GUIDE TO WATER BOTTLES

SolLight Solar-Powered LightCap Water Bottle

Manufacturer : SolLight
In Stock : 4

List Price:	$24.95
Price:	$23.79
You Save:	$1.16 (5%)

Features

32-ounce water bottle with solar-powered LED light built into cap
Can be used as a flashlight, table lantern, emergency light, kids nightlight
Includes bright white LED for reading, red LED for night and ambient light
Bottle is tapered so small hands can easily grab it; polycarbonate material will not retain odor or taste
One-year manufacturer warranty from defects

Product Description

The LightCap Bottle is a tough 32oz. drink container that is also a solar-powered LED lantern. During the day, a durable solar panel in the LightCap captures sunlight and recharges the sealed battery pack in the cap. At night, activate either the white or red LEDs to light up the liquid in the bottle and illuminate the area around you with an eerie glow.

Amazon.com Product Description

Great for camping or keeping stored for emergency use, the SolLight combines an unbreakable one-liter water bottle with a solar-powered LED light. Fill it with your favorite drink and never worry about finding it in the dark again. It has a 32-ounce capacity, stands 8.25 inches tall and 3.75 inches wide and weighs just 11 ounces.

With just a four-hour charge of sunshine the LightCap will stay bright for up to 12 hours while the rechargeable Ni-Cad batteries will last for at least 300 cycles. Set it in the sun or hang it from a railing during the day and you'll have light all night long. The LightCap comes with a white LED for reading and a red LED for ambient lighting, and it has a handy waterproof switch on the cap that lets you change from the white LED to red, or turn it off completely. It's backed by a one-year warranty for manufacturer defects.

Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Does the light heat up the water?
A. No, LEDs put out virtually no heat.

Q. How long will the light last?
A. On a full charge (12 hours in direct sun) the white LED will last 8-10 hours while the red LED will last 16-18 hours. You may get more or less time depending on the temperature since battery performance goes down in cold temperatures.

Q. Does the LightCap need bright sun to charge?
A. No. In fact, it will continue to charge in ANY light. It will charge the fastest in bright, direct sunshine; less so in overcast or shady conditions (50 to 80 percent slower). But it will even charge inside a room with the lights on. Whenever the solar panel is exposed to light, it's charging.

Q. Why have a red LED?
A. Several reasons. First of all, a red LED draws less power than white, so the light from it will last almost twice as long (up to 20 hours on a charge). If you just want a nightlight, need a red safety light, want to keep track of your water bottle at night, or live in Antarctica, use the red LED. Finally, red light 'protects' your night vision. White light dilates the pupils in your eyes (you know how long it takes to see again at night after you turn on a bright light). Red light doesn't dilate your pupil nearly as much, so your night vision is 'protected'.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating of 4.00 out of 6 reviews

Rating :
Good idea but needs further development - E. Johnson, Nov 29, 2007

This is an interesting concept and appears to be made from quality materials. However the luminance level is low for practicality as it has only one LED which is behind the milky translucent cover of the lid bottom. The color-temp is pretty blueish as well which probably reflects the use of an older LED component.

I tested this over about 10 days indoors where it was left in direct sunlight for about 8 hours a day for both one and two day periods then turned on. The marginally usable white light lasted only about 3-4 hours before it became totally useless which is probably more than enough for a typical backpack evening. It did glow for 6-7 hours before going out completely.

The batteries are AA and easily replaceable with minor dis-assembly of the cap. The cap-to-bottle retention strap is made of somewhat stretchy and flexible material, not stiff plastic and is easily replaceable as well. The design needs to be updated to use 3-5 of the newer, whiter, hi-output and efficient LEDS that are now in wide use in small flashlights and head lamps and re-packaged to use 4-AAA batts for higher voltage/current.

I decided that it was more novelty than truly useful and that there is no advantage to it's function vs weight and size (it is just a bit too big, 3.75" dia, for my backpack bottle side pouch. Consequently it is being returned but I will keep an eye on it for further development.

Rating :
Great fun gadget - Emily Heine, Sep 07, 2007

Although as mentioned the lid of this water bottle is rather heavy, I have found it to be a very useful item. The plastic seems to be thick enough that even with keeping the water bottle in the sun the water doesn't get too warm. It produces plenty of light to find my way around at night and is just a fun item to have.

Rating :
Great Idea. Well Executed. Some Nits. - G. Arnold, Jan 17, 2007

I've had my SolLight bottle for about a month now and I'm impressed. The light is bright enough to be useful and the cap construction (panel, battery, switch) is top-notch.

Here are a couple of my "nits" and/or observations:

1] The bottle is a polycarbonate, but is not the same thickness as the Lexan used in a more trendy Nalgene bottle. The sidewalls of this plastic do flex a bit. I haven't run into any durablity issues per se, but I wouldn't toss this bottle around like my narrow-mouth Nalgene's, either.

2] The battery in the cap is bulky (um, it's a battery!..) which can take some getting used to when drinking from this bottle. You really have to hold the cap from "flopping" back into your face.

3] The light output from the cap isn't as bright as some other LED lights I have, but the runtime can't be beat (10+ hours). The light is a good lantern for task lighting situations such as rummaging through a bag or reading a book. Not so great for lighting a room, although the output is adequate to see what you're doing if the power goes out.

On more positive notes, the bottle design has a super-wide mouth for easy ice insertion and wash access. Also, this thing is an awsome conversation starter and is my constant companion booklight, too.

Rating :
Not worth the price - Lauren Rench, Dec 25, 2006

I used cheap water bottles forever until I splurged on this. The light was useful for hiking/camping. However, the bottle always smelled no matter what I did (soaked in boiling water, soaked in bleach...). The strap connecting the lid to the bottle broke after two weeks. In general it was very heavy and hard to bring anywhere, I could not fit it into my backpack or my car cupholder.

Rating :
Just what you need - J. Heim, Oct 01, 2006

I bought this so I could have some light in my tent while hiking. It gave off more light than I expected. I don't know if I could read by it but it's pretty bright. Perfect for those who are trying to cut wt. on there hikes and have things pull double duty.

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