Lighting

Hokolite 360° COB Rechargeable Camping Lantern Review

Camping has exploded in popularity since the pandemic, with people keen to explore their own back yards whilst international flights were off limits.

Hokolite is a lighting brand that I haven’t heard of before but when they reached out asking me to look at some of their camping lanterns, I was keen.

Hokolite have sent me 3 of their lanterns to check out:

  • 360° COB Rechargeable Camping Lantern
  • Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern (Read the Review)
  • 4000 Lumens Rechargeable Collapsible Lantern (Read the Review)

In this review, I’ll look at the 3000 Lumen 360° COB rechargeable camping lantern.

Hokolite 3000 Lumen 360° COB Rechargeable Camping Lantern Specifications and Features

Material:ABS+TPR
Water Resistance:IP44
Battery:4400mAh
Dimensions:7.95 x 4.45 x 4.37 inches / 201 x 113 x 111 mm
Weight:1.39lbs / 630g
Light Output:3000 lumens (claimed)
Lighting Modes:High (3000 lumens) – 3-4 hours
Medium (1500 lumens) – 5-7 hours
Low (900 lumens) – 10+ hours
Red – 7-8 hours
Red Strobe – 10+ hours
Other Features:Collapsible Hanging Hook
Charging Indicator
1M Impact Resistant
Rechargeable (Type C)
4400mAh Power Bank
View Full Specifications

What’s in the Box

  • 1 x Camping Lantern
  • 1 x USB Cable
  • 1 x Manual

Design & Features

I found it odd that the package didn’t have any branding – there wasn’t even a manual inside which was just odd. That said, the listing mentions that it should come with a manual so it may have just been an issue with mine.

The Hokolite 360-degree lantern is a standard-looking rugged lantern. It’s got a plastic construction which feels high quality, with rubber bumpers to add that all-important drop protection. That said, there’s quite a bit of the LED exposed, making it vulnerable should it be dropped on a rock or something.

There’s a simple power button which lets you toggle through the various lighting modes and a 4 LED battery indicator.

Around the top, there’s the USB Type C charging port (nice) as well as a full-size Type A port allowing you to charge your smartphone or other devices from the lantern’s built-in 4400mAh battery (more on that later).

Hokolite 360 COB Rechargeable Camping Lantern Charging Port
It’s great to see USB Type-C here

There’s also a split hook which can easily fit over branches as well as double as a handle. That said, the lantern is heavy at 630g so I wouldn’t hang it on my tent, but it was perfect for hanging on a tree branch or gazebo.

Setup & Usage

The lantern is charged via the USB Type-C port hidden under a rubber flap for weather protection, with a full charge taking around 3-5 hours. Given how commonplace USB Type C has become, I never had an issue finding a place to charge it up.

Pressing the power button turns on the light at full brightness which is intensely bright. Unfortunately, I don’t have the equipment to verify the lumens output but it’s impressively bright.

Pressing on the power button will cycle through the modes:

  • High (3000 lumens) – 3-4 hours
  • Medium (1500 lumens) – 5-7 hours
  • Low (900 lumens) – 10+ hours
  • Red – 7-8 hours
  • Red Strobe – 10+ hours

The large LED chips provide good light coverage but the reinforcement on the sides results in two dark spots around the lantern – it’s not a deal breaker but you need to pay attention to the lantern’s orientation.

After waiting a few seconds, pressing the power button again will turn the lantern off. Unfortunately, there’s no memory (despite what the product page says) so it’ll always go back to full brightness next time you turn it back on which is disappointing so I wouldn’t recommend using it anywhere people are sleeping.

There’s also no warm white/orange light which is proven to help reduce bugs (and I personally prefer). Technically, you can use the red light but it’s not exactly pleasant.

The built-in USB charger wasn’t great. Whilst it did charge my devices, it was incredibly slow with a peak charging current of 0.5a. One of my Samsung phones was only charging at 0.2a which would have taken nearly 10 hours to get a full charge so I wouldn’t rely on this feature at all. I did notice that all my USB testers would flicker until I plugged in a load which was odd.

Verdict: Should You Buy the Hokolite 360° COB Rechargeable Camping Lantern?

I found Hokolite’s 360-degree rechargeable lantern average. It’s bright which is great as a love a well-lit campsite, and I comfortable that it’d handle a few knocks without issue. However, the lack of a memory function really impacted its usability and the lack of any warm white LEDs means that I put this in the practical lighting category rather than a lantern that I’d take to relax with.

Hokolite Collapsible Lantern Review

Camping has exploded in popularity after the pandemic – and it’s no surprise why. After almost 2 years of lockdowns and a lot of pent-up travel demand, people are keen to get out of the house – myself included. And a well-lit camping site is critical to that enjoyment for me.

Hokolite is a lighting brand that I haven’t heard of before but when they reached out asking me to look at some of their camping lanterns, I was keen.

Hokolite have sent me 3 of their lanterns to check out:

  • 360° COB Rechargeable Camping Lantern (Read the Review)
  • Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern (Read the Review)
  • 4000 Lumens Rechargeable Collapsible Lantern

In this review, I’ll take a look at the Hokolite 4000 Lumens Rechargeable Collapsible Lantern.

Hokolite 4000 Lumens Rechargeable Collapsible Lantern Specification and Features

Material:ABS+Silica-gel
Water Resistance:IP44
Battery:6000mAh
Dimensions:7.09 x 2.76 x 6.5 inches / 180 x 70 x 165 mm
Weight:1.21 lbs / 550g
Lighting Modes:High (4000 lumens) – 4-5 hours
Medium (2000 lumens) – 6-7 hours
Low (1200 lumens) – 8-9 hours
Warm Light (120 lumens)
Other Features:Collapsible
Hanging Hook
High-Quality Carabiner
Lightweight & Collapsible
Charging Indicator
USB Rechargeable
6000 mAh Power Bank
View Full Specifications

What’s in the Box

  • 1 x Camping Lantern
  • 1 x USB Cable
  • 1 x Manual

Design & Features

The Hokolite Collapsible Lantern is quite unique, with a solid, rubberized plastic base topped off with a collapsible silicone diffuser which can expand quite a bit.

The front of the unit houses a single power/mode button whilst around the back is a USB A port (for charging your phone), USB Type C port (for charging the lantern) and a small charging indicator LED.

Unfortunately, there’s no battery indicator so you’ll need to make sure you keep the internal 6000mAh battery charged regularly or you could be caught out – this seems like an oversight for a camping lantern.

Underneath is a plastic hook with a spring-loaded “catch” to keep it closed that’s ideal as a handle when using it as a lantern or attaching it to a gazebo/tree. You could also attach it to a tent but at 550g, it’s a little on the heavy side. It’s also a tad annoying to get out if you don’t have nails – the finger cut-out should be much deeper.

Thank you for coming, USB Type-C

One last thing I want to mention is size and weight. Despite being collapsible, at 550g and nearly 20cm in diameter, this lantern is on the chunky side, so I’d only recommend it for car or caravan camping. Hikers should look at far more compact, lightweight solutions.

Setup & Usage

The lantern’s charged via the USB Type-C port hidden under a rubber flap for weather protection, with a full charge taking around 3-4 hours. Like Hokolite’s other lanterns, having USB Type C is a big plus as it was easy to find a charger when I needed one.

The power button doubles as a mode switch, cycling through lantern’s 4 lighting modes:

  • High (4000 lumens) – 4-5 hours
  • Medium (2000 lumens) – 6-7 hours
  • Low (1200 lumens) – 8-9 hours
  • Warm Light (120 lumens)

Unfortunately, there’s no memory function so the lantern will start at full brightness on cool white every time so I wouldn’t recommend turning it on when someone is sleeping as this thing is seriously bright.

Be prepared to be blinded by the light

The pull-out diffuser, the lantern’s main gimmick, is excellent. It’s big enough to nicely diffuse the light whilst striking a nice balance of rigidity whilst being easy to pack down when you need to pack up. It’s even stable enough to hold the weight of the lantern itself if you want a more downward-facing light.

There’s even a nice 120 lumen warm white mode for when you just want to relax (and which doesn’t attract as many bugs) – though it’s a pain that you need to cycle through all the other modes to get to it.

The built-in USB charger works well but caps out at 1a so charging a modern smartphone will take a while. Of course, it’s fine in a pinch, but I’d recommend taking a high quality power bank like this one from Anker with you as well.

Verdict: Should You Buy the Hokolite Collapsible Lantern?

Whilst Hokolite’s 4000 lumen collapsible lantern isn’t perfect, I must admit I’m a bit of a fan.

It’s super bright, offers a good area light and even offers a nice warm white mode for when you’re wanting to unwind after a day in the wilderness. I would have loved a battery indicator, so I know when to charge but for my style of camping, it wasn’t a massive issue.

Overall, I’m happy with it and will add it to my car camping kit.

Hokolite Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern Review

Ever since the pandemic, with lockdowns keeping us confined to our homes and international flights off limits, interest in camping and outdoor activities has exploded – myself included. Recently, I’ve been getting amongst nature with my family and a massive part of the enjoyment for me is camping gadgets.

Hokolite is a lighting brand that I haven’t heard of before but when they reached out asking me to look at some of their camping lanterns, I was keen.

Hokolite have sent me 3 of their lanterns to check out:

  • 360° COB Rechargeable Camping Lantern (Read the Review)
  • Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern
  • 4000 Lumens Rechargeable Collapsible Lantern (Read the Review)

In this review, I’ll take a look at the Hokolite Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern.

Hokolite Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern Specification and Features

Material:Metal+ABS
Water Resistance:IPX4
Battery:2000mAh
Dimensions:5.7 x 5.9 x 7.5 inches/ 145 x 150 x 191 mm
Weight:14.29 ounces / 405g
Lighting Modes:Cool White Mode
Warm Light Mode
White Warm
Mixed Mode
Other Features:Edison LED Bulb
Vintage Design
Rechargeable
2 Lighting Sources
Dimmable Control
Portable & Lightweight
Battery Indicator
Metal Handle
IPX4 Waterproof
Power Bank
View Full Specifications

What’s in the Box

  • 1 x Camping Lantern
  • 1 x USB Cable
  • 1 x Manual

Design & Features

The Hokolite Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern is one of the nicest camping lanterns I’ve seen. With its Edison-style LED layout combined with metal frame and plastic top, it really nails the vintage look. Everything feels high quality, but I wouldn’t want to drop it as I can see the plastic top snapping with enough of an impact. That said, it looks fantastic as a general-purpose lantern or for sitting on a table to provide a pleasant reading light.

The dial controls all

There’s a dial at the top that acts as both the power switch, mode toggle and dimmer as well as a 4 LED battery indicator. There’s also a USB Type C charging port (nice) as well as a full-size Type A port allowing you to charge your smartphone or other devices from the lantern’s built-in 2000mAh battery.

The metal handle is spacious, allowing for a comfortable grip as well as hang on branches, etc but there’s no split so attaching it to your tent would require a hook/carabiner.

Setup & Usage

The lantern is charged via the USB Type-C port hidden under a rubber flap for weather protection, with a full charge taking around 3-4 hours. Having USB Type C is excellent as I could always find somewhere to charge it up.

Everything is controlled by turning the top dial which adjusts the brightness and cycling through the 3 lighting modes:

  • Warm White
  • Cool White
  • Mixed

Unfortunately, despite there being a nice click when turning on the lantern, there’s nothing tactile as you move between modes so it’s easy to overshoot and end up in the wrong mode. That said, the lantern always starts at the dimmest setting, so you don’t have to worry about being blinded by light if you accidentally go too far.

The 360-degree design offers good lighting coverage, with the metal frame adding some height too, which is a plus. You will end up with shadows but that’s part of the vintage aesthetic.

I also love the fact that the light starts in warm white (which doesn’t attract as many bugs and I personally prefer) as I used this 99% of the time when camping as it’s the perfect light to relax and read a book by. I really liked having the cool white available when I needed a bit more brightness or I needed neutral light when cooking.

The built-in USB charger works well but isn’t particularly fast, capping out at 1a. Whilst this is fine in an emergency, I would make sure you take a high-quality power bank like this one from Anker with you instead.

Verdict: Should You Buy the Hokolite Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern?

I LOVED Hokolite’s Rechargeable LED Vintage Lantern. So many camping lanterns focus on being ultra-bright at the cost of a pleasant lighting experience. In fact, before Hokolite approached me, I had only seen a couple of vintage-style rechargeable lanterns with most being rugged cool white configs that, whilst practical, don’t lend themselves to a cosy camping atmosphere.

The fact that it combines great aesthetics, good lighting options and USB charging makes this a massive winner and a regular part of my car camping kit.

BlitzWolf BW-LT1 LED Lamp Review: The Ultimate Gadget Fan’s Lamp?

The BlitzWolf BW-LT1 is an 48 LED lamp from the company that offers a range of lighting modes, touch interface and a USB port for charging your gadgets. Is it a useful gadget or waste of money? Read our BlitzWolf BW-LT1 review to find out!

I want to say thanks to Banggood for sending me a sample to review

Check Price

What’s Inside The Box?

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-Inside-The-Box

Inside the box, you’d get everything you’d expect

  • 1x BlitzWolf BW-LT1 Lamp
  • 1x Power Adapter
  • 1x Instruction Manual
  • 1x Warranty Card

The lamp itself comes in 3 pieces that need to be assembled. It only takes a few seconds. Insert the lamp into the base and attach it using the screw cap.

BlitzWolf BW-LT1 Review: Design

The Blitzwolf BT-LT1 definitely follows modern stylings,  using a minimalist design with clean lines.

The whole unit is made of glossy black plastic that looks fantastic out of the box. However, if you’re handling it regularly, expect it to be covered in fingerprints.

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-03

The lamp is designed to be as flexible as possible. When not in use, you can fold it down onto itself, collapsing down to a fraction to its size.

There’s actually three separate hinges, allowing a remarkable amount of flexibility. The bottom hinge allows for 40 degrees, the middle allows for 140 degrees whilst the top lamp section itself can also rotate 180 degrees.

The whole lamp itself can rotate a 180 degrees on its base, allowing you to get the light where you need it.

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-09

The angled control panel is located at the bottom of the unit. It features a touch interface, with “buttons” for brightness, the four lighting modes, power and the sleep timer.

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-Controls-01

It also houses a 2.1A USB port for charging your gadgets around the right side but more on this later.

The lamp’s base is heavy and the rubber and foam padding protects your desk and makes sure the unit doesn’t move.

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-05

BlitzWolf BW-LT1 Review: Using It

The lamp comes disassembled in the box. Putting it together is easy. Just slide the lamp body into the base, using the screw-on cap to lock it into place. Plug in the power and when the red power LED is on, you’re ready to go.

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-Controls-02

The touch panel is quite responsive and I rarely had any issues. Though I did notice that the power button occasionally didn’t respond if I was pressing the power button in quick succession. Given that you’re unlikely to try and use the lamp for a rave, it’s not really a big issue but worth mentioning nevertheless.

There’s four lighting modes on offer here, called Read, Study, Relax and Sleep. It’s clear that BlitzWolf have been paying attention to the recent studies on light temperature. Whilst the Study mode uses a cool white light, believed to improve focus and energy, the sleep mode opts for warmer tones. Similar ideas have shown up in the popular F.lux application and Apple’s new Night Shift Mode.

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-Color-Temperatures
Clockwise from Top-Left: Read, Study, Relax and Sleep

Each light mode offers 5 brightness levels offer enough flexibility to get a comfortable amount of lighting.

There seems to be a built-in memory for each light mode so the lamp will actually keep track of the brightness per mode which is pretty awesome, particularly if you like it bright for working but dim if you’re wanting to go to sleep. It only works whilst plugged in though so be aware that unplugging it will reset it.

There’s also a 60 minute sleep timer for those that need it which is handy if you want to use it as a side table lamp, though it would have been nice to have shorter times available as I felt 60 minutes was way too long.

Blitzwolf claim that their LEDs offer a CRI (Color Rendering Index – a measure of how accurately a light source reveals colors) of above 90, suggesting that the light should be able to reveal colors faithfully. This makes the light perfect for those working with colors regularly, such as photographers, videographers and graphic designers.

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-Charging

The USB charging port worked but I wasn’t able to achieve the 2.1a current draw that Blitzwolf claims the lamp is capable of outputting but this could be due to the various devices I tried to charge. My USB power meter only registered a draw of 0.95A when my iPhone 6 was connected. Voltage output generally hovered between 4.9-4.95V which remains within USB’s 5V specifications.

Verdict

BlitzWolf-BW-LT1-Review-02

I was impressed with the BlitzWolf BW-LT1. It’s a little pricey for some, but the amount of flexibility on offer here, combined with a stylish design makes it a solid contender.

From the 48 LEDs that sip power to the various lighting modes that let you tailor the lighting to your needs, if you’re wanting a lamp that does more than just provide light, I’d strongly recommend taking a look.

Getting One

You can purchase the BlitzWolf BW-LT1 from Banggood.

Check Price at Banggood

Alternatively, it’s available from Amazon.

Mipow LED Smart Bulb Review: $14 Bluetooth-Controlled Light Bulb

The Mipow LED Smart bulb is one of a growing number of smart appliances. Featuring an inbuilt Bluetooth radio, RGB LEDS and an E27 screw, is the Mipow LED bulb a must have accessory or a useless gadget? Read our Mipow LED Smart bulb review to find out.

I want to say thanks to GearBest for sending me a sample to review.

Check Price at GearBest

What’s In The Box?

Mipower-Smart-LED-Bulb-Review-Inside-The-Box

There’s really not much to say about inclusions as I wouldn’t expect too much to be packaged up with a light bulb.

Inside the box, you’ll get:

  • 1x Mipow LED Smart Bulb
  • 1x English instruction manual.

Mipow LED Smart Bulb Review: Design

For a change, I really can’t say much about the product’s design. It looks light a slightly more modern light bulb.

Larger than a standard light bulb, the Mipow bulb is cylindrical. Most of the bulb is made of metal, with a white translucent cap to diffuse the RGB LEDS and lead to more uniform color distribution.

Mipower-Smart-LED-Bulb-Review-03

It looks nice and would fit well in most modern light fittings that favour exposed bulbs.

However, the light beam is slightly more directional than a traditional bulb due to its design.

The bulb is only available as an E27 screw so you’ll need to make sure your lamp or light fitting supports it or get pick up an appropriate adapter.

Speaking of fitting, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got enough clearance to fit the bulb in. I didn’t have any issues but some smaller lamps may not have enough room to accomodate the smart bulb’s slightly larger frame.

Mipow LED Smart Bulb Review: Using It

Using it is dead simple. Just screw the bulb into your  light and turn it on. The bulb will automatically switch on its Bluetooth radio, ready to connect with the Playbulb X app on your smartphone (Available on Android and iOS).

The bulb is set to white initially but stays on the last color next time you turn it on thanks to its inbuilt memory.

The light’s 5W of power is distributed between 10 warm white LEDs and 4 RGB LEDs, leading to much more light when used “traditionally”, rather than colored. The white light is good enough for normal use (~280 lumens). When colored, it’s works well for changing the look of a room. I got some pretty cool effects using it to light up the back wall of my home theatre.

Mipower-Smart-LED-Bulb-Review-Colors-01

The light bulb is controlled entirely from the app. Those looking for support for web services such as IFTTT will be disappointed, though the unit is a fraction of the cost of bulbs that support web services.

Mipower-Smart-LED-Bulb-Review-App-01

After selecting a specific light (or a group of lights you’ve created, up to 5), you’ll get a color wheel that lets you set the bulb’s color to any of the supported 16 million colors.

There’s also presets for red, green, blue and white, a slider for setting the brightness, from max to completely off and a toggle that changes the bulb’s color when you shake your smartphone.

Mipower-Smart-LED-Bulb-Review-App-02

 

The app generally works well but lacks a little polish. The light bulb responds surprisingly quickly and everything is pretty intuitive. I did experience the occasionally oddity such as the color change in Candle mode not working or rarely the app didn’t connect to the bulb on the first tap but these are minor issues.

Mipower-Smart-LED-Bulb-Review-Colors-03

There’s also a couple of lighting effects to spice things up: pulse, rainbow, different rainbow (!?) and candle. They all look pretty cool, though the flicker effect in candle mode is too subtle unless you’re in complete darkness.

Speaking of flicker, there really wasn’t any noticeable during testing. The light from the Mipow Smart LED bulb remains consistant.

Mipower-Smart-LED-Bulb-Review-Colors-02

You can schedule the bulbs to turn on and off at a certain times but complex schedules aren’t supported, like different on/off times on the weekend.

If you’ve got Mipow’s other products (such as the Mipow Playbulb candle), there’s some pretty cool integration such as color sync and blowing out the candle can actually turn off every other item in the group.

Should You Get One?

Mipower-Smart-LED-Bulb-Review-02

The smart lighting movement is growing rapidly and the Mipow LED Smart Bulb is a great way of dipping your toes in without breaking the bank at a measly $14.

Though it lacks more advanced features such as IFTTT integration, it’s also a fraction of the price of more advanced alternatives such as Philips’ Hue range.

If you’re wanting to play around with LED smart bulbs, you can’t go wrong with the Mipow LED Smart Bulb.

Getting One

The is available from GearBest for under $15.

Check Price at GearBest