MPOWERD  Luci Site Lights

You can tell this entire lighting solution was very thoughtfully designed. By allowing you to use any number from 1-6 lights at a time, with each of those lights having the ability to be used independently and charged independently in the charging case, I really appreciate how flexible it is. After using a few times, I have some general thoughts and observations: -Very easy to use. Once you take them out of the case, you just twist the top up to 3 times to get your desired level of brightness (low-medium-high). This did take a little getting used to because you can actually turn the top of the light either direction to cycle through the brightness levels. -As you will see in some pictures, each light will show as orange when charging, or green when fully charged. This is a great feature if you only use a couple of lights at a time so you don't have to remember which are charged vs. charging. -The whole setup feels durable. I have owned other MPOWERED products, and all components of this set from the lights to the case are also well made for outdoor camping use. I expect it to last a long time! -Not just for camping. These are very helpful around the home, and the first thing I thought of was hurricane season power outages here in NC. Why use open flame candles with something like this? I would recommend MPOWERED consider a small flat base accessory so they can stand upright with a bit more stability than just the end of the light. -The lights don't really "lock" onto the top of the stakes with a click, but do push on easily. I didn't feel like they would come off unless they were hit fairly hard. -The slits in the stakes and lights for hanging are a bit small. They will definitely work on string, twine, tent line, etc.; but they will definitely not thread on thicker ropes like climbing rope. -With the charging case, not recommended for backpacking applications. I hiked about 7 miles with them this way, and really feel like the case added too much weight in my pack. That said, if you were only going out for a night or two and just took the lights and the stakes with you, you would be just fine! To wrap up, these are great for around the house, car camping, or base camp. You can use them in multiple ways, and outside of the case the lights themselves are super lightweight. In many ways, you are truly getting 6 small rechargeable lanterns -- so if you want to have more flexibility in your site at night, I would definitely recommend!

These lights provide a nice little ambiance to any campsite and are contained in a very convenient case that charges the lights. It’s always nice to have a little extra light around a campsite at night so you’re not the thing going bump in the night. What I like about these lights: they’re compact and surprisingly bright with a decent amount of run time. When you’re not using them they go right into the case and charge up so they’re ready for the next time they need them. I like that they can be used in different configurations, either the stakes or by turning them into string lights. They provide a good amount of light. What could be improved: I think the stakes could be more robust, I wouldn’t trust them to stake down my tent in windy weather or use a lot of force to get them in the ground. For being described as being able to use them as string lights, the packaging gave the impression that some line would be provided, which was not. While I like the idea of being able to charge the lights with the sun, I found the integrated solar panel to be underpowered and not providing much charge after being in direct sunlight for a few hours.

This is my second MPOWERD product. The first was the solar powered rope lights which are also an excellent product. These lights are plenty bright to mark the perimeter of your camp site or to make guy lines more visible. As a test, I left them on overnight with two set at each of the adjustable light settings. The two on low and the two on medium were still going strong come morning. The two on high had powered off sometime earlier in the night. The case is well constructed, and if left in full sun most of the day will recharge the built in battery. My only concern is that the case is listed as water resistant only if a provided, externally fitted gasket is applied first. This appears to keep water out, but also hinders opening the case without removing it first. I feel like a built in (internal) gasket could be implemented in future version. But overall, I find this to be a very usable product for camp.

Good for car camping, I would not use on a bikepack or backpacking trip due to the size and weight but would consider taking a couple of the lights without the charger case. The lights have 3 brightness settings and you cycle through them turning clockwise or counter clockwise. They are bright enough to illuminate a path and or to do simple tasks. I did forget my headlamp so carried one in my pocket and used it similar to a flashlight. It does not replace a flashlight as it does not through the light far enough but it did work to get around camp. I used these for 2 nights and did not charge during use and had plenty of battery for my use. After charging them the case had one bar of battery left. I liked the steak option and did use the lights on several of the steaks. The ground was soft and the steaks seemed durable but I would not use in really hard ground as they could break.

Charges well and fast even in the late year sun and the whole box is light enough that I think I can take them backpacking in the future. I like the line hooks and multiple brightness settings. Works great in a tent! I do wish that the hooks could fit around the loop in the top of my tent, but I made it work. I haven't tried the stakes in the ground yet but I like that they have magnetic snaps.

My boyfriend and I recently purchased these lights. We can not speak on charging them solar. However, these lights are super bright and adjustable. I love the casing it comes with it to charge. We have not tested them out to secure the tent but not sure if we would use it for that purpose. Note, it does not come with a string. We use these mostly to hang underneath a canopy when it gets darker. My nephew was playing with them and dropped it and not a scuff mark. We did like the fact we can put the lights in the ground with the stakes it comes with. Great bonus!

Pros: Four different lighting options (small light on the base unit and then three brightness levels on the string) Easy to put up Line doesn't tangle Amazing storage system when not in use Puts out enough light to see without being obnoxiously bright Two charging methods (USB and solar) Cons: The solar charging takes awhile The base unit isn't removable from the string lights. Therefore if you need to charge the unit in direct sunlight and your tent is in the shade you have to completely remove the lights altogether and then set them back up in the evening. Overall I will definitely be using this on future trips especially since my current lights take forever to untangle.

I feel like this is a product where the idea is great (small, compact, reasonably bright lights that are easy to string up or have on stakes) but the whole execution just feels not that well thought out. First impression after pulling out of the box...wait, what do you mean I have to use this extra band to make the case waterproof??!! And what exactly does "water resistant" mean on the bulbs?? For a product meant to be used outside/camping etc that seems like some poor design decisions. Ideally the case would have a built in gasket to keep it water proof, at the very least it would be nice to have the external band somehow attached to the case. I see issues with this band being lost. As for the bulbs, only having IPX4 rating again seems like a missed opportunity. How exactly does that translate into being left out in a rain storm? You got me... Something like IPX7, while maybe a bit overkill, feels like it would be much more appropriate. Puddles happen near the ground... Charging seems relatively easy and straight forward. I really like the color coding in the case (green for good, red for charging) but note that when you first get the bulbs they have a little tab you have to pull out so they will charge (again, not obvious and a little annoying). Battery life rating seemed pretty accurate. I left some lights sitting on my desk for several hours. The one left on high lasted about the claimed 6 hours before it started flashing on and off. The lights did seem to turn down their brightness as time went on (so like the medium light looked more like the low light several hours in , the low light actually went down a brightness level too after a few hours). Minor annoyance (are you sensing a theme here...), even though the swivel to adjust the brightness is bi-directional, the brightness only moves in one direction so if you go to high but realize medium was ok you have to cycle through off-low rather then just twisting in the opposite direction. Brightness was pretty good! With scheduling and weather I haven't had the chance to use them in a camping situation yet but we did use them to illuminate the inside of my daughter's play house and, funny enough, the inside of our bathroom for a bath due to the main light being out. It's hard to tell from the photos but I feel like they did a good job illuminating the area in both cases. They should provide plenty of light in a tent or around a picnic table. I also think they will work great to illuminate tent stakes. If allowed I'll try to update this review with some more photos once we have a chance to use them outside. Speaking of the tent stakes, they are super easy to pop on, but there is no sort of locking mechanism. I feel like I'd rather have a simple twist mechanism just to keep them more secure but maybe my opinion would change after more use. I also appreciate that the tent stakes can be stored directly in the case but do worry about the inevitable dirt and grime that will come with that. I think these lights will work great for car camping. I'd also be tempted to take them bike packing with me (though the waterproofing issues would make me nervous). A backpacker friend remarked how they probably wouldn't take them though...but I think that's more due to "no extra weight" mentality and, at the end of the day, a headlamp combined with most tents having reflective parts work well enough for most situations. One final note, I did leave the case in the direct sun for a day (granted Dec sun in CA) and didn't see any change in the case battery level. I think solar charging is a great idea on paper, I'll have to play more to see how good of an idea it is in reality. As a side note, when outside the case was exposed to some lite rain and seemed no worse for wear (as expected as it had the annoying band on it!) Overall, while I look forward to using these lights more, I feel like there are just tons of missed opportunities and little annoyances.

The MPOWERD Luci Site lights are such a cute addition to my camping setup! I love that they come in a multi-functional carrying case that both holds the lights (and keeps them together though my gear chaos), and charges them via USB. The string is a little confusing to use at first, but it's more than made up for by the fact that each light operates independently of each other so you have a ton of flexibility when setting these up.

I got one of these from my REI store and one of the lights was dead. I contacted MPowerd, who were very helpful, and sent a replacement unit. (I did not return it to the store, opting to check with the manufacturer first.) With the replacement unit, I now have 3 more dead bulbs, even after charging for several hours. I'm leery about relying on this for any time to come if 2 brand new units are having issues out of the box.