If you’re a repeat Reckless Roaming visitor, you know how I feel about solar lights. I love ’em.
And I’ve been stranded in the dark enough times to know just how important they are! For me, getting stuck hiking at night through the Redwoods (not even the moonlight gets through THAT thick canopy) was the final straw, and since then I never leave home without a light source… and another light source… and possibly a third. Because of that, I’ve tried sooo many different headlamps, lanterns, and, more recently, solar powered lights. Which is why I was so excited to partner with LuminAID by reviewing the Packlite Titan 2-in-1 Solar Lantern.
SPONSORED POST + AFFILIATE LINK DISCLOSURE: This is a sponsored product review post done in collaboration with LuminAID. As always, my opinions are 100% honest and my own. This post also contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product using one of my links, I receive a small “kickback” in the form of cash at no extra cost to you. I have personally tested this product and firmly believe it to be a useful, quality item. If you want more information on affiliate links and why I use them, click here.
To be completely truthful, I didn’t know anything about LuminAID prior to receiving their product (did you know they were on Shark Tank? Crazy). So when I gave the LuminAID Packlite a preliminary test, all the features were a surprise to me – which was kind of cool! In fact, I had so much fun testing everything out that I busted out of my office and forced my husband to stop playing VR so he could check it out. Beat Saber is fun, but new lights are more funner.
In this LuminAID Packlite review, we will cover the following…
– Quick Look at Specs + Features
– FAQs
– In-Depth Review
– What Sets LuminAID Apart From Other Solar Brands?
– Cost [Is it Worth the Price?]
– Final Thoughts + Rating
Quick Overview of the LuminAID Packlite Titan
The Packlite Titan 2-in-1 lantern is the perfect addition to your home, campsite, or even emergency road trip bag. With up to 100 hours of runtime and a 300 square foot lighting area, the Titan is a powerful and long-lasting lantern making it the perfect backup light and power source. LuminAID has a few different models of solar lanterns, but the Packlite Titan 2-in-1 lantern/charger is their most powerful light with the longest runtime.
Here are some quick facts and specifications about this lantern, in case you’re short on time!
- Weight + Size. 12.5oz and around 5.75″ x 5.75″ x 5.75″ fully expanded. Collapsed the only thing that changes is the depth. It collapses to around 1″
- Shelf Life. 2 or more years.
- Brightness. Up to 300 lumens. 4 brightness settings and 1 “flashing” option.
- Waterproof Rating IP67. This means it can withstand short periods of full immersion (with pressure) up to 1 meter deep.
- Charging Options. The LuminAID Titan can be charged via solar or USB.
- Charges electronics. You can get 2 – 3 full charges for most phones.
- White and Red modes. The red light doesn’t impact your night vision like white light does.
- Self-Inflating. Unplug, twist, and it’s inflated!
FAQS
1. How do you charge the LuminAID solar lantern?
This lantern can be charged via solar (in 16 – 20 hours) or USB (in 2 – 4 hours).
2. How long does the LuminAID Packlite Titan Lantern take to charge?
As mentioned above, the lantern has a quick USB charge time (just 2 – 4 hours) and a fairly reasonable solar charge time (16 – 20 hours of direct sunlight).
3. How long does the LuminAID Packlite Solar Lantern last?
If the re-charge time seems long to you, remember that this lantern has a runtime of 100 hours per charge when used on the low setting. 100 hours is very impressive and, honestly, blows other brands out of the water!
4. How do you inflate the LuminAID Packlite Titan?
Inflating the Packlite Titan is super fast and incredibly easy! All you do is remove the plug from the base, grip the top of the lantern with one hand and the base with the other hand, then twist. That’s it! The solar lantern is essentially self-inflating, which really sets it apart from other lights and makes it a great choice for anyone concerned about blackouts.
Full, In-Depth Review + List of Features
1. Brightness
The LuminAID Packlite Titan 2-in-1 really packs a punch at 300 lumens [and can illuminate a 300 square foot area!]. Compare that with other brands that max out at 65 lumens / 90 lumens and LuminAID easily wins the day! Of course 300 lumens is on the brightest setting (which means shorter runtime) but it’s still a nice, and sometimes important, feature to have.
Similar to other brands, the only way to select your ideal brightness level is by cycling through all of them using the power button. It’s a simplistic design, but it works. And the thing I love about LuminAID’s lantern is that the cycle starts with the absolute brightest setting. It seems like a small thing but it’s a great feature for anyone looking to use the Packlite Titan as an emergency back-up light source.
2. Waterproof AND Dustproof Rating
Whether you’re using this 2-in-1 lantern for recreational camping or for emergencies only, the waterproof feature is an essential! The LuminAID Packlite Titan is rated IP67. If you’re wondering what in the world that means, you’re definitely not alone. But to put it simply, the first number “6” refers to the level of protection against solids like sand and dust. A rating of 6 means the device is dust tight – no sand or dust is sneaking in. The second number “7” refers to the level of protection against water. This rating means the Packlite Titan can withstand being fully submerged in up to 1 meter of water for around 30 minutes. BUT MAKE SURE the USB/Charge input is covered and secured.
3. Velcro Strap
You might be thinking to yourself, “who cares about the Velcro strap?”. But this is actually one of my favorite features!
The thing I love about this strap is that you can adhere it on either side of the lantern. That probably doesn’t sound all that important, but because of the placement of the solar panel it definitely is!
The top side of the lantern is where the solar panel is, so you do not want that covered by a strap when you’re trying to charge up in full sunlight. So, when you’re charging, you can adhere the strap on the bottom side to get full sun exposure.
On the other hand, you do not want it adhered on the lower side when you’re hanging it and using it as a light. If you did that, no light would be able to escape through the bottom and the majority of the light would be angled up towards the ceiling. For these instances, you can adhere the strap over the solar panel and hang it bottom side facing down to get maximum brightness in your tent, or wherever you happen to be.
I also really like the “safety orange” color of the strap. It makes it a lot easier to quickly locate the lantern in an emergency situation.
4. Solar Charging + USB Charging
USB Charging takes between 2 – 4 hours, which is pretty on par with other brands! The solar charging takes a bit longer, requiring up to 20 hours of direct sunlight to get from 0-100%. Is that a long time? Absolutely. Do other brands charge slightly faster? Yup. But other brands don’t hold as much charge either. We’ll get into that in the next section!
5. Runtime
The LuminAID Titan has a runtime of up to 100 hours!
Yup. You read that right. 100.
That is insanely good for such a compact lantern – especially one that can be powered purely by sunlight.
In case you want a frame of reference, I looked at specs for 2 different, popular and collapsible solar lights. One had a runtime of up to 24 hours at 65 lumens, the other had a runtime of up to 12 hours at 90 lumens. So while the LuminAID Titan might take longer to charge, it also lasts significantly longer than other lanterns.
6. Phone and Device Charging
As I mentioned before (and as the name suggests) the LuminAID Packlite Titan is more than just a light – it’s a phone charger, too! You can get up to 3 full phone charges with a completely charged lantern. If you’re going on an overnight camping trip, you could easily use it as a lantern from sunset to bedtime and then as a phone charger overnight.
7. Red Light Option *New Feature*
I was actually super excited to find out that the Packlite Titan 2-in-1 gives you a choice between white and red light. I absolutely love using red light around camp! It doesn’t affect your night vision, it’s generally easier on your eyes, and it doesn’t blind your fellow campers. Win win win, right?
The white light is great for maximum brightness, and the red light is perfect for reading in your tent or just casually walking around camp.
8. Compactness
The Packlite Titan squishes down to about 1 inch. It actually doesn’t collapse quite as flat as some other inflatable lanterns I’ve tried, but it is absolutely a very portable size.
9. Self Inflation *New Feature*
This completely wowed me. The “twist to inflate” is so genius and very user-friendly. I’m not great at things that require finesse (you should see me trying to twist/fold the sunshades for our truck) but I had no trouble getting the lantern to inflate. It literally takes 2 seconds! You just remove the plug from the base of the lantern, put one hand on the top and one on the bottom, twist away from each other, and voila!
What sets LuminAID Packlite solar lanterns apart from other brands?
The idea of solar lanterns isn’t unique – so what sets LuminAID apart? There are a few stand-out features and things about the brand that make it unique.
1. Optional Red Light
Most solar lanterns do not have this feature and it’s a huge help if you want to read in your tent at night or just casually walk around camp (without blinding everyone else). Red light is gentler on your eyes and it doesn’t hurt your night vision like white light does.
2. Self Inflation
I don’t think I’m being dramatic when I say, the twist-to-inflate feature is revolutionary! Okay, maybe I am. But it is seriously a game-changer. It’s so fast, so user-friendly, and nobody has to put their lips on your lantern – which is obviously a plus.
3. Runtime
I cannot harp on this enough. 100 hours of runtime completely blows other lanterns out of the water!
4. The Give Light Program
LuminAID is a company with a purpose! Through their Give Light program, you can donate $10 – $100 to “sponsor” a light and help a family in need. Currently they are sending solar lanterns to assist with disaster relief in Puerto Rico and to assist with refugee relief in Ukraine. $10 provides a basic solar lantern and $20 provides a solar lantern that also acts as a charger.
5. Female Owned!
If supporting female-owned businesses is important to you, this is yet another bonus point for LuminAID. Andrea and Anna brought the LuminAID lantern to Shark Tank during the 6th season and it is actually one of the most watched episodes in the shows history! They received offers from all 5 Sharks, which is no easy task, and ended up striking a deal with billionaire Mark Cuban.
Cost of the LuminAID Packlite Titan 2-in-1 Solar Lantern
The LuminAID Packlite Titan 2-in-1 Solar Charger and Lantern is listed for $75.00 at the time of this posting.
Is the Packlite Titan worth LuminAIDs higher prices?
To be completely honest, when I first saw the price tag, my first thought was “overpriced”. But when I actually received the product I completely changed my tune. It’s a little more expensive than your typical solar lantern, but it has so many more features and is far more reliable and easy-to-use. In my opinion, the self-inflate feature alone makes it worth the extra cost!
But for you personally, it really depends on your reason for buying. Are you looking for a casual lantern to use for quick, overnight camping trips? Then you could probably save money and buy a lantern with less brightness, a shorter runtime or maybe without the device-charging feature (LuminAID has lanterns sans-USB port that are a lot cheaper, too!). But if you go on multi-day trips or if you’re looking for a reliable light source for your emergency road trip bag or blackout kit, you really can’t beat LuminAID Packlite Titan. The runtime and brightness are truly unmatched!
The other thing to note is that other brands don’t have the twist-to-inflate feature (they usually need to be manually inflated) OR the optional red light. If these features are important to you (or if you have wimpy lungs, like me, and suck at inflating things) it’s definitely worth the extra money.
What Others Are Saying: This product has 93% 5 star reviews on the LuminAID website and an average of 4.7 stars on Google. This is a very highly rated product!
MY FINAL THOUGHTS + TOTAL RATING
This might sound like an over-brag, but the LuminAID Packlite Titan is actually the best solar lantern I’ve ever tested. Honestly, aside from a headlamp (obviously), this will be my primary light source around camp from now on. I was so impressed with all the features! It holds so much charge, the brightness is unmatched, and I loved how quick and easy it was to inflate and hang up in our tent. It’s a quality product that would be perfect for anyone looking for a “greener” camp lantern or a reliable light source for emergencies.
The only things I didn’t love about it were:
- Bulky USB / Charge Port. The design is so, so sleek aside from the charge port.
- Size. The lantern doesn’t compress quite as small as some other lanterns I’ve tried. It can squish down to about an inch thick, so not bad! It’s just a little bit thicker than I’m used to.
- Weight. The Packlite Titan weighs 12.5oz, which is a little heavy – particularly if you go backpacking and stick to a strict 20% bodyweight policy. However, I think the increased weight is due to the device charging feature. The LuminAID Nova has no USB charge port and is less than half the weight.
- Price. $75 is a pretty high price for most buyers! You do truly get what you pay for, but obviously forking over almost $80 on a single product is gonna hurt a little bit.
Overall, the LuminAID Packlite Titan is a solid choice for campers and non-campers alike! High price point? Absolutely. But if you’re looking for ease-of-use, longer runtime, and more features (like the red light and charging feature) you really can’t beat the Packlite Titan 2-in-1!
FINAL RATING: 9.75 / 10
* If you don’t want to (or simply can’t) spend $75 on a lantern, I recommend checking out the LuminAID Nova.
It’s selling for $30 at the time of this posting. It’s lighter, a little bit smaller, has a shorter runtime, and has a simpler design. But if you’re looking for a more affordable, easy-to-use solar lantern for quick trips (that does not have the charging feature) this might be a better option!
