Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There are a lot of solar lights out there and its really easy to pick a bad one that might seem good to begin with, only to break or show its flaws later (when you cant return it). This isn't one of those. In this review i'll go over what I like about this cap and also what I dislike about many of the other caps I saw. Description: 1: It has a very large solar panel on top. Larger than most other caps out there. It runs off of two generic brand 1000mA Ni-MH batteries. 2: There are four bright LEDs (5000K color temperature) on the underside of the cap (see pictures). One for each side. 3: Its made of white PVC that actually stays white when exposed to the sun for a long time (more on that later). 4: It comes with two mounting screws that let you anchor it to your fencepost. Honestly, you probably wont need them unless the cap fits really loosely (it was a snug fit on my fenceposts) Observations: 1: Long lasting. Most solar lights will kick out in 4-5 hours after sunset. These things go for at least 8-9 hours. Even when it rained most of the day I saw them last 5 hours, that's impressive. 2: Bright, excellent light distribution. Normally I see people use caps as kind of path lights, but on my relatively small porch 5 of these caps actually produce about the same amount of light as a 40w bulb. 3: No drop in performance. I've had mine running for 3 months now in a place that's in direct view of the sun for approximately 9 hours a day and there has been no degradation in performance, and no yellowing from the sun. What to watch out for in other caps: 1: For PVC caps, UV resistance. Always read the reviews and look for anyone complaining about discoloration over time, especially if what you're looking at is white. Cheaper caps use cheaper PVC that bleaches in the sunlight, turning them gradually yellow. (Metal caps may not have this problem). The last thing anyone wants is to be stuck with a deck full of stained yellow caps. 2: Solar panel size. While size isn't always an indicator of how much energy it will pull in... more often than not it is. Expect caps with tiny panels to kick out in 5 hours. Always check to see if the manufacturer used one or two batteries. If it only holds one, no matter what the description may say, thats basically a tacit admission that they have no confidence the panel can charge more than 1 battery no matter how much sunlight it gets. (higher capacity Ni-MH batteries exist, but 2 medium capacity batteries (1000mA) will always cost less than 1 high capacity battery (2000mA+), so no manufacturer is going to use them.) 3: Light distribution. Think about what you want these things for. Do you want to light up a walkway? Maybe light up a small table? Act as accent lights? Beacons? The direction of the LEDs and the texture of the glass matters (textured or frosted glass will diffuse light in different ways). These things are not usually high powered lights, so try to pick one that will naturally put most of its light where you actually want it to go otherwise you might get a disappointingly dim light. 4: Price. Expect to spend at least 20-25$ a cap. Cheaper caps will fail sooner rather than later. 5: Battery type. There are two types of batteries often used in solar light, Nickel Metal Hydride batteries (Ni-MH) and Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd). Ni-MH have superior performance (recharge better, last longer) and are much, much better for the environment when you dispose of them. If you see something using Ni-Cd, who knows what else they cheaped out on. Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful. I try to write the kind of review that I would've wanted to read when buying something. If you have any questions let me know. *A note about the pictures: I tried to limit the light sensitivity of my camera to match what I was actually seeing, but my camera isn't perfect. The close up night shots look about 15-20% brighter than it actually appears, the far away shot looks 30% dimmer than it actually appears. 6 Month Edit: These things actually still work in winter weather... that's actually pretty amazing. My smaller solar lights are turning off after 1 or 2 hours at this point, but these still last until midnight (not quite as bright though).