evening, because the brightest mode lasts 50 minutes and the lantern mode gives 10 lumens².

If you are choosing lighting for a power cut more broadly, it helps to think in categories: a bright torch for checking outside and finding the trip switch, a room lantern for sitting together, and a small personal light like this one for moving about. Our guide to battery and rechargeable lanterns sets out the room-lighting options, and torches: types and how to choose one covers the hand-held side. The Poppy Puck sits between the two.

Specifications

The maker publishes a full specification for the Poppy Puck, and it is worth reading the modes as a set rather than a single brightness figure. The same light gives 300 lumens for 50 minutes, 30 lumens for 3.5 hours, or 10 lumens for up to 6 hours, depending on the mode you choose². The beam distance falls with the brightness in the same way².

The maker's product page and its specification page give the same figures for each mode, so there is no conflict to resolve between them¹. If you are comparing lights, remember that lumens alone do not tell you how a light will feel in a room; our explainer on lumens, beam distance and run time sets out what each figure means in practice.

Run time: 50 minutes on high, up to 6 hours as a lantern

The run time is the figure that decides how you use this light. On flood high, the maker gives 50 minutes². That is enough to check a fuse box, walk to the meter cupboard, look under a sink for a leak or search a shed, but not enough to leave on while the family eats. On flood low, at 30 lumens, it runs for 3.5 hours, and as a lantern at 10 lumens it runs for up to 6 hours².

The practical approach is to match the mode to the job. Use flood high in short bursts when you need to see detail at distance, up to 22 metres away². Use flood low for moving around the house, where 8 metres of beam is plenty². Use lantern mode when you want a soft light in one spot, such as a bedside or a bathroom, where 4 metres of reach is enough².

If you need light for a whole evening, this is not the light to rely on alone. A power cut that lasts several hours needs a lantern with a longer run time, or a torch that takes standard batteries you can swap. Our page on how long a camping lantern runs in a power cut explains how to work out what a household needs, and how long a torch battery lasts on low covers the torch side.

Light modes and how to switch between them

The Poppy Puck has five light modes: flood high, flood low, strobe, lantern steady and lantern flicker¹. The maker puts the power and mode button on the base of the light¹. From off, a press cycles through flood high, flood low, lantern and lantern flicker, and then off again¹. A double press activates strobe². From off, you can press and hold the power button to go straight to lantern mode, then press again within 8 seconds to cycle through the lantern settings².

That gives you two ways in. The straight cycle is simplest: press until you reach the mode you want. The press-and-hold route is quicker when you know you want the soft lantern light, for example at a child's bedside in the dark, without flashing through the bright flood first.

The flicker mode is a candle-like effect, which the maker lists as one of the light's features¹. It is a comfort light rather than a working light. If you want the look of a candle without a flame, it is a safer choice than a real candle in a house with children or pets, and our comparison of LED candles or real candles sets out the difference.

Strobe is best kept for signalling or for drawing attention to yourself if you are lost or hurt outdoors. It is hard on the eyes and unsettling for children, so do not use it as a plaything. Our page on how to use SOS and strobe modes explains when a flashing light helps and when it does not.

Mounting it with the magnetic base and hanging hooks

The maker gives the Poppy Puck a powerful magnetic base and folding hanging hooks¹. Together with the collapsible body, that means you can set it on a surface, stick it to a metal object or hang it up, and then angle the light where you need it¹. In a power cut, that is the difference between holding a torch in your teeth and having both hands free to reset a trip switch or carry a child.

Useful places to mount it include the side of a fridge or a metal cupboard, a nail or hook by a doorway, the frame of a loft hatch, or the inside of a shed. Because the body folds, you can point the beam down at a worktop or across a room without propping the light up.

If you are working near overhead power lines, for example hanging a light on a shed or a fence outside, keep well clear. Overhead power lines are generally mounted on wooden poles but can also be on steel pylons or concrete structure, and they are live³. A light on a long hook or a metal pole is not something to wave near them.

Charging over USB-C, including using it while it charges

The Poppy Puck charges over USB-C and comes with a USB-A to USB-C cable¹. There is no mains plug in the box, so you will need a USB charger you already own, or a computer or power bank with a USB port. The LED near the charging port acts as the charging status indicator while the light is plugged in².

The maker says the light will work while it is charging, but performance may be reduced and charging times will be increased¹. That is useful to know in a long power cut: you can run the light from a power bank and keep using it, but do not expect full brightness or a quick charge at the same time. Our page on using a torch while it is charging covers the general principle.

For the charger itself, independent guidance from Electrical Safety First is clear. USB-C with Power Delivery is the most flexible option, because the charger and device talk to each other to agree on the safest and fastest charging level⁴. A USB-C with Power Delivery means fewer chargers, faster charging and one connector that works across many devices⁴. Use a charger from a reputable source, as the same body advises for USB-powered devices⁵.

If you are unsure whether a charger is safe, our page on whether the wrong USB charger can damage a torch battery explains what to look for, and charging and storing rechargeable torches safely covers storage between uses.

Safe use around the eyes

The maker's safety instruction is specific: do not shine the light directly in someone's eyes, and if the beam does shine directly in your eye, look away immediately¹. The same instruction says not to use magnifying instruments that could concentrate the beam¹. At 300 lumens, this is bright enough to dazzle and to leave after-images, and a child who looks into it at close range will not enjoy the experience.

The risk is greatest with children, who are curious and hold lights close to their faces. Keep the light out of reach of small children when it is not in use, and show older children how to point it at a wall or the floor rather than at people. Our page on whether it is safe to look into a bright torch explains what a bright beam does to the eye and when to seek advice.

A rechargeable light is a safer choice than a candle in a house with children or pets, but it is not risk-free. If you are using it alongside candles, keep candles out of reach of small children and pets, as fire services advise⁷. Our candle fire safety at home page and the candle safety checklist set out the rules.

Where it fits in a household emergency kit

The Met Office's WeatherReady advice is to put together a grab bag with bottled water, medicines, a torch, radio and batteries, copies of important documents and a change of clothes⁸. A small rechargeable light like the Poppy Puck is a sensible addition to that torch, because it can be hung or stuck in place and used as a lantern. It does not replace the torch, and it does not replace spare batteries, because it has a built-in battery that cannot be swapped.

A household grab bag, as North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service describes it, might include medication, a torch, important documents such as insurance details and utility information, warm clothing, spare keys, a first aid kit, baby milk and nappies if there is a young child, water, snacks, a fully charged mobile and, if possible, a spare battery⁹. The Poppy Puck fits alongside those items as a light for the bag itself.

If you are building a lighting kit from scratch, our power cut checklist and spare batteries to keep for your lights pages set out what to have ready. For a wider view of preparing the home, see power cuts: a household guide.

Support, warranty and buying in the UK

NEBO's UK site lists the Poppy Puck as in stock and ready to ship¹. Buy from a reputable seller, and when the light arrives check the body, the charging port and the cable for damage before you rely on it. If anything is damaged, do not use it; contact the seller.

The maker's product information does not set out a warranty period on the pages summarised here, so keep your proof of purchase and check the terms with the seller or NEBO directly. If a light or charger you own is subject to a recall, stop using it and follow the recall notice. Our page on recalled and unsafe torches and chargers explains how to check and report.

For the wider NEBO range, see the NEBO brand page. If you want a larger light for a room, the NEBO Galileo range and the NEBO Newton range are covered separately. For backup power to recharge lights in a long outage, see backup power at home.