Companion LED Strip lights: Product test

COMPANION Brands recently brought out a range of strip lights that looked so impressive, we just had to get our mitts on one. And now that we’ve used them for the past few weeks, we are even more impressed with the product.

A rigid light kit is available for caravans, boats and vehicles, while three flexible strip lighting kits – a one-metre strip light; a two-metre strip light; and a five-metre, multi-coloured strip light for those looking for a bit more razzamatazz – can be used around the campsite. We opted for the two-metre, single-coloured strip.

The two-metre-long strip light has 120 5050 surface-mounted-device (SMD) LEDs. Each LED has a maximum light output of 1580 Lumens, at a current draw of 2.4A at 12 volts. In layman’s terms: It’s a bloody bright white light.

A five-metre-long cable connects the strip light to a 12-volt power outlet. Connecting the cable to the strip light is a screw connector, while at the other end a fused power plug can fit a cigarette lighter socket or a merit socket. The kit also includes four Velcro fixing straps.

The strip light and the cable are rated at IP66 for weather proofing, which means they are dustproof to the maximum rated level and waterproof to withstand a powerful water jet (rain won’t bother it).

What impressed us when we first saw the kit was the quality of the strip light and how it was all put together. We’ve used a few over the past couple of years and have found some to be a bit flimsy where the cable joins into the strip light. This unit shows none of that weakness and is as good a quality as you will find in this genre of camp lighting.

The strip light is easy to set up, even though the Velcro straps are fiddly. Another bonus is the adjustable light output; we had the strip light turned down to its lowest output level most of the time, such is the light quality. It packs away quickly into a small bag and we use it every time we set up camp for more than a day.

If anything, we should have spent the extra cash and bought the multi-coloured version!

RATED
Available from: www.companionleisure.com.au
RRP: $79
We say: Great light output; handy and adjustable; well made.