I came across this blow up solar powered lantern when I visited an outdoor trade show, and received one in a goody pack for the press. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t that excited by another light, and put it to one side whilst I enthused over the other products.

That said, whilst the lustre of the other products has dimmed, the Luci has become a firm favourite here at Muddy HQ. It is a bright, compact, and highly portable light that has plenty of uses from camping and travel, to working around the house or garage.

When we went on an off-the-grid trip the Luci was a brilliant addition, and proved the perfect tool to find our way to the toilet and shower hut in the middle of a pitch-black field. We’ve also used it for navigating the attic space, whilst fiddling under cars and searching for the cat!

The Luci Original has 3 light settings, operated via the power button. Press once and all 10 bright lights burst into action, press again, and those lights that you thought were really bright suddenly get brighter, and on the third press the lights flash on/off - perfect for catching attention if you happen to be stranded or injured.

It is charged using solar panels on the base so when hiking or travelling the Luci Original is a clean, reliable source of light. It collapses down to approximately 2.5cm height and the base has a 13cm diameter. There’s also a hanging loop on the bottom & top which means it can be hung from branches or from on hook in a tent, and because it is very light it won’t strain the fabric unlike a battery based lamp.

We think this is a brilliant little portable lantern, and we recommend it whole-heartedly.

2018 UPDATE:

The design of the Luci Original has changed since we did this review and now has a bigger solar panel, 4 light modes: low (up to 15 lumens/ lasts up to 24 hrs); medium (up to 35 lumens/ lasts up to 12 hrs); high (up to 75 lumens/ lasts up to 6 hrs) ; 1 sec flashing and has a Battery level indicator

Company website: mpowerd.com