This portable light is better than camping

They are made for camping, but BougeRV’s T1 light it’s so versatile that it also makes the perfect summer travel companion that will continue to light up the darker parts of your life when you return. I used it for a few months on a recent trip in my camper, and it’s the light I reach for again and again now that I’m at home.

The telescope light has three LED arms that direct up to 3,000 lumens of white, warm, or red in any direction you want. It can illuminate an area of ​​more than 1,000 square meters and work as a flashlight, a reflective light, and a 57Wh USB-C power bank that can send up to 30W to your phone or small laptop.

T1 is an upgrade to The BougeRV camping light I reviewed last year. It extends over 5.5 feet (168cm) to easily illuminate the campsite, work area, or engine block, and its IPX5 rating should allow it to survive a storm if you leave it outside.

This BougeRV light is so useful that I keep it in the seat pocket next to the door of my car – a sanctuary for the tools I need to get in and out easily. Here’s how I’ve used the T1 camping light for about six months of testing:

It turned on the fireplace to watch an outdoor movie.

It helped me put this bike together.

It helped me power up my laptop at the cafe where I wrote this review.

It helped a wonderful friend of mine renovate his trailer.

It helped me look down here after the water was gone.

The floor was replaced and went into this enclosure to help me clean this sand bathroom.

The cable made it easy to check the water level in my car.

The long arm of the telescope helped me to look at the damage from a short distance away.

The flashlight helped me get home.

And let me focus on my return.

The only thing that this light does not have is a magnetic base to fasten it to metal. Its main disadvantage is the plasticity of everything – and its price. The BougeRV T1 telescopic camping lighting lists for $119.99, but is often marked down to $84.99, which I think is a good deal for all this lighting.

Photography by Thomas Ricker/The Verge