In Review: GoSun SolarLamp 50

When it comes to lighting, the transition to LEDs has enabled of lot of very interesting things. One of the best – in my book – is the ability to pair them with solar power. Given the lower power consumption of an LED, harvesting those electrons from sunlight just works well in so many ways. Recently, we’ve been spending time with the GoSun SolarLamp 50.

In terms of the design, the GoSun SolarLamp 50 is subtle, and sublime in its subtlety. On one side, you’ve got your standard solar panel. On the other side, you’ve got a two LED lighting element, as well as the control button (20 lumens – 50 lumens – off). It’s set into a plastic stand that allows you to rotate the light to get the best angle to collect the sunlight, or to direct where the light is thrown.

That stand also has a hole in it, which means you could very easily hang the light on the wall, or from a tree, or from wherever you need it to be. Additionally, the light itself has an opening that’s a spot you could get a piece of paracord through to be able to loop it onto your pack, or again to hang it off of a rainfly or wherever.

If you’re out camping, the obvious use for the GoSun SolarLamp 50 is to set it out on the picnic table first thing in the morning, and let it soak in the sun all day. Then, at night, you’ve got some light that you can use at the table to assemble your s’mores, or over in the tent to find where something has gotten off to.

At home, the GoSun SolarLamp 50 is also great to have setup for use in an emergency, or even just for some portable light in the house. The way I’ve been using it is to have it setting on the windowsill so it collects sunlight throughout the day, and then kick it on whenever I need it. While it’s charging, you’ll notice a red LED is lit (so you know it’s getting enough sun) and once the internal cell is fully charged, that light goes to green.

A light like the GoSun SolarLamp 50 is a good addition to any camping or emergency preparedness box, in my book. I might have liked to see something that was a little bit more water resistant (there were some spots that it seemed water could get in quite easily), but that’s just something to keep in mind – if it looks like rain, maybe don’t leave the light out. If you want to pick one up, they’re going for $39 over at gosun.co