Most people make the mistake of thinking that in order to be appealing, an object has to be overly complicated. The Light Cap (Firebox, $24.95) is a perfect example of how untrue that is. I mean, it’s a water bottle with a light on top – doesn’t really get more simple than that. There aren’t really any bells and whistles, besides a handy retaining ring to clip your bottle onto your backpack and flat surfaces on the sides of the bottle so you can easily lay it down. Ok, so this water bottle is just a water bottle, right? The one important upgrade on this bottle is the solar panel integrated into its lid. I do love a cleverly place solar panel because it means that I can go about my day and just magically have energy stored for later use. In this case, the solar panel can produce up to 12 hours of light (without emitting heat) and has a small light sensor to make sure that you’re not accidentally wasting your energy throughout the day. There are also two lights integrated in the bottle: the brighter white light and a power saving red light. You could use the red light as a night light, and then have the option to switch to white light when you really need to see in the dark.

You could see how this could come in useful when you’re camping, right? You can hike around all day (if that’s your thing) and then have a lantern for gathering sticks and such in the evening. Did I mention that this fountain of free energy is housed in a virtually unbreakable water bottle that can hold approximately a liter of liquid? If you’ve got this thing, you’re pretty much set. Well, you might want to look into food and shelter, but other than that, pretty much set.

5 out of 5 stars.

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