Cheap Nokero N200 Crestone Solar Light Bulb

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List Price: $15.00
Sale Price: $11.69
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We received this item very quickly in about five days.

I am rather impressed with the engineering, although it does appear to me to

have a very tiny pinhole in the adhered membrane covering the little solar panels where what

appears to be tiny wires connecting them are soldered together and stick up slightly.

The little three position switch next to it has a flexible plastic covering but I am unable to tell

just how water-proofed the switch seal may be.

Having gone through a major hurricane here [Fran] we keep a lot of emergency gear in the

house now, and frankly the wife absolutely loves stuff that has to do with camping and solar

lighting. Water manages to get into some of the assorted solar yard lights.

This may be much better engineered.

We simply leave it hanging off the kitchen curtain rod tipped toward the morning sun.

It gives off two levels of nice bright light. We won't be leaving it outside regularly

but it looks like an ideal lightweight aimable light to take camping with you or keep

for emergency use.

The removable rechargable battery is a AA 1000mAh NiMH which explains some of the

cost but should last a -verylong time. It is sturdily made.

I don't see anything shoddy about it presently.

The accompanying literature is limited but in 16 languages.

As a product it seems to be aimed at non-electrified areas of the world and if

my neice [Peace Corps] or late uncle [USAID] were headed back overseas I think it

would make a good present for them to take with them.

* The price seems to have risen about $5 in the month since we bought it.

That surprises me. nokero dot com is on the box should you wish to compare.*

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I purchased three N200s after reading a review about them somewhere on the Internet. I put two away for emergencies and hung one outside my kitchen window on the side of my house. The light charges by day, and flicks on when the sun goes down. The switch on the back panel of the N200 has three positions: off, high, and low. Don't let this light fool you, however, because when you turn it on, if the solar panel is exposed to light, it will shut the bulb down automatically, even if turned on. Cover the solar panel, and it goes back on. So, you can turn the light on, hang it outside, and it will stay off during daylight while it is charging and go on when the sun goes down.

This is a very nifty concept. I fully understand the reason it was designed--for the poorer parts of the world where no electricity is available. However, the N200 has applications in the developed world, too. Put these in your hurricane kit for emergencies. Put some away with your camping gear, also, as they will definitely bring a little modernity to your next camping or back-packing trip!

Edited: Since my original review, I have downgraded this product 1 star to 4 stars. The N200 hanging outside my kitchen window was brought back inside for inspection after being outside for about 5 weeks. The reason I bought it back in was I noticed water inside the lens after a week or so of periodically heavy rain. NoKero claims the N200 is rainproof, but not waterproof. It clearly is not very rainproof, either. I disassembled the unit and dried it out--about a teaspoon of rainwater had leaked into the unit; likely through the switch by the solar panel on the back. Also, there was noticeable corrosion on the wire hanger and clip after hanging outside for a little over a month.

Still, I think the N200 is worthy of 4 stars. It is a very novel concept. The light charges and shines until the battery drains. I still see a lot of potential uses for it. It should have no problems at all in dry climes, and you can use it in wetter climes--just be careful about not letting it get too wet.

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May 1, 2012 (3 days after the first review)

Since I wrote the below, I've been in touch with the company and have gotten prompt responses for which I am grateful. They thought that the issue with the not lighting may have been a result of the units (and their rechargeable batteries) having sat too long at Amazon's warehouse (possibly...). I am to receive a new unit directly from them and will try it out and provide feedback on its performance in a subsequent addition to this review. They still have not addressed the issue of why there was water in the lens (both of them, now)...for an item advertised as being "rain-proof"...maybe they had a bad production run?

I researched them before buying 4 of these and, having lived in Indonesia as a child, am intimately familiar with poverty and its effects. Like the heading sez, I loved the philosophy and values of the company so felt more ok about spending $19 each. Really only needed 2 but figured the extras might make nice gifts.

Set my 2 out for a day and one flashed a few times at dusk then stayed dark at night. The other never came on. I checked the switches on both (gotta say the little rubber cover feels a little flimsy, not made for frequent handling...more like set it on hi or lo and leave it...) and they were both on.

When I checked the one that flashed, I noticed a large drop of water inside the lens of one so unscrewed it, wiped it dry,took out the battery to see if it was wet (it wasn't) and when I put the battery back in, it came and stayed on. Came on again tonight by itself....haven't checked it for water, though...maybe tomorrow...

The other one was dry and came on after I unscrewed the lens, took the battery out and replaced it. It came on (automatically) tonite then when tried to switch it from lo to hi to show my wife "how cool it was and why they are worth the big bucks..." it turned off and didn't come on again.....I haven't tried to remove/replace the battery agaIn yet and am not sure if I will....may just end up boxing the lot up and sending it back to Amazon...

Too bad 'cause it is potentially a good design, looks nice, nice ideas by the makers, but bottom line, thus far is 100% undependable unless one is willing to regularly mess with them. Maybe that is part of the whole "developing country" design thing but not at $19 a pop....I can get a light that will 99% probably work every time (maybe not for as long as one of these) from home depot or some such for $3-4 and while the philosophy behind them might not be the same, the intent is...LIGHT...

Honest reviews on Nokero N200 Crestone Solar Light Bulb

I bought two and hang them in front of our front door and sidedoor.

The light stay on all night and turn off itself when the sun comes out.

We set it on low. So, far so good. We hanged them under the roof even thought they are rain proof.

We want it to last.

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Just got back from camping, 10 days at old poole farm for the 51st Philadelphia Folk Festival. I used this light the whole time. I was sold on the idea form the beginning. I loved the design, the philanthropy of the company, its goals, and the quality of the product. I purchased this and the D.light S10 to compare the two. The d.light ultimately wins out for its brightness, cheap price, and the fact that I never needed to worry about it getting charged. However, don't let that discredit this light. Its size and hook are very convenient. I used this every night as a tent lamp and sometimes I would clip it to my volunteer badge and use it as a flashlight. I recently hurt my knee and walk with a cane so I couldn't use my only free hand to carry a flashlight. It allowed me to safely manage the rough terrain in the dark easily. I love this lamp and the fact that they donate these lamps to people without access to electricity is noble in my book. It lasted through rain and cold and never failed. I plan on keeping it handy just in case, and hope to continue using it for festivals to come.