OxyLED’s E03S Solar Spotlight

ScreenHunter_03 Sep. 28 15.33

If there’s one thing that’s never in short supply in California, it’s sunlight. All freaking year round, sunlight. It’s a no-brainer, then, that we’d have solar lights all around our landscape. Except we didn’t, because the light they produced was never very good, the would get wet by the sprinklers and short out, and/or they wouldn’t last very long or hold a charge well. I was skeptical when I was offered a solar LED spotlight. I really shouldn’t have been, because it’s an OxyLED product.

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Oxy LED has been a company that has surprised me over and over again by overdelivering on their products. And this OxyLED® E03S LED Solar Spotlight is no exception. It’s almost too bright on the high setting (yes, it has high and low settings! Sweet!), and even on an overcast day, grabs enough light to power the 4 LED drivers well into the early morning hours. You can put the light almost anywhere, because the solar cell rotates 180 degrees, and the light tuns 90 degrees, all on a vertical axis. The stake base also has the ability to be wall mounted (with the included screws and anchors), so it can even be used as a security light. Did I mention it’s bright? Usually with multiple LED cells, you end up with diffuse light that is only very bright if you look directly into it. This one gives a very bright, blue-ish light that projects, easily, 75 feet, unobstructed. That’s truly impressive. And while plastic makes up 98% of the housing, stake and reflector, after almost a month outside, in the heat, in the sprinkler, in the intense California sun, the light is burning as bright and holding as string as the day I put it out. Again, most impressive. Whether it will hold up for a longer period of time is yet to be seen, and to be honest very little does hold up to the intense year-round sun and nearly year-round heat in Southern California. 

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In the end I would greatly recommend this to anyone who was, like me, skeptical about the quality of solar lamps, especially a solar spotlight. It’s not huge and clunky, it works all night after a day in the sun, and it’s oh, so bright. I would like to see OxyLED offer different tones of light, as more “soft white” tone LED’s are making their way into the marketplace, so they don’t always have to be the bright harsh blue tones inherent to the brightest LED’s. This one is a winner.

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Connect with OxyLED/Hisgadget:

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Hisgadget.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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FSL Xylem In-Ear Monitors

 

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So I’ve had quite a few headphones I’ve reviewed on here. Most are completely adequate, with passable sound and mostly work with all my devices with minimal hiccups. I was ready to lump Future Sound Lab’s wooden in-ear monitors with them; All sizzle and very little steak. I was wrong. FSL earbuds are the goods. Let me share why.

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FSL uses a solid piece of eco-friendly wood for each ear, which is sonically superior to plastic and metal. It’s drivers deliver solid, quality sound with good bass response and sharp, clear highs. I would say they easily have superior sound than earbuds I’ve paid twice as much for. The wire is thin, but not so prone to tangles as some products out there. The microphone pics up voices well and does a decent job of filtering out ambient noise. The gold-plated 3.5mm connector snaps in solidly to all my devices, from laptops to tablets to phones to MP3 players. The controls work with every mobile device I own, which is a first. FSL even includes 3 different sizes of silicone tips to accommodate pretty much every ear size.

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The hits don’t stop there, though. FSL includes a neat self-closing neoprene case to carry my earbuds everywhere, and keep them shmutz free. Because let’s be honest, nothing is nastier than sticking earbuds in your ear with all manner of crud stuck to the silicone tips. But wait, there’s more! FSL believes so much in the quality of their in-ear monitors, the back them with a 3-year warranty and lifetime support for customers. Now that is impressive. Good luck getting anything more than 90 days of warranty from most consumer electronics. For under $13, you are seriously getting more than your money’s worth. I can’t tell you how many earbuds I’ve tried in this price range and been horribly disappointed more times than I can count. These are the best ones in this price range I’ve tried, and better than sets costing twice as much. I’m glad I got to try them, and I recommend them highly.

Connect with FSL:

I received the above product(s) free of charge from FSL.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

 

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