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Fat Boy Pods
by Bill Mills

One pod is the same as any other pod, right?  Well, not really.  For several years WDP has been producing the Fat Boy line of injection molded plastic products.  These include Fat Boy barrel plugs, or Barrel Bungs as the British guys at WDP would call them (I know they are supposed to look like a happy fat boy face, but they have always looked like a lobster to me when turned upside down), grips for the Angel, and pods.

Pretty much any player who’s been around the game a while has either had someone toss him or her a pod of paint that popped right open, spilling on the ground, had a pod where the lid and it’s mounting ring slid off, dumping paint, or most frustrating of all popped a pod open while still in the pack from either brushing up against something, or while pulling out a different pod – the end result being the same – wasted paint, usually during that key part of the game where it is really needed.

WDP addressed these problems with a very simple solution in the latest version of the Fat Boy pod.  The mount for the pod’s lid is molded into the mouth of the pod, avoiding the problem some designs have of the mount ring/lid assembly coming off at the most inopportune moment.  The lid has a very good snap fit that is snug, and rather difficult to open unless pressure is put on the opening tab opposite the hinge.  This is because the ridge around the pod’s mouth locks into a groove in the lid, but the ridge is missing under the tab, making the lid easy to open from that point.

Where WDP innovated was the tab.  Instead of a tab that sticks out in the open to get caught on things like a sleeve or a glove when you’re pulling out another pod, the corners of the tab are protected by smooth protrusions in the side of the pod.  The protrusions form a guard that protects the tab from being accidentally hit, while a grove in the center allows you to slide your thumb in right to the center of the tab.

It’s a very simple and elegant solution to the problem, and it works well.  I’ve been using the new FatBoy pods through spring and summer 2002, and have had absolutely no problems with accidental opening, or with fumbling to get them open fast.

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