LuminAID  PackLite Titan 2-in-1 Power Lantern

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The LumenAID Packlite Titan 2-1 Power Lantern is a true titan. It is extremely lightweight and packable for any camping trip, outdoor activity or emergency bag. The directions say 16-20 hours in the sun for a full charge but I had it in sunlight for about 6 hours and had a great charge that was still going strong after a few hours of sitting outdoors. The light has 4 settings, 3 different levels of brightness and a strobe setting for emergencies. It has a usb plug to charge your phone or devices. It pops open and collapses easily for packing and a Velcro strap for hanging or carrying. It also floats for nights out or emergencies on the water. I will be ordering extras to keep in each of my cars.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Such a powerful little tool for any adventurous family! We primarily plan to use our new LuminAID for camping trips, but we can’t wait to try in on our boat as well. The lantern takes up little to no room when flattened, and simply pops up with a twist to be a cool looking lightweight square lantern. Conveniently located handle on top which velcros open and shut for easy carrying or hanging to charge in the sun! The solar panel in truly genius. It charges up and works to light up any room or charge a phone. The power button on/off also offers a feature to lower the light setting or flash. The fact that this lantern is waterproof and can charge by solar or by electric plug-in is clutch. Perfect for rainy dark and dreary camping days. Easy enough for anyone to use! The materials seem so smooth and sturdy. We will be using this for years to come! Would definitely recommend this product to friends and willing to purchase others from this brand.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Camping is a fun time for some and having an item that can double as a charger for my phone, as well as light is not only convenient but also a need. Aside from that, I occasionally have power outages in my home as I live in a rural area, having something that I dont need to remember to plug in that can be charged easily by the sun is amazing. Super lightweight, compact and love that it has two different lights - red and white - but also different output for whatever your need may be!

The light/charger performed well under infrequent use (~40 hrs in the sun to charge; ~12 discharges/recharge cycles with solar & external power) for the first two years of its life. Then, after sitting in a closet for three years, the plastic had become discolored and brittle. The handle immediately broke when I took it out of storage, and cracks in the flexible plastic now prevent the bladder from holding air. The battery still holds a charge, though I'm not sure how efficient solar charging is with the cloudy condition of the degraded plastic. I can still charge it by USB and use it as an emergency light, but I was disappointed to see how much the plastic degraded while in storage. The manufacturer says its expected lifetime is five years, so I guess this is normal, but be advised that the plastic will likely degrade, even when not exposed to sun, if put in storage in the tropics with temperatures of 80-95F.

Due to raging wild fires and closed campgrounds in CA, couldn't use this while in camping, So tested at home. This unit is small, compact, and light weight making it easy to pack. There are 4 light levels + a flash option to get you the intensity that you want. In addition you can also switch from a white to a red light that still has the same intensity levels. The design is simple that should be fine in a light rain. A bright 2 piece orange strap that connects to each other with velco make it easier to carry by hand, hang from a branch or even in your tent. With a square base / design, you could also sit it near anywhere. just keep away from a heat source or the soft plastic casing can melt. Charging the unit can be done via solar (a light turns on to indicate) or connecting to USB. This unit can also charge your mobile device... in my test..was also able to charge my LG7 phone about 7% in 10min. For the next version of this product. I would like to see that cable ports flush or recessed vs sticking up like a wart. More of visual issue and to prevent getting knocked loose from other items in travel bag. Also when in dark areas, it would be nice if the power buttons would glow.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I love this lantern. It has a nice design, is easy to use, and provides great light. The power lasts well, and it’s perfect for camping and outdoor activities. Very useful and practical. This lantern is easy to maintain and clean. It works great and is perfect for everyday use and camping.

There was literally one feature of this product that worked consistently and that was the lantern open and close mechanism, which I still think is really cool. Other than that, the straps and Velcro fell apart on the first night, not due to rough use, they just fell apart when I picked it up. The thing that says how charged it is always said full, even when it definitely wasn't. It would turn off ever few minutes despite (supposedly) being fully charged and having been in the sun all day. When trying to charge my phone it would disconnect/stop charging after a few seconds, that really drove me nuts.

I really love the concept of the LuminAID Packlite and was hoping it would make for a good camping and backpacking option, but after a few weeks of playing around I think it will best fill a niche in my earthquake preparedness and blackout kits for loss of electricity around the house. If I had the option I would have given this 3.5 stars. I found the initial instructions that came with the Packlite a bit lacking. It wasn't until I looked at the instructions for the third time that I noticed there was a red light option and how to engage this feature. I am not someone who uses this feature much, but know many people who do and I think the instructions in English should all be lumped together. One issue for someone who wants to use this for backpacking is that the solar charging feature is slow. At first I thought the solar charging feature was broken, but if you look at the instructions it says it can take 16-20 hours to fully charge. Someone who is backpacking or camping is probably going to only be able to get this out into direct sunlight for 6 hours a day, so it can take 3 days to fully charge. However, it does come with a large battery storage pack of 4000 mAh, but with only a 4 inch by 4 inch solar charging panel, that explains why it takes so long to fully charge by the solar option. I found that on a warm day it was hard to charge the phone in the sun while trying to use the solar feature, my phone got to hot and shut down. So the best way to use this is to charge up the built in battery pack and then top off your phone in the evening. The light feature of this is pretty darn good. It stands up well on its on in the box shape, and be easily hung anywhere and gives off great light. I will be running to this to light up my house for any power outages. The high setting can run all night with a fully charged battery. The collapsible feature of the box makes it great for storage, but the total weight may be more then many backpackers want if you are trying to go more ultralight. There are other solar chargers that charge better while backpacking and weigh less. However not many with as great a light!! I found that charging the battery at home via a micro USB charged as per the manufacturers description, which is 2-4 hours. The charge batter indicator was easy to read in direct sun or in the house, so you can quickly get a sense of how much batter you have available. I was able to charge my Samsung Galaxy s6 from 48-84% in about 2 hours and that brought my LuminAID battery indicator from 4 green dots to 2 dots, so used about half the available 4000mAh's. This was a bit slower then I expected, but in a reasonable range for charging on the move. I like that I was able to use the velcro strap to put the solar charger in many different positions to optimize sun-light capture. In short, I found this product to live up to it's billing and manufacturers description, but once put into practice I found that a 4 inch by 4 inch solar panel really takes too long to top off the battery pack when out hiking. For me this is a better option for my home emergency kit or on the road travel. If it charged more quickly I would have easily given this 4 to 4.5 stars but I do understand why it has the limitations it has.

This product is most ideal as a light source in remote settings. Summary: Light: The LuminAID device is an excellent light source having both white (day) light mode and red (night) light mode. The light has four levels of brightness for each color mode plus a strobe mode. The light lasted approximately 3 hours on full brightness white light mode when tested in a field setting after 12 hours of solar charge. The full bright and second brightness setting where perfect for evening reading inside the tent after dark. The two lower white light setting were two dim for reading. The LuminAID light worked as a suitable replacement for a propane powered lamp that broke during a wind storm. The LuminAID provided enough light when attached approximately 6 feet in the air on a shade canopy for cooking breakfast for a field kitchen consisting of two 8 feet table arranged in an L-shape, with 2 large 100 gallon coolers around the tables, and a four stove propane grill all located under this shade canopy. The light worked well for a hour of tent reading and an hour of breakfast cooking after a 13 hour solar charge. The red light features (two brightest settings) and all four white light settings provided enough light to find items stored in a backpack located inside a tent at night with minimal moon light (sliver of the moon). USB Device Charger: The charger was very disappointing compared to the light features. Initially out of the package and fully charged on an outlet the LuminAID was able to charge an android phone on normal mode with less than 15% battery to approximately 65% battery in 2 hours. Once in the field and only receiving solar charges for 8-10 hours the output charge indicator lights (4 small green lights) would range from 1-3 out 4. This only powered a bluetooth speaker from 0% to around 25% battery power. Another issue was the LuminAID charger would "disconnect" from the charging device and would require the operator to continuously press the charge device button to continue device charging in the field. The LuminAID under solar charge of 10 hours only charged the same android phone this time on airplane mode from less than 15% battery to 30% battery. Please note that this is less then the stated 16 hours in the LuminAID direction packet for a full charge but it is also worth noting that only 13-14 hours of sunlight was available in a day in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona during the last week of September. Recommendations/Considerations for the Manufacture: Is there is a way to increase how quickly the LuminAID internal battery is charged to better match existing solar conditions (less than 16 hours of sunlight places)? Examine better methods to insure charge delivery to plugged in usb devices. Reducing the number of brightness modes (first two brightness modes in both white and red light were the most useful). Tests: Initial Test indoors Field Test 1: 10 days in a remote canyon setting in NE Arizona (mid Sept. 2020) Field Test 2: An overnight Trip on the Colorado River just north of Lee's Ferry, Arizona (mid Sept. 2020) Field Test 3: 5 days camping in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (last week of Sept. 2020)

Very handy. I am almost 60, work in remote places and my LuminAID keeps my phone charged and provides light at night. I give it a nine because the surface is smooth which makes the on/off button difficult to locate in the dark. The rest is perfect so, yes, I would recommend this product