Recently I was looking for a portable light I could take away camping and hiking and not need any batteries to rely on. Having extra batteries just adds weight to your already heavy pack. While I was surfing DutchWare a new hiking store I found in the US that I’ve come to love, I found an item called the “ Luci Solar Light ”. This portable solar lamp weighed in at 115 grams, no batteries needed, fully waterproof. The company that makes this item is MPowerd. They have several different solar lights. It was advertised for around $20.00 US. Initially it looked bulky but I ended up making a purchase as I had never seen anything like this before. With some additional items from DutchWare and only $14.00 US shipping back to Australia the items arrived quickly to my location.
Luci Solar Inflatable Lantern
I’m so glad I purchased this item as it’s perfect for my needs and exactly what I was looking for. It weighs next to nothing. The portable solar lamp inflates like a beach ball to a fairly large lantern. It has straps on both sides so you can hook it to your pack during the day when walking to recharge the internal battery. The straps are also useful for attaching to your tent, hiking poles and on a tree branch.
The 10 LED lights are very powerful and more than enough light that I need when I go camping. Once finished you simply let the air out and the Luci solar light folds down for storage.
Luci Solar Light Best Features
- The light is waterproof and shatterproof
- It has 3 settings. Dim Light, Super Bright, Flashing
- The light will last up to 12 hours and around 8 hours for a full charge
- 50 Lumen brightness using 10 LED lights
- Dimensions 10.8cm height when blown up, 12.7cm diameter and only 2.5cm when compressed
Overall I was very impressed not just with the light and the capabilities of it, but also the build construction and overall product quality. After all this was only $20.00 US (Haven’t found a retailer in Australia at the time of writing). Now my head torch and batteries are hardly used in the night as this contains sufficient light for the tent and nearby surroundings. I believe this will be a permanent item in my hiking backpack for future trips.
Good Cause
** Later I found out the company that makes this light also provides to developing countries such as Kenya, Haiti, Philippines and Nepal. If you visit the MPowered Give website you can purchase lights and send them through their partners to people who really need them. This is a great initiative to provide the power of light. There are millions of people who could use this product on a day to day basis.