My first Luci light lasted a couple of months and then quickly died off to the point where after charging for 24 hours it only produced 5 minutes of light. The company replaced it willingly, but communication from them by email was sporadic.

The replacement light is having the same fate. Straight out of the package the lantern lasted a full 8 hours on the first night---went to bed and it was still going strong the next day. I didn't have occasion to use it over the next few months. Yesterday I tested it after charging it for 24 hours and it lasted less than an hour on the low setting.

I asked the company repeatedly whether there was anything I could do to make the lantern last longer. Does leaving it in a window all day every day wear it out? What is the best charge/discharge pattern to make it last? No answer to those questions from the company.

This outcome is hard to understand given that supposedly people in third-world countries where they don't have electricity depend on Luci lights. I'll ask for another replacement but I've lost my faith in Luci lights. They're great when they work, but don't rely on them as your only source of light

That's too bad, I thought those were supposed to be the new thing. If you travel to new spots every day it does not get a chance to charge up again. I think I'll pass on this gadget. Anyway you still have headlights and Candle lanterns. I take a candle lantern about every trip. Never had a problem except when I tipped it over with the wax mess. After I cleaned it up it worked great.

I love my Luci Lights - they charge pretty quickly and have not seemed to diminish in ability to provide good light in 3 years of use. I do let them "live" in a south facing window ledge in the "trip room" when they are not out on the trail.

quote Grandma L: "I love my Luci Lights - they charge pretty quickly and have not seemed to diminish in ability to provide good light in 3 years of use. I do let them "live" in a south facing window ledge in the "trip room" when they are not out on the trail. "

Yup, that's exactly what I do with my lantern---south window. With the first lantern I wanted to believe the failure was a fluke, but now I'm zero for two, which isn't promising.

Cliff Jacobson said he only uses the candle lantern. I think the more I hear and read the more I have to agree with Cliff. Sorry to hear about what happened to you.
Mike

I, too, am not a fan of the LL. I have had 2 of them go belly up in very short order, and I will not waste my money on them anymore.

Hate to hear that. My first two are almost 2 years old and have had a lot of use. I have 3 now and nary a problem?

Candle lantern? Had a couple up until about 10 years ago. They break and they will burn you or your gear if you're not careful. The light output is fine if you have no roots or rocks to trip over and you don't want to read. Nah, I'll take my Luci lights ANY day of the week over candle lanterns.

quote ozarkpaddler: "Hate to hear that. My first two are almost 2 years old and have had a lot of use. I have 3 now and nary a problem?"

So it sounds like this company has a problem with quality control. I would love to love this product, if it worked consistently.

Can't say I blame you LP. Good to know this.

Sometimes a product becomes so popular the company will take too many production shortcuts to keep up with demand and maximize sales. If that is the case with Luci Lights, it is indeed sad.

I bought 2 of them over two years ago. They are stored in a day pack with other emergency gear I want to keep handy. The pack hangs on a hook in the mud room. Every time I pull them out they work just fine.

Well I have to give Mpowered credit for hugely improved customer service. First of all they now publish their contact info at the website which wasn't previously the case. I sent them an email this morning and within a couple of hours they had already put in an order for a new lantern. They said that the defect rate is 1%. That's not too bad, I guess. (But I'm guessing that that's a high failure rate in some industries, no?)

Yep, I too am not a fan of LL. I've found the Luminaid Packlight and this Cap Light that fits on a Nalgene far superior to the LL.

quote AndySG: "Can't say I blame you LP. Good to know this.

Sometimes a product becomes so popular the company will take too many production shortcuts to keep up with demand and maximize sales. If that is the case with Luci Lights, it is indeed sad.

I bought 2 of them over two years ago. They are stored in a day pack with other emergency gear I want to keep handy. The pack hangs on a hook in the mud room. Every time I pull them out they work just fine."

Yeah, that's a real PIA, I wish everyone had had the "Positive" experience I've had. The Luminaid and that cap light looks interesting too? But I'd NEVER go back to the old candle lantern, it would be like going back to trash bags for storing my gear. Big step backwards!

quote LilyPond: "Well I have to give Mpowered credit for hugely improved customer service. First of all they now publish their contact info at the website which wasn't previously the case. I sent them an email this morning and within a couple of hours they had already put in an order for a new lantern. They said that the defect rate is 1%. That's not too bad, I guess. (But I'm guessing that that's a high failure rate in some industries, no?)"

A quality rate of 3% or less is considered good.

I have 2 Luci lights and both of them have been very good for around 3 years. Never had a problem. Better quality control a few years back?

I just bought my first Luci light and will be using it all next week in the BW. This is unfortunate to hear, as all the other reports I have read have been positive. I will report on my experience this this product when I get back.

quote LilyPond: "

quote Grandma L: "I love my Luci Lights - they charge pretty quickly and have not seemed to diminish in ability to provide good light in 3 years of use. I do let them "live" in a south facing window ledge in the "trip room" when they are not out on the trail. "

Yup, that's exactly what I do with my lantern---south window. With the first lantern I wanted to believe the failure was a fluke, but now I'm zero for two, which isn't promising."

I have seen some variation of this tip with solar lights before:

CapLight- "Tip: To maximize battery life - Charge the battery to full - 10 hours full sun, then store in a completely dark place (turned off). Every 3 months - remove from the dark place and put it in the sun for 10 hours, before re-storing in the dark place. This keeps battery chemistry active, yet minimizes - charge / recharge cycles to prolong battery life. "

barracuda: "I have seen some variation of this tip with solar lights before: CapLight- "Tip: To maximize battery life - Charge the battery to full - 10 hours full sun, then store in a completely dark place (turned off). Every 3 months - remove from the dark place and put it in the sun for 10 hours, before re-storing in the dark place. This keeps battery chemistry active, yet minimizes - charge / recharge cycles to prolong battery life. "

Barracuda, this is extremely helpful information. I suspected there must be things that extend and shorten battery life, since this is the case with other types of batteries. I've asked Mpowered this question time and again and never got an answer. I keep my Luci light permanently in a window so it's charged in case I need it. According to the instructions from CapLight that's not the right thing to do.

quote PiperMike: "Cliff Jacobson said he only uses the candle lantern. I think the more I hear and read the more I have to agree with Cliff. Sorry to hear about what happened to you.
Mike"

That's not true anymore. At the most recent Outdoor Adventure Expo Cliff told everyone about the Luci light and how he just tried it out and loved it. Its actually how I even heard about it.

I much prefer the LuminAid version of lanterns vs the Luci. I own both, but the Luci is now in the trash. Quit working and the plate on the top of the lantern cracked in numerous places. LuminAid doesn't have any rigid breakable parts and seem to hold a charge much longer. Not to mention they pack smaller and inflate larger.

quote BigCurrent: "I much prefer the LuminAid version of lanterns vs the Luci. I own both, but the Luci is now in the trash. Quit working and the plate on the top of the lantern cracked in numerous places. LuminAid doesn't have any rigid breakable parts and seem to hold a charge much longer. Not to mention they pack smaller and inflate larger. "

Will try one of these. Cannot be any worse than the Luci.

I like them. I find the white-only one lasts quite a bit longer than the multicolored one.
Bought the white one this past March at Canoecopia, and the colored one the year before.
They both still work fine. They belong to my 8 yr old daughter who doesn't like to sleep in the dark. I find it's a huge difference whether I place it to charge on our back porch by a window, or in direct sunlight outdoors. Sometimes being in a window just doesn't do the trick.

I threw mine away

quote KT: "I threw mine away "

Is it still in your trash? Where do you live? I'm not too proud to dumpster dive..my daughter will think I'm cooler than I really am.....and what was for dinner last night?

I have seen many yanking on the straps to open/inflate them and some similar squishing to collapse them. The solar-cell/wafer battery is not meant to be flexed and will short, same goes for the Luminaid.
A little care goes a long way.
I have 3, over 3 years old now, and several other in the house. They do not see daylight except when camping. All work well and will stay on for 8 hours + after a sunny day.

butthead

Now have a Luminaid. Will use on our trip tomorrow.

+1 for LuminAid. I got a couple when they first came out years ago and love them.
Not the lantern type but the small one that fits in a shirt pocket. More than enough light in a tent.

quote airmorse: "I just bought my first Luci light and will be using it all next week in the BW. This is unfortunate to hear, as all the other reports I have read have been positive. I will report on my experience this this product when I get back."

Worked great all week!

We have four we have taken the last four years to the BWCA. We put them out and charge them each day, and they hang in the common/tarp area at night. They will stay lit all night.

As others have said, the problem with them breaking it typically not understanding how to "inflate" them properly.

If taken care of and used correctly, they will last for years.. .ours certainly have.

quote PiperMike: "Cliff Jacobson said he only uses the candle lantern. I think the more I hear and read the more I have to agree with Cliff. Sorry to hear about what happened to you.
Mike"

I listened to Cliff at Canoecopia a few weeks ago. Quite an interesting and entertaining guy. He talked about the products he used and liked from the last year and one of his favorite products was the Lucilight.

seems you always get lemons with some gear. mine works perfectly, for now :)

quote markaroberts: "As others have said, the problem with them breaking it typically not understanding how to "inflate" them properly. "

I don't see how improper inflation explains why they never responded to any of the original poster's very good questions regarding charge/discharge/care. That still matters to some people. It's a shame they couldn't or wouldn't communicate with a customer about their product.

quote mschi772: "

quote markaroberts: "As others have said, the problem with them breaking it typically not understanding how to "inflate" them properly. "

I don't see how improper inflation explains why they never responded to any of the original poster's very good questions regarding charge/discharge/care. That still matters to some people. It's a shame they couldn't or wouldn't communicate with a customer about their product."

Agree. My Luci cracked when it was deflated and packed in my bag. They are much more fragile than the Luminaid light. The pillow shaped Luminaid hold up best to wear and tear since they have minimal rigid parts, plus they give off more light that the square shape or round Luci.

I don't see how improper inflation explains why they never responded to any of the original poster's very good questions regarding charge/discharge/care. That still matters to some people. It's a shame they couldn't or wouldn't communicate with a customer about their product."

Since the company provides no guidance on how to maximize longevity of solar batteries, perhaps someone here could comment on that. There must be certain principles that are common to all solar batteries? The main questions are:

1) Should they be stored in a dark place or left in a window during weeks and months of nonuse?

2) Does letting them run down completely shorten the life of the battery?

3) What else can be done to make the batteries last?

4) How long does a typical solar battery last before it can't be recharged to a useful level?

Well, back in July, Barracuda did write this...

quote barracuda: "CapLight- "Tip: To maximize battery life - Charge the battery to full - 10 hours full sun, then store in a completely dark place (turned off). Every 3 months - remove from the dark place and put it in the sun for 10 hours, before re-storing in the dark place. This keeps battery chemistry active, yet minimizes - charge / recharge cycles to prolong battery life."

Luminaid's FAQ says:

All LuminAID lights use a lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery, similar to the battery in most cell phones. Once fully charged, the battery will hold a majority of its charge and light up after over a year of being in storage. Like all rechargeable batteries, it does lose a small percentage of charge over time when it is in storage and not being used. In order to ensure the product is fully charged when you need it, we recommend that you recharge the light in direct sun every 6-8 months.

Though if you're not concerned with the light being 100% in the event of an emergency, ideal storage of lithium-ion batteries is at ~40% charge at a cold temperature. Link

If I was going to be crazy about maximizing the life of my Luci/Lumi, if it's one with a charge level indicator, I'd charge/discharge it to roughly 30-50% then store it in my fridge until the next outing.

Basically the same recommendation is in the Luci Light manual

butthead

quote butthead: "Basically the same recommendation is in the Luci Light manual


butthead"

I see nothing in the manual that would increase or decrease battery life (I mean total life of the product, not hours of light from a single use). So I conclude that the two lights I had that died an early death were defective. The third one has done well, which is a 33% success rate to 66% failure. I still like this light, but I would never depend on it as my sole source of light on a trip.

I also notice that the manual says to push the valve back into the lantern, which is how I cracked mine.

quote mschi772: "Well, back in July, Barracuda did write this...

quote barracuda: "CapLight- "Tip: To maximize battery life - Charge the battery to full - 10 hours full sun, then store in a completely dark place (turned off). Every 3 months - remove from the dark place and put it in the sun for 10 hours, before re-storing in the dark place. This keeps battery chemistry active, yet minimizes - charge / recharge cycles to prolong battery life."

Luminaid's FAQ says:

All LuminAID lights use a lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery, similar to the battery in most cell phones. Once fully charged, the battery will hold a majority of its charge and light up after over a year of being in storage. Like all rechargeable batteries, it does lose a small percentage of charge over time when it is in storage and not being used. In order to ensure the product is fully charged when you need it, we recommend that you recharge the light in direct sun every 6-8 months.

Though if you're not concerned with the light being 100% in the event of an emergency, ideal storage of lithium-ion batteries is at ~40% charge at a cold temperature. Link

If I was going to be crazy about maximizing the life of my Luci/Lumi, if it's one with a charge level indicator, I'd charge/discharge it to roughly 30-50% then store it in my fridge until the next outing."

Thanks for that reminder about Barracuda's advice. I had forgotten that.

3 seasons of service from my luci light and it is still working great. One of my favorite pieces of gear. Sorry to hear about your bad luck with the product.

We have three of them. We have used them for 4 BWCA trips as well as other trips the last 5 years. Still work as well as when new. We leave them out in the sun during the day. We hang them from the group tarp at night where we keep the water, cooking gear, etc. They are left on for light in the middle of camp and still have some light the next morning.

We put them in the top of the assigned pack so there is never any weight on them. Also, I don't blow air in them with my mouth as that puts moisture into the area where the LED's are. Simply squeeze the valve and pull the two plates apart and it inflates.

I read somewhere that inflating them with your breath would cause damage so we have never done that.

We take 15-18 guys up the BWCA every year, in 3 groups. All have used LUCI's for several years. They regard them as one of the best pieces of gear we bring.

Between my son and I there are 10 in the house. Of those 1 failed in the switch and has been discarded and replaced. The other is an Aura that the globe broke, Oct. 2014 but still works fine.

Far as moisture dammage all are used regularly and inflated by mouth. The broken Aura even works fine yet underwater (I cut off the split globe 2 years ago),



Mark, they are listed as IPX67 rated for waterproofing.

butthead

I had a similar thing happen to a luminAID light and was kind-of disappointed. My friend, though, has since turned me on to a simple UCO candle. There's something incredibly warm and cozy about the flickering analog candle light. I'll even hang it on the hammock ridgeline or bring it into a tent no problem.

I blow it out before going to sleep, but the candle also does wonders for fighting in-tent condensation in the winter.

quote muddyfeet: "I had a similar thing happen to a luminAID light and was kind-of disappointed. My friend, though, has since turned me on to a simple UCO candle. There's something incredibly warm and cozy about the flickering analog candle light. I'll even hang it on the hammock ridgeline or bring it into a tent no problem.


I blow it out before going to sleep, but the candle also does wonders for fighting in-tent condensation in the winter.
"

Used the candle lanterns for decades BEFORE the Luci Light. One thing to beware of, is they can get hot and if you touch them in the wrong place a burn or a hole in your tent is possible.

We had a really nasty storm about 3:30 in the morning and lost power until about noon the next day. AGAIN, our Luci Lights were flawless. Sorry for those whom had a bad experience with a "Lemon," however; we've had no problems and into year number 3 or is it 4?

I've had my luci for a year or two now and had no problems (ditto everyone else in my group who has one). Bummer to hear about those who have had issues.

Yes, Sir! Not a fan of LL's either. Luminaid Packlight has worked flawlessly for 2 years for me.