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MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 Review

It's an inflatable, floatable, playful party light.
MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0
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Price:  $25 List | $11.18 at Amazon
Compare prices at 2 resellers
Pros:  Solar powered, inexpensive, inflatable, waterproof
Cons:  Hangs off kilter, difficult to locate power button in the dark
Manufacturer:   MPOWERD
By Ben Applebaum-Bauch ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Apr 12, 2019
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54
OVERALL
SCORE

RANKED
#10 of 12
  • Brightness - 40% 4
  • Durability - 20% 5
  • Features - 20% 6
  • Ease of Use - 10% 8
  • Weight - 10% 8

Our Verdict

The MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 is lightweight and compact. It is solar-powered, easy to use, and fun. This lantern is surprisingly durable as well. Though a hard tug on the handle straps could probably tear them, we never had an issue during testing. It's a light meant for an individual or a couple that finds themselves in the backcountry often and like the looks of a solar light that can be charged during the day. Its inflatable body means that it floats, and it fits easily into the pockets of almost any hiking backpack.


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Awards  Editors' Choice Award Top Pick Award Top Pick Award Best Buy Award 
Price $11.18 at Amazon
Compare at 2 sellers		$51.81 at Amazon
Compare at 3 sellers		$34.95 at Amazon$25.99 at Amazon$19.95 at REI
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Pros Solar powered, inexpensive, inflatable, waterproofRubber-tipped legs, dimming feature, dual metal hooks for hanging, durableVery long battery life, tough and durable, provides a nice soft diffused lightDurable, packed with features, water resistant, floatsLightweight, solar-powered, durable, inexpensive, packs flat
Cons Hangs off kilter, difficult to locate power button in the darkCould be brighter for large groups, replaceable batteries run out quicklyGlow-in-the-dark doesn't work very well, hook on the bottom is not very sturdy, hard to reattach bottom after replacing batteries.Can't fully adjust the amount of light output, limited to four settings, smallLow lumen output, can't fit in pocket
Bottom Line The fun lantern that offers a variety of features.If we could only choose one lantern, this would be it.Unmatched battery life in a traditional, durable lantern.Sweet little lantern that's tough as nails, magnetic and floats.This lightweight lantern is a tough, inexpensive option for weekend camping.
Rating Categories MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 Black Diamond Apollo 30-Day Duro Glow Streamlight The Siege Goal Zero Crush Light
Brightness (40%)
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4
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6
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8
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5
Durability (20%)
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5
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8
Features (20%)
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5
Ease Of Use (10%)
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Weight (10%)
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Specs MPOWERD Luci... Black Diamond Apollo 30-Day Duro Glow Streamlight The... Goal Zero Crush...
Weight (with batteries, in ounces) 4.73 oz 10.19 oz 29.28 oz 9.14 oz 3.67 oz
Lumens 75 225 700 200 60
Size (inches) 4.25 x 4.25 x 5 (inflated) 9.5 x 3.3 x 5.3 7.2 x 3.75 2.4 x 2.4 x 5.4 4.95 x 4.95 x 4`
Number of batteries N/a 3 3 3 N/a
Battery type None AA D AA None
Waterproof rating IP67 IPX 4 "Water resistant" IPX7 IPX4
Manufacturer run time (hours) 18 hrs 24 hrs 22 hrs on high, 30 days on low 7-37 hrs 3.5 hrs

Our Analysis and Test Results

The MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 is a solar-powered, inflatable, floatable, waterproof lantern. No need for heavy, expensive, disposable batteries. The Luci charges entirely from the sun. We found it was great for traveling because of how small it packs down. Most people who see these lights fall in love with them.

Performance Comparison


This lantern is not nearly as bright as many of its competitors and its inflatability makes it a bit of a liability in terms of durability. For that, it finds itself towards the bottom of the overall scores in this review.

Brightness


Though not tremendously bright, this lantern gave us the light that we needed. It shines at a maximum of 75 lumens. It didn't blow us away, but we rarely found that we wanted more from it. The low setting is nice for reading at night, and the high setting is bright enough to cook a meal at your campsite. Unless you are looking to illuminate a large area with a single light source, the Luci Outdoor 2.0 will do the trick.

Lighting up a tent at night.
Lighting up a tent at night.

One element that we aren't thrilled with is the light quality. The white LEDs fall on the blue side of the spectrum, meaning that it's not as warm as other compact lanterns. Also, the ripples and folds in the inflatable vinyl cast shadows across the lantern's shine radius, sometimes making for an unusual visual texture.

The light quality is a pretty cold white and the wrinkles and folds in the vinyl cast some strange shadows.
The light quality is a pretty cold white, and the wrinkles and folds in the vinyl cast some strange shadows.

Durability


The Luci Outdoor 2.0 is surprisingly durable for an inflatable. We caution against blowing it up too much before leaving it in the sun to charge, but nothing we thought would wear out actually did. The seams and straps are strong. We literally kicked and tossed it around quite a bit, both inflated and deflated, and it still performed just as it always had.

Features


It is a straightforward lantern that offers a Goldilocks combination of basic features. It has four settings, low, medium, high and flashing. Press the power button once to cycle through each setting, or hold it down for 3 seconds in any setting to turn it off.

This inflatable lantern as two straps. The one on the bottom of the lantern is fixed, great for clipping to a carabiner to hang off of a backpack for charging during the day. The top strap is adjustable, which makes the Luci Outdoor 2.0 even easier to suspend from a loop inside a tent or on a clothesline. It has two snaps that allow for hanging it either tightly or more loosely. The adjustability means that the strap can fit comfortably around an average-sized adult hand, making it comfortable to carry around a campsite or on a short hike. As long as you're not going too far, it could sub in for a flashlight.

One minor annoyance of the snap is that it forces the light to hang slightly off-kilter.
One minor annoyance of the snap is that it forces the light to hang slightly off-kilter.

Though we love the new adjustable strap, one thing we noticed is that the lantern has to hang slightly off-kilter. The snap for the wider setting is right at the apex of the strap, so it pushes the light off to one side or the other.

Ease of Use


Just set it in the sun for seven hours and you'll have up to 24 hours of light. It deflates in about 10 seconds. We found that inflation took a few seconds longer, primarily because the valve is a little chunky and is sometimes tricky to depress once the lantern is blown up. Otherwise, once it's charged, just press the power button and it's good to go.

One minor drawback we found is that the lantern can sometimes be challenging to turn on if it's pitch black. The power button is low-profile and the lantern is a relatively symmetrical cylinder, so we didn't always immediately know which way was up. Even when we did, the button still took some time to locate.

Weight


The Luci Outdoor 2.0 is lightweight and packable. It's a feathery 4.7 oz. and compresses down to less than one inch thick when deflated. Inflated, it measures five inches tall and has a diameter of four and a quarter inches.

The slim profile of this lantern means that it fits conveniently in a glove box.
The slim profile of this lantern means that it fits conveniently in a glove box.

Value


We feel that we got more than we paid for with the Luci 2.0. It comes with a one-year warranty and offers a solid set of basic features that we were really satisfied with. It's hard to go wrong with this lantern.

Conclusion


The MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 is versatile and fun. It's lightweight, waterproof, surprisingly durable, and costs nothing to power. It's bright enough for most uses, and though there are a couple of minor features we hope are improved upon, overall we are pleased with its performance.


— Ben Applebaum-Bauch