Product Review – “Clip on super bright LED light”

Back in November I reviewed the Floralytes. I loved these for lighting my pumpkins last year, and it was time to buy some more so that I could bring more pumpkins into the yard for this year’s theme adjustment. (more on that later)

You can imagine my surprise to find the floralytes had doubled in price. That led to me searching for a new light. And I found these “clip on super bright LED lights” from Jack’s Toolshed.

From An UnOrthOdOx Halloween

Now, my order did not go off without a hitch. Ordered last Thursday, they shipped on Friday. However, the tracking number they gave me did not register with UPS, and said it had been cancelled. My email to customer service on Friday was answered on Teusday, they had placed a new label on my shipment but it did not populate in their system, so there was no tracking on my package…

They arrived safe and sound despite this setback, however.

Actually smaller than I expected, they come with a clip, but can be separated from that clip easily. Perhaps just a bit TOO easy. It’s possible they could FALL off if bumped while angled ‘up’.

From An UnOrthOdOx Halloween

From An UnOrthOdOx Halloween

How do they perform, however?

From An UnOrthOdOx Halloween

For whatever reason the ‘white’ is not near as bright as the rest. It is also not as defined in a spotlight. Almost like it’s shining through a dirty or frosted bulb. I checked 5 different ones, and they all were the same.

Red, Blue, and Green, however are all nice and bright.

The clips are sturdy and attach to things quite strongly while the swivel mount is stiff enough to hold a position. Meanwhile the spotlight style of the lights do not detract from them serving as lighting for the interior of items. A quick 30 second setup here features a lindberg skull lit on the interior by a red light while a blue one shines from above.

From An UnOrthOdOx Halloween

Another concern with the lights would be in the switches. I’ve had some that are a bit loose, and you have to pull them back a hair from ‘all the way on’ to get them to light. And, the battery compartment can also pop open easily.

Neither of these are anything a piece of tape can’t fix, however, and for under a buck, what more can you really expect?

Update 11/1/10:

Well, after attempting to utilize these in the pumpkins, as planned, I’m sorry to report that these things are only bright for about 2 hours. Then they begin to dim swiftly. Letting them sit overnight brings them back to being bright again. So, for quicky setups, and short uses, they are great. For a solution to battery lighting concerns…you’re going to need to look elsewhere.