USB Charging port that can only support USB Type A Cable
Solar Charging is terribly slow
Design
9
Features
9
Convenience
7
Battery Life
8.5
Price
7
Final Verdict
If you are looking for a good solar-powered lamp for your outdoor adventures, Luci Connect is one of those that you must consider. The portable, inflatable design, features like waterproof, smart control and a solid 24 hours battery backup definitely outweigh the price of this lamp. Costing well around $50, this gadget should be on your wishlist.
It’s been a while since I reviewed a product and here I am reviewing one of the coolest and smartest solar lights you can find online. Meet Luci Connect, an Inflatable Smart Solar Light that can do a lot more things than I expected. Luci product lineup is from MPOWERD which has been designing and developing some of the unique and most useful lights from quite a long time and they have a bunch of different types of products. There are several Luci Lights that range from under $15 to over $50. If you are looking for a budget-friendly version, check out Luci Original. Starting off the review with what is in the box section.
Luci Connect: What’s in the Box?
The Luci Connect comes in a small box but the box itself cannot judge the size of this mighty lamp because the lamp is inflatable! Inside the box, you can find the following,
1 X Luci Connect Lamp
1 X USB Cable (Its USB Type A, male to male)
1 X User Manual
The box is aesthetically pleasing and you might want to keep it with you. In fact, I haven’t thrown it away cause I have a habit of collecting every gadget box. Nevertheless, let’s proceed to the next section.
The Design & Outer Look of the Lamp
The uninflated lamp, just out of the box, looks so dumb but once it is aired up, the opaque inflated part looks amazing. I like the opaque screen because it spreads the LED projections evenly around the surface that helps smoothen the light. I am definitely pleased by the outer look of the lamp just because it’s super simple and the minimalistic design looks very neat on almost every place, including a table top.
On the top surface of the lamp, you can find the solar panel, power button and a battery indicator.
While on the side, you can find the USB charging port and also the hanging strap attached. The battery indicator on the top surface does light up during charging.
Inflatable & Portable Design:
The lamp is inflatable which implies that the lamp is collapsible, lightweight, easy to carry and what not! Air can be pumped through the knob on the surface. If you are blowing air by mouth, good luck, its gonna take a while. The lamp can be partially inflated by pulling the knob but there could be more optimal methods, comment below if you know one. On the flip side, deflating is easy as a piece of cake, open the knob and release the air by pressing the tube using any sharp object, a pen would work too. If you decide to use a pin instead, all the best for future use.
Features of Luci Connect:
Multicolor Options:
The lamp supports both White color and other color options like Pinkish Red, Orange, Blue & Green. So you can select one among 5 different colors. If it is connected to a Smartphone, you can set color patterns where the color changes one after the other. Out of the 5 colors, I found White to be the most dominant.
Bright LED Lights:
There are a total of 36 LED lights out of which 24 are white LED’s and 12 are Multicolor Lights. The lamp could serve up to 250 Lumens in intensity with a brightness control option from 10% to 100%.
Durable Design:
The overall build quality of the light is pretty solid. It is durable enough to sustain a couple of drops and rough usage. I myself dropped it a couple of times on the floor while I was trying to hang it somewhere. One thing to take care of is the inflated surface. It is always advisable to keep it away from sharp objects.
Solid Battery Performance:
Luci connect lantern is powered by a 7.4Wh battery that did a pretty good job. If the light is used at its maximum brightness, the battery may last no longer than 8 hours. If the lamp is used with the least possible brightness (10%), the battery definitely lasts over a day. During our test, 10% brightness yielded around 30 hours for White light and over 36 hours for pink & blue lights. I did not test for other color combinations. At 100% brightness, we got only around 6.5 hours of backup which is terrible. One of the bad things about Luci connect is that it does not have a brightness control button on it. The only way is to control it is via a Smartphone which is totally inconvenient. This definitely is a negative aspect of this gadget. If you are wondering if 10% is enough, I would say yes because it is bright enough for almost anything unless you are using it for filmmaking lol!. The battery recharging time was around 2.5 hours via USB cable and was around 15 hours via Solar Panel.
IPX7 Waterproof:
Yes, Luci connect is fully waterproof up to 1 meter (around 3 ft) in depth which is a very useful feature especially when you are outdoors. The lamp works well in moist environments and rainy conditions without any issues at all. I tested the Waterproof feature by immersing the lantern underwater for a minute or two. Water does not affect the charging port or any other joints in the product. It also dries very fast. Since it is inflated by Air, it floats on the water, making it useful for the Pool Parties too! Though it is fully waterproof, taking it for a swim is not a good idea as it can break if immersed over a meter of depth due to pressure.
Solar Charging:
The lantern supports the solar charging option to make life easy when you are outdoors. because you don’t want to run out of juice in the middle of an adventure trek. You can easily charge the lamp from the Sunlight during the daytime and use it in the night. Though solar charging is helpful, it takes a lot of time, over 14 hours which is not a great thing. Also, the solar panel on the surface cannot easily pick up the sunlight but it works well if the surface is directly facing the Sun. In conclusion, solar charging comes handy when you are outdoors but it is neither quick nor easy to charge.
Smart Control Via Bluetooth
One of the most significant features of Luci Connect is the smart control where you can connect the solar lamp to your smartphone via Bluetooth which allows you to control it wirelessly. Establishing the connection is simple, just turn on the Bluetooth on your smartphone, open the MPOWERD mobile app and press the Search for Light Button. If the light is not detected, take the smartphone closer to the lamp and it should work. One strange thing I noted during the connection is that your smartphone does not display the lamp under the connected devices in the Bluetooth section which could mislead some people to think that the connection has not taken place. In reality, the lamp has already been connected and is fully controllable via phone. The mobile app has many options including brightness control, scheduling and timer options.
Brightness Control
This allows you to control the brightness of the lamp from 10% to 100%. The default will be 75%. You can also know how many hours of battery backup is remaining.
Mood & Color Control:
Here you can set any color you wish and the color of the lamp changes immediately. You can literally set any color you want since the lamp supports RGB functionality. Apart from just a constant color, you can also set moods where the color changes in a pattern that could result in an ambient mood. You can also create your own custom color combination/mood.
Set Timer
You can easily set a timer to make sure your Luci Lights go dark after any specified amount of time. The time stamps include hours, minutes and seconds.
Scheduling
You can also schedule the lamp to light up only between some specific time slots in a day, select color and brightness. You have an option to repeat the schedule for over a week.
Pricing of Luci Connect
The Luci connect lamp is priced at around $65 and it is available at multiple online stores including Amazon and MPOWERD official website. While I was writing this review, Amazon had a warehouse deal (Used) for around $47. Looking at the price point, this solar lantern is definitely not cheap. Some of the most useful features like Bluetooth control and good battery life outweigh the price and make the product stand out from its competitors.
Is Luci Connect a Fit for You?
If you are someone who goes on an adventure, to remote locations oftentimes and are in need of a multipurpose lamp that can charge from solar light and is smartphone controllable, Luci Connect is for you. Features like smart control, mood-setting and timer options indeed help you every now and then but they are not the must-have factors when it comes to survival. But the features like battery life, waterproof, durability, and solar charging definitely are. Some of the applications are,
It can be used as an emergency lamp.
If the light is kept at 10% brightness, it can be used as a bed lamp.
You can use it for short walks in the night.
It can be used in campsites.
Can also be used for parties (the multicolor funky mood)
The lamp suits to be a cool home decor as well.
FAQs:
These are some of the Frequently Asked Questions on Google, I hope it helps you understand the lamp better.
How long does the Luci Light last?
On average, the Luci Connect lasts for around 30 hours at the minimum brightness (10%) and for about 6 hours at the maximum (100%) brightness. The battery backup also depended upon the color of the light, during our tests. The white light typically consumed a higher battery than other colors.
Which Luci Light is the Best for Me?
If you are looking for a cheap yet long-lasting lamp, Luci Original or Luci Color would be good options for you. If smart control, timer and scheduling options interest you and if you are ready to spend a bit more, Luci Connect will be the best option. Luci Lights come in different variations, you can choose as per your requirements.
How to Change Colors in Luci Lamp?
Different Luci Lights may differ in changing the colors but in Luci Connect, you can change the color either by using the buttons on the top surface of the Lamp itself or from the MPOWERED mobile app via Bluetooth Connection.
How to Charge Luci Light?
Luci Lights come with a built-in USB type-A port (not micro USB), you can charge the lamp via the USB port (cable is included in the box) or via the Solar panel that is embedded on top of the lamp.
If you have any other questions, feel free to comment below. I am always ready to share what I know.
June 2020 Update: Many users are reporting issues with the smartphone app. I wasn’t experiencing anything as such during my review last year. Proceed with caution.
Ninad Maneghatta is an editor at GforGadget.com. He is a Data Science enthusiast and has a Masters Degree in Computer Engineering from Arizona State University, USA. When he is not working, he loves to travel and explore nature. He is a drone fanatic too.
These are great lights – at first glance. But as with most Asian imports, poorly made and not reliable or long lasting. Notwithstanding the glowing write up here – though reviews that include affiliate links which pay the author for a purchase are inherently not impartial.
We bought two Lucis, Base and Pro, and less than a year and a half later both have sprung leaks around the seams and USB connections that cannot be fixed. And this is only with careful and irregular use for camping, they would definitely deteriorate more quickly when left outside with UV exposure. The straps also broke on both early on. And as mentioned in many reviews, the solar charger is a total gimmick, with the panels so small and cells so low quality that multiple days of full sun are needed for a full charge (when new).
We loved the concept but reality is $50 a pop for more plastic junk that will eventually just pollute the oceans so a pretty poor value. Quality outdoors lighting options may cost more but they last much longer and can often be repaired, saving money over the long run.
Thanks for your review, Brad. I still have my unit and it is working just fine. It could be because I haven’t inflated-deflated the product more than 10 times till now.
But yeah, some of the points you made can only be observed after using a product for a long time. We, reviewers, have to rely on the first few weeks’ usage data.
These are great lights – at first glance. But as with most Asian imports, poorly made and not reliable or long lasting. Notwithstanding the glowing write up here – though reviews that include affiliate links which pay the author for a purchase are inherently not impartial.
We bought two Lucis, Base and Pro, and less than a year and a half later both have sprung leaks around the seams and USB connections that cannot be fixed. And this is only with careful and irregular use for camping, they would definitely deteriorate more quickly when left outside with UV exposure. The straps also broke on both early on. And as mentioned in many reviews, the solar charger is a total gimmick, with the panels so small and cells so low quality that multiple days of full sun are needed for a full charge (when new).
We loved the concept but reality is $50 a pop for more plastic junk that will eventually just pollute the oceans so a pretty poor value. Quality outdoors lighting options may cost more but they last much longer and can often be repaired, saving money over the long run.
Thanks for your review, Brad. I still have my unit and it is working just fine. It could be because I haven’t inflated-deflated the product more than 10 times till now.
But yeah, some of the points you made can only be observed after using a product for a long time. We, reviewers, have to rely on the first few weeks’ usage data.