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Ack! I'm a sucker. Specifically I'm a sucker for end-aisle displays. When I was at Lowe's and in a hurry, I grabbed the first solar LED path light available and it was this one. Mistake.

Overpriced

This solar path light cost me close to $17. Only after I examined it did I realize that it's the type of solar light you might--or should, if you're a better shopper than me--buy at a dollar store for $3.98.

Everything visible on this light is made of ABS plastic. The spike, which should be strong, is made of plastic, too.

Works Intermittently

The first day, after what I believed was a full solar charge, the light would blink on and then rapidly extinguish. Could there be a plastic tab over the battery, preventing it from charging? No, everything looked fine. Assuming that it needed more of a charge, I let the light soak up the rays for a second day. On that second night, it did work--finally. But it was hesitant and would turn off with the slightest provocation.

Packaging and Instructions

The unit does not come in a box. The only protection is a styrofoam block between the light's head and the body. Remove block, cut tags, and that's it. From a "green" perspective, that's good (less packaging to recycle). But as a consumer, I was a bit nervous about buying something that had been tossed around from China to the U.S. without adequate protection.

Granted, solar path lights shouldn't need a lot of instructions.

But when they don't work, you do need instructions. Maybe the instructions were printed on that tag in microfiche-size text? If so, I sure wasn't able to read them.

Fills Up With Water

Due to the design of the light hood, the outer part of the light hood will fill up with water if it rains. The only way to prevent this is to tilt the light downward. But that's impossible because a ground-level light should be pointed upward.

My solution: drill a weep hole in the hood.

I do not recommend this light. If you find a comparable light for much cheaper elsewhere, it might be worth it. Not at this price, though.