The photo is plastered all over Instagram. Under a starry sky, happy campers sit by a campfire, encircled by moody string lights and glowing orbs strung between two camper vans. Maybe there’s a mountain or two in the backdrop. This image, in its many variations, is indicative of a ballooning trend in camping technology: area lighting. Does this mean good ol’ headlamps are on the way out? Not at all — it just means that outdoorsmen are beginning to truly appreciate the value of lights that illuminate an entire campsite with the touch of a button, yet take up about as much precious backpack space as a few granola bars. And, year after year, area lights are becoming lighter, brighter and longer-lasting. Even if you’re a camping purist — “My headlamp works perfectly fine, thank you very much!” — now’s the time to jump on the bandwagon.
BioLite SiteLight Variety Pack
The all-in-one campsite lighting system that started it all. It includes three lights — the SiteLight, two hanging lights on a ten-foot cord; the SiteLight Mini, four miniature versions of the original Sitelight; and the SiteLight XL, a collapsable, beachball-sized orb — all of which connect via USB to BioLite’s BaseLantern XL, a Bluetooth-enabled lantern that doubles as a portable battery. Through the BioLite app, you can individually dim or brighten each light, as well as enable the BaseLantern XL’s moody LED color cycles. And, depending on your campsite’s footprint, you can add or remove lights as you please, thanks to a handy daisy-chain system.
Lumens: Varies
Total Weight: 26.13 ounces
Runtime: 7.5-78 hours
