PSA: That cheap solar lantern from the gas station is a total scam

I grabbed one for $15 on a road trip thinking it would be fine for a weekend. It barely held a charge for an hour the first night, and by the second evening it was completely dead. I ended up using my phone flashlight, which drained my battery. Total waste of money and left me in the dark. Has anyone found a decent budget solar light that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

oscar3902mo ago

Did you try charging it in full sun for a whole day before using it? Some of those cheap ones have really bad batteries that die if you don't give them a full first charge. I've been burned by that before too.

the_taylor2mo ago

Wait, you're supposed to do that first? Is that in the manual or just a known thing with those brands?

victor_butler5022d ago

That's the thing with a lot of budget gear, the instructions are usually just a folded piece of paper with bad drawings. I learned the hard way with a solar panel years ago, left it in the box for a month and it never held a charge right. @oscar390 is right though, this pattern happens with all kinds of stuff now, not just electronics. You gotta break it in like a new pair of boots or it'll let you down when you need it most.