VQ Halo Bluetooth Speaker with Built-In Power Bank and Lantern: first impressions
For car camping and glamping, multi-tools are worth their weight in gold, and by that we don't just mean of the folding knife and screwdriver variety. Any piece of kit that serves multiple functions when you're on an outdoor adventure saves you on weight and space and that's exactly what the VQ Halo Bluetooth Speaker with Built-In Power Bank and Lantern is designed for.
This portable camping lantern casts a warm glow around your campsite or backyard, but it also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker if you want to add some tunes to a gathering and then triples as a portable charger for phones and tablets.
To get things going, there's a small on/off switch at the bottom of the speaker and once you've located that, it's smooth sailing to operate with buttons on the top to let you change the lighting, lower the volume or skip a track.
• List price: £89.99
• Charging method: USB
• Lumens: Not specified
• Burn time: 14 hours
• Waterproofing: IPX6
• Weight: 800 grams / 1.7 lbs
• Best use: Car camping, outdoor parties, festival camping
If it's lighting you want, there are six modes to choose from including three that flicker like candlelight and a brighter LED mode. For music, it's easy to pair your device and the 22-watt Stereo 360-degree speaker is decent quality, even when you're outdoors where you can go confidently thanks to wet weather protection.
If you forgot your portable charger, you can plug your phone right into this thanks to the 7.4v 6000 mAh power bank with a USB port C & USB port A. Of course, this will drain your battery faster than if you just want to play music and see what you're doing, but it's a great backup option.
When you need to recharge, it comes with a USB charger and fully charges within the hour and when you're ready to take it back indoors, grab it by the leather carry handle with no worries about dropping it. Compared to your average camping lantern, it's heavy and we'd love the light to be dimmable, but we still think you get a lot for your money with this multi-function device.
VQ Halo Bluetooth Speaker with Built-In Power Bank and Lantern: in the field
Though most of my camping adventures are of the ultralight variety, I'm not opposed to a few fun car camping trips throughout the summer and for those, camping lanterns are a nice way to lend ambience to the campsite and reduce the number of times the kids trip over tent guy lines.
After testing a similar product last year and liking it, I agreed to give the VQ Halo a go. I don’t camp with tunes or bring amplified music out into the wild with me because I like to enjoy the sounds of nature but this seemed perfect for a recent vacation to one of Scotland's Forest Parks where my family and I were staying in a cabin with lots of outdoor space including a hot tub.
The area is known for its world-class stargazing, so we wanted to keep outdoor lights off at night and this seemed like the perfect solution to keep everyone safe and it's always good to have extra charging possibilities these days.
Here’s how it performed:
Weight and packability
This isn't heavy unless you compare it to other camping lanterns, but that wouldn't actually be fair because it’s also a speaker. However, it’s heavier than any of the lanterns we’ve previously tested here at Advnture, but that helps to make it more stable in windy conditions.
It’s the size and shape of a Nalgene, which makes it really easy to pack and transport (I ended up packing it inside my boyfriend's wellie boot), while the sturdy leather carrying handle means it’s easy to grab with wet hands after a hot tub which didn't go unnoticed.
Ease of use
I love not having to read instruction manuals and for a few horrifying moments, I thought I might have to when I arrived at the cabin and unpacked this device. Nothing happened when I pressed the buttons on top, so I plugged it in to charge.
The next day, when it still didn't turn on, I looked closer and realized it has an on/off switch at the bottom. Once this is figured out, all that was left was to figure out how to use the buttons at the top, which have obvious symbols to control lighting and volume. I was pressing them to no avail, but after a while I realized that it's a light tap that's required to operate them rather than a firm press and from then on it was smooth sailing. Fortunately, I had zero problems pairing my phone.
Sound quality
As I said, I don't blast tunes in the wild, but since our cabin didn't come with a radio, we ended up using this to listen to the radio in the mornings and play a little music while cooking dinner. I'd say the sound quality of the speaker isn't excellent, but it is decent. It's not the best, and a little tinny compared to a higher-quality Bluetooth speaker, but you can hear it clearly.
Illumination
This lantern doesn’t cast off a super bright light, but it illuminates the immediate area enough to be safe. My favorite setting is the one that flickers like a candle, and this is the one we ended up using all week so it's more of a lantern to set a cozy mood than for proper illumination, and we still ended up using headlamps for nocturnal adventures. What I wish it had is a dimmer switch, so that you can make it brighter or dimmer.
Weather protection
Fortunately, it never took a dunk in the hot tub, but it’s built to withstand heavy rain which is obviously key for outdoor use and we ended up having a very damp week and had no issues with the lantern.
VQ Halo Bluetooth Speaker with Built-In Power Bank and Lantern: the bottom line
Like any multi-tool, this lantern does lots of things, but none of them as well as a device that only performs one of those functions. You can find a brighter lantern, a better-sounding speaker and a more portable charger out there, but if you're looking to cut down on gear and want a lantern that glows like a candle, this is a good place to start. It's cheaper than the Pure Woodland Glow waterproof outdoor speaker with LED lamp, which has nicer dimmable lighting, but the Halo has the extra function of charging devices.
