7 Reasons Prepared Families Are Putting a Solar Lantern in Every Room This Winter
Water, food, batteries, first aid: checked. The one line most families get wrong is light. Here’s why it matters more than you think.
Updated November 2, 2026 · 6 min read
Ask any family what their blackout light is.
Most of the time, the answer is: “My phone.”
That’s the gap. And it’s why more families are adding one small thing to every room.
- Charges in the sun or by USB
- Pull it open: it lights up. Push it closed: flashlight
- USB port to top up a phone in an emergency
- No batteries to buy. No flame.
Your blackout light is your phone. And your phone is your lifeline.
When the power goes out, the phone does everything.
It’s the flashlight. The news. The weather alerts. The only way to reach your kids, your parents, or 911.
But the flashlight eats the same battery you need for all of that.
Every trip to the bathroom costs you battery.
Newer iPhones can even text 911 by satellite with no signal at all.8 But only if the phone has battery left.
A lantern does the lighting. So your phone can do the calling.
“These are awesomely bright and rechargeable With no batteries needed Ease of Use: Easy to use and super handy to grab when lights go out or you go…”
Sunshine Verified purchaseA candle is a fire you leave next to your kids.
Candles start about 7,900 home fires a year in the U.S.6
About one in three of those fires starts in a bedroom.
And a blackout is exactly when the candles come out. In the dark. Near curtains, blankets and stuffed animals.
The lantern has no flame and no hot glass. It’s LED light in a plastic body.
“Happy with these lights…..handy as a hanging lantern or a torch. Great in an electricity failure….or Armageddon. Good to be prepared and safer than candles.”
m**9 Verified purchaseThe flashlight in the drawer is dead the night you need it.
You know the one. The yellow flashlight in the junk drawer.
You click it. Nothing. The batteries died months ago.
And the store shelves are often empty by the time the storm hits.
The lantern has a built-in battery. It charges in the sun or by USB (about 4 hours, the maker says).9
Leave it on a sunny windowsill. That’s its whole job until the night you need it.
“It’s just perfect. No batteries required. Used them the same day I received them. We had a blackout and they were very useful.”
Hydrangea57 Verified purchasePull it open. That’s the whole manual.
No buttons to find in the dark. No settings. No app.
A grandparent can do it. A six-year-old can do it. Half asleep, at 2 a.m.
Two wire handles: hang it from a hook, or carry it like a little bucket. It weighs about 8 oz.
“It was very easy to set up. I love the way the kids can handle the with ease. Fully charged in emergency kit”
b**5 Verified purchaseIt can top up your phone when the wall outlets are dead.
There’s a small USB port on the top of the lantern.
Plug in your phone’s cable, and the lantern’s battery gives it a boost.
It’s an emergency top-up, not a full charge.9 But at 4% at midnight, a top-up is everything.
Light from the lantern. A little more battery for the phone. That’s the combo.
Do the math: one light for every person.
The government’s own checklist says it plainly: “Have flashlights for every household member.”7
Not one for the house. One per person.
Now count. Each kid’s room. The kitchen. The bathroom trip at night. The car.
That’s why most families pick the Family Pack: 4 lanterns at $25.00 each.
Or Buy 2 + 1 FREE: 3 lanterns for $79.99.
“I have one in each bedroom...we are prepared...works as promised”
Desiree Verified purchase“These are cute and bright! I'm buying more for every room in the house and a set for outside too! Great purchase+great price!”
Charmaine McCauley Verified purchaseLong outages aren’t rare anymore.
In January 2026, someone set fire to power cables in Berlin. About 45,000 homes went dark. In winter. For four days.3
In 2022, gunfire hit two substations in North Carolina. Up to 40,000 customers lost power for about four days.4
Grid operators warned last winter that several U.S. regions are at elevated risk of shortfalls in extreme cold.5
And the FBI has told Congress that foreign hackers are positioning inside U.S. infrastructure, including the electric grid.1
Nobody knows when the next one hits your street.
But it’s a lot easier to get ready while the lights are still on.
“Hurricane is bearing down o. Our location. The lights are placed strategically in our house. Easily operated my wife. Light emitted is more than sufficient to illuminate our needs during a blackout”
Jedi1701G Verified purchase“These was a life saver during the black out we had one so I bought more and plan on getting more. They light up a room really good.”
Arthelda Willis Verified purchaseSolar Lantern vs. what’s in your drawer
| Solar Lantern | Candles | Phone light | Drawer flashlight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No open flame | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recharges in the sun | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Nothing to restock | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Keeps your phone free for calls | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Lights a table hands-free | ✓ | Dim | ✗ | Beam |
| Can top up a phone by USB | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| OK for kids to carry | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
What buyers say after a real blackout
“Very good purchase! I live in Florida. So far we are lucky enough to avoid any hurricanes this year but I'm sure there will be another one day. Losing power at night sucks so these lanterns will be an awesome asset. They're bright and…”
Diane F. Verified purchase“Love them! They light up so bright You can hang them or carry along Great for an outage”
tessadallas420 Verified purchase“These are super awesome. You can use them as a flashlight or just a regular lantern. Great for camping great for emergencies in your home with the power goes out. I just love these. I’m going to buy another set.”
Delta Dawn💝 Verified purchase“Ease of Use: Great Emergency Lanterns! I’m very pleased with these rechargeable solar camping lanterns. They’re bright, lightweight, and easy to use. I love that they can be recharged and have multiple uses,…”
abenaabailey305 Verified purchaseQuestions families ask
Why not just use candles?
Candles are an open flame, often left burning near beds and curtains in the dark. About 7,900 home fires a year start with candles in the U.S. The lantern has no flame and no hot glass.
Why not just use my phone?
Because your phone is also your news, your alerts and your way to call for help. Using it as a flashlight drains the battery you need for that. The lantern lights the room so your phone doesn’t have to.
How bright is it?
Fully open, it lights a table or a small room. Pulled open a little, it’s a soft night light. Closed, the flashlight at the end throws a beam. It’s a lantern, not a floodlight.
How do I charge it?
By USB (about 4 hours for a full charge, per the maker) or in direct sun with the panel facing up. Solar is slower, so charge it by USB first, then keep it in a sunny window.
Will it fully charge my phone?
No, and we won’t pretend it does. The USB port gives an emergency top-up from the lantern’s small built-in battery. The maker lists it for Android phones. It’s for getting through the night, not for daily charging.
Can it get wet?
It’s rated IPX4 water-resistant: rain and splashes are fine. Don’t put it underwater.
Which offer should I pick?
Buy 2 + 1 FREE gives you 3 lanterns for $79.99 ($26.66 each). The Family Pack gives you 4 for $99.99 ($25.00 each), the lowest price per lantern. Shipping to the US and Canada is free on every offer. One-time payment, no subscription.
The last line on the checklist
Water, food, batteries, first aid. You’ve already done the hard part.
Light is the last line.
If you never need it, it’s a nice lantern for the porch and the tent.
If you do, it’s the thing your kids will remember you had.
- Charges in the sun or by USB
- Pull it open: it lights up. Push it closed: flashlight
- USB port to top up a phone in an emergency
- No batteries to buy. No flame.
- FBI Director Christopher Wray, opening statement to the House Select Committee on the CCP, January 31, 2024 (fbi.gov).
- Berlin power grid arson attack, January 3–7, 2026: about 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses lost power, the longest outage in the city since 1945 (widely reported; see Wikipedia “2026 arson attack on the Berlin power grid”).
- Moore County, North Carolina, December 3, 2022: gunfire damaged two substations; up to 40,000 customers lost power, mostly restored about four days later.
- NERC 2025–2026 Winter Reliability Assessment: several U.S. regions at elevated risk of supply shortfalls in extreme cold.
- NFPA, Home Candle Fires (2013–2017): about 7,900 home fires started by candles per year in the U.S.; roughly one in three started in a bedroom.
- Ready.gov, Power Outages: “Have flashlights for every household member.” “The refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours.”
- Apple: Emergency SOS via satellite is available on iPhone 14 and later in supported countries, including the U.S. and Canada.
- Lantern specs and charging time (about 4 hours by USB) as listed by the manufacturer. The USB output is for an emergency top-up, not a full charge; the maker lists it for Android phones.
Advertisement. Photos marked “photo illustration” are staged. Reviews are real verified-purchase reviews, copied word for word.