So, I was walking through Walmart one day getting ready to pick up a new football to play catch with on a camping trip, when I walked past the outdoor patio stuff, and it hit me… Cheap lighting for home. Renewable, too… Hmmm… Solar lawn lighting. I went over and there was a six pack of inexpensive LED lights for 30.00. Knowing a little about these, I know that they have a rechargeable AA battery as a power source and an LED lamp that would last hours because it drains the battery so slowly. So I bought a box of the lights. Here is what I found:
- You can carry the lamp like a small torch if you wanted to
- You can take the top off where the battery and the LED are, separating the lighting unit from the staff and lamp head itself and use that as your light if you wanted to.
- You can replace the rechargeable battery with a better one
- They do an ample job of lighting a medium sized room without running your flashlights, lanterns, or lamps.
- They do not get hot to the touch
- They can be used indoors or outdoors
- You can keep several in your BoB, rolled up in your sleeping bag or sleep system, or rolled up with your tent until you need them.
- When you need them, they only need a few hours of sunlight.
- You can simply hide the light by placing a piece of electrical tape over the LED
The pack of six lights only cost me $30.00 and now I can see one or two of these going in my Get Home Bag for emergency use…
Used to have several rows of these solar lawn lights back when we lived in the suburbs. They last a couple of years before needing replacing. Great idea using them for emergency use/bug out bag!
Most people throw the whole light away when they think it needs to be replaced… Most times it is only the rechargeable AA battery that needs to be replaced. Not to mention, the batteries that come in those units are not the best anyway, so it would make sense to switch out the battery for better rechargeable’s.