Bell & Howell Light Bar is a portable light bank that includes 60 LED lights. Does it work? Read my Bell & Howell Light Bar review.
Where to Purchase
You can find Bell + Howell Light Bar on Amazon here. It can also be purchased from the official website (discussed below), or you may still find it in the As Seen on TV aisle of some retailers. I bought Light Bar at a local Walgreens here in Las Vegas in July 2017 for $19.99.
About Bell & Howell Light Bar
Bell & Howell Light Bar is a rechargeable bar of 60 LED lights that weighs one pound and includes a built-in stand. The official website is trylightbar.com, with a registration date of January 2017. The screen capture below was taken of the product website in May 2017. As of this June 2020 update, the official website is still online and the price has remained unchanged.
Claims & Features
- 1 charge gives 10 hours of light (the website originally made a different claim, as you can see above)
- Visible from over 2 nautical miles away
- Compact & sturdy
- Usable for indoors or outdoors
- Will not overheat
- Does not require batteries
Bell & Howell Light Bar Review
Convenient portable lights have been the darling of As Seen on TV marketers for years. In just recent years, such offerings have included InstaBulb, Click a Color, Light Bulb Bug Zapper, Bulb on a Rope, Underlight, BreezeLite, Motion Brite, Mighty Brite Switch, LyfeLite, ZappLight, Flexi Lites, and Switch Brite – to name a few.
Now with the Bell & Howell Light Bar, we have a strip of 60 bright LED lights that can supposedly be recharged in an hour and last all day. Based on the use of the Bell & Howell name, and the product’s logo styling, it would appear that this item is loosely tucked under the same brand as TacLight. I should point out that the instructions state that it will take 8-10 hours to charge, not one hour like the website originally stated (that has since been changed). Once charged, it is said to last 5 hours on high and 10 hours on low. I found that it actually lasts longer than that, but it gets dimmer and dimmer to the point that it isn’t as functional. You’ll also need to charge it for 25 hours before the first use.
The good news is that this is a pretty foolproof product. LED technology has become less in expensive in recent years, and it is easy to find rather affordable light products sporting impressive brightness like this.
Light Bar offers a rather unassuming rectangular design with two stands that allow you to prop it up or hang it on a wall. To me, this seems to be something of an evolution of the tactical lanterns that heavily advertised in late 2016. The idea behind those – and Light Bar – is to provide instant bright light to the immediate area. While the lanterns (TacLight Lantern, Atomic Beam Lantern) offer 360 degrees of light, Light Bar offers it at about a 180 degree angle.
I have little doubt that those who purchase this based on the advertising will be satisfied with the product, as it’s pretty hard to mess up a simple bar of LED lights. The fact that it is rechargeable is a huge plus.
The advertising and website originally stated that there is a sensor that will turn the light on when the power is out, however I see no such sensor, nor do the instructions mention it. I’m guessing that this feature was removed from the prototype.
On a final note, I suggest not giving the Bell & Howell name too much weight in your decision to purchase an As Seen on TV product. Nowadays the name is often licensed, and the products bearing the name rarely have any association with Bell & Howell other than the logo slapped on the case.
Light Bar began rolling out to stores around July 2017. I suggest perusing some of the Amazon comments to get a feel for what other consumers are saying.
Three Year Update (June 2020)
Although my stash of flashlights and other lighted items has grown considerably since I first wrote this review, I do still pull out the Bell+Howell Light Bar at least a couple of times a month, and I’m happy to report that I’ve seen very little degradation of the battery life or the brightness of the lights. None of the 60 LEDs have stopped functioning and there have been no malfunctions.
I find it curious that this product has generated far less interest than other As Seen on TV lighted products, such as Tac Light, but has easily outperformed that item regarding long-term durability. If you still see one of these while perusing the As Seen on TV aisle, I suggest picking it up before it disappears completely.
Alternatives
It may come as no surprise that you can find a number of LED rechargeable light bars for sale online. This model costs about $20 and holds high consumer ratings.
Video Review
Below you can see my full video review of the Bell+Howell Light Bar.
Television Commercial
Your Bell & Howell Light Bar Reviews
What are your thoughts about Bell & Howell Light Bar? Tell me what you think in the comments below.
Updated June 2020.
Ordered 2 got one What the hell???
I got 4 of them, They been plugged in for 6 days now and the red charging lite has not went off. WTF?
The red light is an issue, but it does fully charge. I just leave it on the charger for the recommended time and then unplug it.
Thanks for your review I bought two of the light the brightness is enough for what I need them for but my concern is the red light will not go off after two weeks, does it means that is normal.
Thanks.
I bought it [the set] and they are not that bright. They cannot illuminate a outdoor party. Nor can they illuminate a room. The instructions say “When the charging light goes out, your unit is fully charged.” My charging light has yet, after two months and the initial charge, to go out. AND the light starts to dim waaaaaaay too early. So I use them to illuminate vegetarian dishes I put up on my FB page. They help get rid of the shadows I was getting from florescent kitchen light.
I bought four of these. After charging for several days they don’t come on. A complete rip-off! DO NOT BUY!!!
Good morning Luis this is Charles just curious you got those those items can you look on the package and see which country they were made in.
I bought the two, and they work great. I don’t need to use them often- should I just leave them plugged in all the time? Or should I leave them unplugged every once in a while?
I don’t know what that would do the battery. I would think leaving it unplugged would be better, but there are probably battery experts more versed than I who could shed more light on the topic. I use mine pretty regularly and so far I’m pretty happy with it.
Thanks. I liked your review, which prompted me to buy them. Hope I get some other comments.
Two of mine came with no charger / a/c adapter
I like this LED light bar, however, I find myself frequently recharging this product, as I use it for my plants. It gives good light but I do not believe that it lasts the full ten hours; it slowly dims out then I know it is time for a recharge. I have ordered two additional light bars so that I can charge one after another to maintain my lighting standards. Thank you for your review on You Tube.
I liked your review, but didn’t notice you checking their claim of auto on during lights out? Did you do check that any other time? Also, wouldn’t it need to be plugged in to know when there’s a black out? Otherwise it would come on every time the lights are turned off.
Hi there. I did touch on this by mentioning that I saw no such sensor. I have also used it in a dark room and it does not turn on by itself. I believe that may have been a feature that was removed before it went into full production.
Alright Charles here simple question what is the country that this piece of equipment was manufactured in it was made in China I don’t want it. If anyone has bought anything that’s been made in China they know that it’s not made up to the standards of something that’s durable and long-lasting I think they only manufacture goods for us out of substandard resources
Tell that to the millions of iPhone owners!
They say insane mode seriously its less than half of the power of my flash light and no you can’t see this 2 natutical miles away your lucky if you can see it half mile away It works fine for small spaces but that’s it
I have had my 2 light bars for a few months now, I don’t use them very often at all so I have never had to charge them yet but they work when I turn them on either way, one thing I was wondering, and only because my mother got 2 of the light bars herself is when they are fully charged does the charging light on the side turn green or turn off or something to state that it is fully charged….BTW, great review and thank you….also was wondering, have you tried turning it on while it is still… Read more »
RIP OFF. Not as advertise, they do not hold a charge; dims within hours. Works better when plugged in, but this does not prevent lantern from dimming. Auto on also does not work.
I purchased two light bars. We had one short power outage and they came on and worked well. However after a longer power outage they did not work and now when I plug them in to charge, I can’t turn them off. I thought they would be a great asset, but they were a waste of money. Called the company and was told they were sorry, but would not exchange them.
Total waste of money. I bought 2 of them and they worked well during a short power outage, but after a longer outage, they will not recharge. When I plug them in to charge the lights come on and won’t turn off.
I bought 2 units, plugged them and set to use a power failure lights. Within 1 week the lights would not work, chargers and batteries burned up.
I bought 2 light bars and now they do not take a charge and do not work unless they are plugged in to out let ,when you unplug after charge they do not come on , can I send them back for exchange ?”
I bought 2 of these and am disappointed. I hardly used them and now. Now they won’t charge at all. I’m going to try someone else’s suggestion and plug them in for 25 hours and see if they work. If not, in the trash they go.