Greenlight Planet Sun King Pro an Portable Solar Lantern Plus USB Charger

Just to be clear, the product I wanted (and the product I received, thankfully) was not the Pro AN, but the Pro 2. I have seen the Pro AN and I believe the Pro 2 to be a superior product in many ways (larger solar panel, larger battery, brighter LED, more USB ports, etc). This is not to say the Pro AN is bad; On the contrary, it is very good, just slightly limiting for what I feel like is a solar lantern's biggest advantage - the ability to "Untame the Power of the Sun" and be useful for things far outside the usual. These are truly revolutionary products, and I do not say that lightly. I first found out about Greenlight Planet's products from a friend doing development work in India (I work in the non-profit/development field doing rural energy projects). I was so impressed with the product's compact dimensions, durability (to being dropped multiple times) and performance that I immediately purchased my own from Amazon whilst back in the states. This product is not simply for people who don't have access to electricity (although it most certainly is that too). I have plenty of access to electricity, I just choose not to use it for some things that I would otherwise consider to be wasteful. Some of this involves charging everything that uses USB (portable speakers, iphones, ipads, etc). The other involves using the light (leaving it on all night on the lowest setting for my 3 year old's nightlight, leaving it on in the dark bathroom he uses but can't reach the light switch for, my wife's niece uses it in her dorm room mainly uses it as a study light, for hiking/camping/field work and have even mounted it on the handlebars for a bicycle headlight). The uses are endless and limited only by your creativity. I've taken this light on field trips where the power is unstable and I'm afraid to damage my phone charger and it has saved my butt multiple times, and is the only light I bring. Charging takes 3-4 hours in good sun. If you time it right you can actually get about double the battery capacity out of the unit per day, depending on the sun (this involves charging a device while the solar panel is charging the lantern). It automatically shuts off charging when the battery is full. My only issue (and this is very minor) is that the cover for the USB port(s) is a flat piece of rubber, fixed at one end that needs to be bent (for lack of a better term) to access the USB ports and can get deformed and crack over time. Mine is still intact, but this breaking is a concern of mine in the future. The only other thing I feel compelled to mention is the price. When I purchased the Pro 2 from Amazon at the end of 2014, it was $32. That was a great deal and one that seemingly is not available anymore. In the time since, I've seen the Pro AN price (which should be cheaper than the Pro 2 as it offers comparatively less) rise to $80 and then drop to its current $50. The former price point is outrageous, the latter is still quite high, but may be worth the money to some people (as stated above it is a great product). I just feel like a little more consistency on the pricing would be appreciated by loyal consumers like myself (and others). I'd buy a bunch more Pro 2's in a heartbeat if they cost the same amount I paid in 2014.

Solar charging the device Most importantly, the solar charging works--in direct sunlight and behind a window. The solar panel cord is really long which makes it easy to set up without having to move the lamp for charging. You could easily have the panel set up to charge on one side/wall of a 14 x 14 ft. bedroom and the lamp on a desk against another wall in the room. The solar panel is a bit smaller than a 5-subject notebook and is very lightweight and portable. Actual dimensions are provided by amazon. The lamp (the yellow part with the light in the amazon picture) acts as a battery and lets you know on a scale from 1-5 how good your light source is while solar charging--great feature. In direct sunlight it was a 5, behind a south-facing bedroom window I got some 3's but mostly 4's from 9 a.m. to about 2 p.m. on a sunny day. The fact that it charged behind a window at all made me pretty happy as some solar charging devices do not. The only downside with the solar panel is the wattage. It is only 2.5W which is extremely low. However, even with the low wattage, the product charges just fine for it's purpose--to charge the lamp for light or a cell phone. Cell phone charging I have only hooked up my Samsung galaxy ring (smartphone) with the cord that came with the lamp. It would charge from 25% to 50% in about 3 hours. You can charge your phone while the lamp is solar charging or when it not charging but it does take several hours off the quoted remaining hours of light. (The lamp tells you how many hours of light power remain.) Lamp light There are three brightness settings on the lamp. One button turns the lamp to all three settings (and off). Press once and you get to level 1 which is quite bright for the lowest setting and likely too bright to be used as a nightlight. (There are two smaller solar-powered lamps offered by Greenlight Planet if you want a nightlight but they do not charge cell phones and I have not tried either of them myself.) Per the # of hours quoted on the lamp and the manufacturer claims the lamp should provide light at this lowest level for 30 hours at full charge. I have not tested this 30 hours claim on my own. Press the button again and you get the next light brightness level--about 17 hours at full charge. Press the button a third time and you get the brightest level. The third level of light is surprisingly bright all things considered. I am quite satisfied with the brightness actually but it is less bright with just this one lamp than I am accustomed to. I would compare it to the brightness of a 70W bulb maybe in a regular house lamp. In my experience, the average american bedroom ceiling light fixture has three or four bulbs to brighten the room so if you want that level of brightness you would need three to four of these lamps. The third level reads 8 hours at full charge. If you want to read a book or something with just this lamp it would have to be relatively close by--maybe within 3 ft. or so on a nightstand if you are reading in bed. But it does brighten the room up quite well. Press the button again and the light will turn off. The lamp base I really like the lamp base design. It allows you to hang the lamp from a bar or some other mount without having to mess with it much at all. The lamp also detaches very easily from the base to be used as a flashlight or to attach to or put in a bag to take with you (camping maybe). Other comments and overall quality The lamp is lightweight and extremely portable with a hand strap for easy carrying. Since the light is for use as a lamp its use as a flashlight would be tainted by the fact that the light is not concentrated like a flashlight. As a lamp it is just fine. Quality seems good. Neither the plastic lamp nor the solar panel feel fragile. I let a toddler walk around the house with the lamp detached from the base and was not afraid of it getting broken. I wouldn't have the same confidence with the solar panel of course. Overall: Great product. ****Update 9/15/2015**** Overall I still really like this product and actually plan on buying another one. However, the charge indicator did stop working a few months ago--maybe a year after I bought the product. So I never know the level of charge that it is getting. But I have never had an issue with the lamp not lighting up so the solar panel is still working and the lamp still works great. I haven't tried to charge my phone with it in a while mainly because of a phone issue (whenever I use an external charger other than the wall charger my phone doesn't want to accept the wall charger --this issue is not related to the lamp in any way.)

I bought this light on recommendation of a coworker who was involved in the MIT study of solar lights designed to help in poverty alleviation in developing countries. (The original study no longer appears to be online for some reason.) For me, it's been a fantastic light to have in our shed. The light hangs from a rafter with the solar panel situated outside in full view of the sun. On high, the Sun King provides plenty of illumination for the 8' by 10' space, and the clever bracket makes it easy to move the light to shine where I need it. In terms of USB charging, be warned that while it comes with a variety of charging tips, none of them are for Apple products, either past (30 pin) or current (Lightning). There are mini and micro USB connectors and a few phone-specific connectors for "feature phones," not smart phones. In any event, be prepared to supply your own charging cable. Also note that the current output on this device isn't high. I tested both my earlier generation Pro and the current model (just arrived today) and while charging my iPhone 5S, both report just under 4.5 volts and .49 amps of current, or just short of 2.5 watts total power. USB 2.0 ports are rated at 5 volts at .5 amps (my Lenovo laptop delivers 4.99 volts at .49 amps when charging the phone.) This means most phones will *probably* charge using the Sun King's port, but they likely will charge slowly. And if you're *using* the phone while charging, it may just cause the battery to die more slowly. I'd advise testing your device in the charging port after you receive the light, just to make sure it will work for you. Summary: Pros: * Bright enough for a small room or relatively close reading * Durable (survived a couple falls to my shed floor just fine, at any rate) * USB port for charging portable devices * Simple but functional stand/bracket Cons: * USB output is at the bare minimum of useful for modern phones * No Apple-compatible charging tips - provide your own cables

I was a bit skeptical of this product given the price (there is a lot of technology here) and the lack of reviews, but am extremely pleased that I took the leap and purchased this product. The first time I used the Sun King pro, I charged it for about 6 hours on a warm but slightly overcast day. The pro comes with a LED display that actually gives you a rating 0-5 of how good the sun exposure and the charging efficiency of your current location/environment. I found this extremely useful.as I moved the solar panel (the wire is long!) to the best location. Once it was dark, I turned on the lamp (there are three setting for various brightness - the lowest setting is bright enough in pitch darkness to conduct your normal activities, e.g. cooking by the campfire etc) and I was able to go through the night at the highest setting till I fell asleep -- the box states that you can go 30 hrs, but I believe that is for a full charge and at the lowest setting. I haven't tried it yet, but based on my highest brightness setting for only 6 hrs of charging, I believe it. Overall, extremely pleased, the solar panel unit is pretty compact, maybe 8 x 6 so it doesn't take much room when you pack the lamp. The base is a nice plus because you can direct the light. I purchased the Solo and the Eco as well. The difference so far seem to be the size of the panel and the amount of light omitted (plus no LCD display), but the quality seems consistent. If you are in the market for a quality solar light, or you are the camping/outdoor type you will not be disappointed.

Well constructed on the outside and a powerful light within make this lantern an exceptional value. Its power-meter that indicates from 0 to 5 the level of charging and hours and minutes the amount of run time is an added feature of the unit's well planned out system. This lamp should make a great compliment to any emergency/power failure kit. There are other good emergency light products out there that I have tried too, but the Sun King Pro seems to have a good mix between usable lighting for reading and the rest of a darkened room, as well as length of run time. The cell phone charging feature does work, but I have only tried it for an older Nokia cell phone, and not for any significant amount of time, so my comments will be limited to the Pro's lamp and power system. A water proof solar panel that comes with the package charged my unit right through a standard room window, even at one point at level 4 which is the second highest rating on the power-meter one sunny New Jersey November afternoon. Is the unit as portable, and less bulky as some other units out there such as d.light S20 and S2? No. Still, it is much more bright than they are, and lasts a bit longer on a single charge. Is it brighter than a Ray-O-Vac Sportsman Xtreme? Maybe not. However, the light with its stand will prove itself much more useful as a task light for reading compared to everything else aside from just having a regular lighting system that is working. Given nowadays AC power delivery from the utility company seems less reliable than it should be, short of going entirely off grid which is super expensive I highly recommend this light based on my experience with it so far.

It is nice when something actually works as advertised, and the Sun King Pro 2 does: the battery life is in line with the description; the charging LED indicator makes it easy to get the optimal solar panel position; with good sunlight and position the unit will charge quickly; the light is bright enough for most uses and more pleasant than many LED lamps; the stand is useful for both holding the light and propping up the solar panel. At the 'normal' (75 lumen) setting the light will be good enough to be the sole source of light in a room. Obviously it will not be as bright as mains powered lighting but would allow you perform most activities clearly (as a room light even reading – paper, not a device – is possible, although if you are alone then using it as a task light would be better). I was able to get 5 or 6 hours on 'normal' and overnight on the low setting and still have two bars of charge left. You should easily be able to get a Winter night (8 hours – say 4:00pm to midnight) out of this and still have charge left over. For campers the low setting would probably be enough to light a tent. At that rate you have 3 or more nights on one charge. I was able to charge a small device (of about 1,000mAh, or half a smart-phone) with about two bars of charge and then return it to full charge again in less than 4 hours. With good enough sunlight it should be possible to charge your device and have light that evening. The LED charge indicator really helps in ensuring a good charge. I was often able to add a bar by moving the panel where that would not be so obvious just be looking. At the cost of one bar, the panel will work indoors behind double-glazed glass (glass and bug screens each cost one charging bar if you are interested). If this unit has a problem it is relates to solar energy itself: you need the sun to cooperate (by coming out to play); you need to cooperate (by checking it as the Sun moves); and the environment needs to cooperate (by not casting shadows). It will charge on overcast days or in shadow but it could be very slow. Roughly you can expect the following: 5 bars: full charge in about 3 hours. 4 bars: full charge in about 4 hours. 3 bars: full charge in about 5 hours. 2 bars: full charge in about 8 hours. 1 bar: you probably will not get a full charge (but well over 12 hours). While you probably cannot throw away your regular lights just yet, this could conceivably get you through a blackout or camping trip without ever needing those regular lights. Its usefulness to you will depend a lot on your location: If you will have many days with bright unobstructed sunlight you will be good. If your location (e.g., apartment building) limits you placement options or your weather tends towards more heavily overcast days you may be disappointed; it will still work but just not the 'free light' bonanza of better locations.

i initially give this 4 stars because I'm just getting to know it. It's well constructed, the solar panel is waterproof, snow-proof, and freeze-proof so far. The light provides just about the amount of time projected on the LED. I'm in the PA snow belt. So far the unit charges as long as the sun can be seen through the overcast. A light dusting of snow doesn't seem to hurt. With an overcast, but sun slightly visible, the LED shows #2, and at that level it takes about 6 -8 hours to fully charge the battery. That full charge fully charged a very basic Tracfone Motorola cell phone in 3 hours, reducing the time the lowest powered light would run by 14 hours (46%). I'll repeat the experiment over the next few days, provided there's some sun. The preliminary conclusion is that if you can't see at least the outline of the sun through the overcast, the unit won't charge. At level 2 (usually with soft shadows on the snow) it takes most of the day to charge, and you can fully charge one cell phone with that, leaving a little bit of power for the light. Soooo, in an extended power loss situation, be prepared to leave your cell phone off except for emergencies unless you don't care about having much light at night. Day 2: I left the solar panel and cord outside all night and sealed the battery connector with Saran Wrap to keep the water out of it. The temp got to 1 degree F and the panel was covered with snow in the morning. I wiped it off, and the overcast cleared around 11 AM. I charged the battery from 11AM to 3PM - when the charge no longer registered. The sun was at about 25 degrees above the horizon at it's zenith, and shining through trees making lots of shadows. The charge level varied from 0 to 3, staying mostly at two when in direct sunlight. I completely discharged the battery last night, so starting from no charge, it is now charged to 11 hours of power on low (37%) and 2.33 hours on high (39%). I've noticed last night that the light bulb shifts from high illumination to the lowest brightness when there's about 15% of the maximum charge left on the battery (5 hours of low light remaining). We're due for 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow, so charging may be out of the question. I'll leave the panel outside, however, to continue to see if it's "virtually indestructible" (word used on the box). Day 5: The solar panel has been outside during snow and freezing rain for 4 days. At one time it was covered with 4" of snow. It works just fine after it's dug out and cleaned up, and my experience is that the whole system works exactly as advertised. As a result, I am raising my score to 5 stars. However, I am planning to return the unit because it just takes too long to recharge during the sort of overcast winters we have in central PA. Given the slowness of charging the battery during these days, I really can only charge one piece of small electronics a day, and it won't charge our Kindles. However, it WILL charge our Garmins, which is nice. I'm sure it's terrific for remote camping or long canoe trips if you need electronics with you. I don't. I recommend the manufacturer provide the option to buy two panels so they can be charging simultaneously or placed in two different locations. The first option will reduce the charging time during overcast days, and the second option will allow the user to charge the battery from the panel getting the most sun without having to go outside in sub-zero weather to relocate the panel.

Arrived partly charged. I own several solar lights and chargers and this is the best so far: bright light, and increased the charge on my Samsung S3 about 12% in an hour. Haven't yet tried to fully charge the cell phone so can't comment on whether the charger can take it from near zero up to 100 percent. The quibbles: (1) The lamp itself is not waterproof. (2) It's the middle of winter here and shortest days of the year - not much sunshine. This lamp needs bright sunlight to charge quickly. In bright sunlight I got a level 4 charge; a thin overcast dropped the charging level down to 2, and no charge is indicated at all in heavily overcast daylight. At first when it failed to show any numbers at all on the charge indicator on an overcast day I actually thought it might be defective, but the charging level numbers appeared when the sun came out. However, even with the short days and frequent cloudiness, an all-day exposure still produces enough charge to operate the light on the lowest level for close to twelve hours. I can believe that long, sunny summer days will produce enough charge to approach the manufacturer's claim of 30 hours at lowest setting (20 lumens)/6 hours at highest setting (100 lumens). I used Velcro tape to attach the solar panel semi-permanently on my front door-stoop with an all-day exposure to the sun. The panel (but not the lamp) appears to be waterproof, as advertised. A very nice product and worth the cost; one of the few that produces enough light to illuminate an entire room. If the battery lasts the advertised five years, this will be a real winner!

Excelent product! Performs as expected! Quick delivery . I will use it daily In the fall and winter months.

great product, good light, clever charge indicators