Outdoor / Lamps - Brookstone Solar Lantern and Solar Umbrella

Ah, those warm summer nights - perfect for spending time outdoors on the porch or around the pool.

If you're looking to add a warm glow to those evenings, consider the Asian-style Brookstone Solar Lantern.

Brookstone says that the lantern charges in just 4-6 hours of direct sunlight via a solar panel on top of the lantern. Energy from the panel is stored in a rechargeable and recyclable Ni-MH battery that then powers two LED bulbs for up to 6 hours. (An on/off switch inside the lantern lets you switch off the lamp sooner if you want.)

Our thoughts: This is a great concept and priced quite reasonably at $19.95. The LED bulbs themselves are bright, but you would still probably need a few of the lanterns to adequately illuminate any outdoor space. Both the LED bulbs and the lantern's nylon covering should last for years, so you probably won't have to invest in replacements anytime soon.

Unfortunately, the lamp didn't perform so well in our at-home testing. Lacking a patio or porch in our highrise apartment, we tried to charge the lamp's solar panel indoors by leaving it bright sunlight next to a large window. But when we tried using the lamp at night, it refused to stay lit for very long, prefering switching between on and off like a giant indecisive firefly.

When it was on, the light was quite pretty. I wouldn't want to read by the light of a single Brookstone solar lantern, but it was bright enough that I could find my way around the apartment without bumping into walls. I'd compare the brightness to the light of a candle, though the solar lantern's light is a bit more tightly focused.

I'm prepared to give Brookstone the benefit of the doubt on the functionality of the solar lantern. Perhaps my lamp had a faulty connector somewhere around between the solar panel, battery and LED lamp. Or perhaps it really does need to be charged outdoors. (Brookstone says the solar lantern is recommended for outdoor use only.) But if you're interested in the solar lantern, I'd suggest trying one lamp first before springing for a whole string of them.

Update - A Brookstone source says that she used the lantern successfully over the July 4th holiday weekend by charging it outdoors on a boat. Under these conditions, she said the lantern shone from dusk until 11 p.m. or later. So it seems that given exposure to enough solar radiation, the lantern may indeed perform as promised.

We do have a quibble from a Green standpoint too since nylon is not exactly considered an eco-friendly fabric. According to Green Networld, nylon production fabrication produces nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. A thermoplastic material, nylon requires an industrial petroleum-based production process. As WiseGeek dryly points out: "Like most petroleum products, it has a slow decay rate, which unfortunately results in the accumulation of exhausted nylon products in landfills around the world."

We hope that the next edition of the solar lantern will use more eco-friendly materials -- maybe something traditional like this rice paper cover with bamboo ribs?

If you try using the solar lanterns to eat outdoors and decide you don't have quite enough light to guide your fork to your mouth, Brookstone does offer a Solar Umbrella ($199.95). The company claims that the 24 LED bulbs shine up to 8 hours and turn on automatically at dusk. If the solar umbrella works as depicted (we didn't have a chance to test it ourselves), it could be a beautiful, elegant and Green solution for nighttime outdoor dining.

Where to buy:
The solar lantern and the solar umbrella are only available online or in the Brookstone catalog. Lantern is available in Red, Green, Blue, Orange, Pink (all with White LEDs) or White (with Amber LEDs).