It’s maybe time for turning the Batteries and Fuel in for pure solar-powered camping and outdoor essentials. A Solar Lantern that contains no battery is completely Solar Powered and that’s an important thing to remember because most-Solar Lanterns are charged with Sunlight and powered by a lithium battery. They are bulkier, heavier, and take up a little more room. What are the Best Solar String Lights for camping?
Best String Lights For Camping:
Luci Solar String Lights-delivers 100 lumens on an 18 ft chord of warm white LED light to use around your camp.
It can last up to 20 hours on one single charge from a Solar Panel built on the device. It’s waterproof & rolls up to be stored away in a hiker’s backpack or camp gear.
For Tent Campers and RV’ers areas and stationary lights, keep lighting easily available adding security lumination. After all, the whole idea of camping and hiking is to be prepared and the first thing you need in the middle of the woods just before dark is Light! For Backpackers and Hikers, weight is a big consideration so Solar camp lanterns need to be small lightweight, and take up no space in your backpack. Battery-charged Lanterns can be bulky and add weight.
Solar Camping String Lights
In this post and others to come, we will take a look at some of the best that are available now and a lot more to come. If your campsite is busy at any time during the night maybe the kid got to use the bathroom or your crew is up early for fishing then lighting is of the utmost importance. A valuable tool at any campsite is String Solar Lanterns.
Photovoltaic cells used in Solar Power absorb sunlight during the day to charge the batteries, which then light the bulb at night. Because solar lights are powered by the sun, they must be placed in an area that receives full sun ideally eight or more hours per day that is facing the sun directly.
The best place would be to lay right on top of your tent under sunlight to get them powered up for the rest of the night. Check these Solar String Lights out there useful and works surprisingly well. It’s a great Solar Light for any type of camping.
A lumen measures the amount of light that comes from a bulb. It refers to a light bulb’s brightness, the intensity of light, and visible light emitted. A standard 40-watt (40W) bulb is equal to 400+ lumens.
Typically, the higher the wattage, the higher the lumens, and the more light output. One that comes highly recommended for your tent or RV is the MPOWERD Luci Solar String Lights + Phone Charger with 100 Lumens | Lasts for Up to 20 Hours | No Batteries Needed | Quick-Charge with USB | 18 ft Cord | Waterproof
Typically your Camping Lantern is your brightest light at your campsite. It’s where you congregate at night until you call it a night and turn in. Solar spotlights and solar task lights are currently the brightest solar lights on the market.
This selection of lanterns shine up to 50 – 75 lumens of bright LED light, and range between 12 – 50 hours of light on a single charge. You can buy them one at a time or bundle them 3 at a time. It uses Solar or USB rechargeable for continuous lighting. All three of these lanterns have built-in highly-efficient solar panels. Simply leave it outside in the sun during the day and it will fully recharge itself in approximately 10-16 hours.
Or you can plug it in using its USB port for faster charging (1-2 hours). For longer-lasting lighting, you must keep it exposed to direct sunlight for up to 16 hours up to three days based on where you are and the season you are in. This String type of Solar lighting is popular and was featured on the hit TV show Shark Tank.

What is a Lumen in Lighting
Lumens measure how much light you are getting from a bulb. More lumens means it’s a brighter light; fewer lumens means it’s a dimmer light. In an Rv, Camper, or Tent situation lighting can make a huge difference in the look and comfort of your space, and to get what you need you’ll have to do some homework.
Lumens are to light what
- Pounds are too bananas
- Gallons are to milk
Lumens let you buy the amount of light you want. So when buying your new bulbs, think lumens, not watts. When it comes to Campsites you can get a better idea of what you need or how many Laterns you will need at the main area where your family and friends are getting together.
Information on buying lights for your home is now offered as Lumens and can give you more information about saving energy. The brightness, or lumen levels, of the lights in your home, may vary widely, so here’s a rule of thumb:
- To replace a 100-watt (W) incandescent bulb, look for a bulb that gives you about 1600 lumens. If you want something dimmer, go for fewer lumens; if you prefer brighter light, look for more lumens.
- Replace a 75W bulb with an energy-saving bulb that gives you about 1100 lumens
- Replace a 60W bulb with an energy-saving bulb that gives you about 800 lumens
- Replace a 40W bulb with an energy-saving bulb that gives you about 450 lumens.
Lumens and watts are different forms of measurement, so they can’t really be compared. These measurements are completely different. However, you can estimate the number of lumens a particular watt bulb would produce.
It’s better to use lumens to measure the efficiency or brightness of lighting inside and outside spaces. Measuring the brightness of a light is more important than measuring its power.
- An incandescent bulb that uses 100 watts, for example, produces about 1600 lumens.
- But in the world of Solar LED lights, 100 lumens create the same amount of light as approximately a 10-12 watt bulb.
So if you are not on the move trailblazing with a Backpack and space and weight are not as limited, buy numerous Solar Lights to create enough lumination you’ll need at your campsite.
Best Flexible Solar Panels
Brightest Solar LED Lights
The brightest solar lights available are called task lights or String Lighting and they can provide light that’s roughly equivalent to a 25- 40-watt incandescent bulb. That is still not as bright as a typical outdoor Camping lighting solution, so you may want to double or triple up in areas where you want bright, direct light. They are price low just to do that.
That would be determined by what kind of outdoor activity you are involved with and how big space is that needs to be lighted. Since most solar-powered lights today use LED bulbs, the light they emit is bright white.
If you want the look of incandescent bulbs, look for solar lights with tinted covers they may be labeled on the package as amber or soft white.
The brightness of a completely solar-powered light depends on the brightness of the sun and the amount of direct strong sunlight light it is exposed to but it also depends on the quality of the photovoltaic cells and the size of the LED bulb.
Higher-quality photovoltaic cells and larger LED bulbs tend to cost more, so to a certain extent, the higher-priced solar lights do tend to shine more brightly.
If you are a Backpacker or weekend Hiker, battery charge solar lights are a weight and space concern the String lights can be the answer to your needs too. String Lights can be the answer to any outdoor needs. RV and Campers’ lighting can be spread out and doubled up and just makes a whole lot of sense.
The brightest solar lights available in my opinion are Solar String Lights and the best ones can provide light approximately the same as a 40-watt incandescent bulb that you would see in landscape lighting.
That is still not as bright as a typical outdoor spotlight, so you may want to double or triple up in areas where you want bright, direct light. These Solar powered lights are great for Backpakers, Campsites, and RV’ers lighting areas that can be portable or stationary around your space, and the best part-No Batteries are Needed!
Can Solar Panels Catch On Fire
JimGalloway Author/Editor
Reference:
10 Best Solar Light Reviews By Consumer Report for 2020
Forbes Magazine-How To Choose The Right Solar Lights