10 USB Lights And Fans That Are Perfect For Camping

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Whether you're going truck bed camping or heading to the mountains for stargazing, one of the most essential requirements is lighting. Since you may not have access to electricity at remote locations, some accessories like power banks from reputed brands, fans, portable tire inflators, and most importantly — USB lights are must-haves. They work without having to connect them to a wall outlet, which means you can power them using your laptop or smartphone's USB port, or even connect them to a power bank for uninterrupted lighting. Since USB lights consume very little power, a large battery pack can easily power some lights for hours at a stretch, so you don't have to worry about low visibility in the dark.

Additionally, camping during summer and spring also means the weather may not always be on your side. Mornings can be sunny, and evenings may bring humidity or heat. So, along with lights, portable USB fans that can provide a cool breeze are also equally important. Owing to this, we've prepared a list of the best USB lights and fans you can buy for camping or any outdoor activity. We've shortlisted the products based on parameters like brightness, size, and how effective the wind from the fan is. Several products are not only USB-powered but also have a built-in battery, so you can use them even without being tethered to a cable. 

Think of the Onite USB light as a lightbulb connected to a USB cable. It's designed to look just like a standard incandescent bulb, but has an LED inside that's powered by the attached USB-A cable. The cable is quite long, so you can connect it to a trustworthy wall adapter even if the outlet is far away. There's also a switch integrated into the cable that lets you turn the light on and off. As per the brand, the Onite USB lightbulbs can cover an area of up to 100 square feet with their warm white light that resembles daylight. There's a small hook on top of each bulb to hang it on any surface of your choice.

Since you get two lightbulbs in the package, Onite also provides a small accessory that merges the two USB cables into one. It has two USB-A female ports on one end and a single USB-A male port on the other. This way, if you want to use both lights simultaneously, you can plug both into the adapter and connect them to a single USB port, either on a wall adapter or a power bank. Using this accessory, you save a USB port to charge your other devices, or if you're using a laptop to power the lights, you can keep the other ports free for a fan or any other accessory. 

While the Onite USB lightbulbs are an excellent source of light inside tents or small enclosures, the Xtauto collapsible lamp takes it a step further by offering two usage modes. The first is like a lantern, where you hang the light on a hook or rope, and it illuminates the surroundings. This is ideal for use inside a truck, tent, or even a small room without electricity. The light spreads evenly across 360°. The second use case involves collapsing the top half of the lamp, turning it into a device that resembles a flashlight. In this mode, the light throw becomes unidirectional, so it works well as a searchlight or for lighting your way while walking in the dark.

If you're using it this way, there's a separate handle to make it easier to hold the light. In lantern mode, the Xtauto lamp uses six LEDs to light up the area. Switch to flashlight mode, and there's an extra high-intensity LED at the center that helps you see faraway objects. Inside, a 1,600 mAh battery powers the lamp for up to 25 hours on a single charge. When it runs out of power, you can plug in a USB cable or just wait for sunrise, since there's a solar panel that can top up the cell.

If you're looking for a high-intensity camping light that can run for hours and illuminate a large area, you can't go wrong with the Eventek LED camping lantern with its 20,000 mAh built-in battery. The large battery not only lets you use the light for up to six days on a single charge, but also turns it into a power bank to charge your phone or other gadgets in emergencies. It has a USB-A port, so all you have to do is plug in your smartphone using a cable, and it starts charging. Just ensure to avoid cheap cables since they might end up frying the port on your smartphone or the Eventek LED light.

Coming back to the light itself — it looks like a floodlight with a large LED panel on the front. There's a stand on the rear to keep the light in place on any flat surface. The same foldable stand can also be used to hang the light on a hook. Thanks to the large diffuser on the front and bright LEDs, the Eventek light can reach a peak brightness of 4,000 lumens, which is enough to light up a substantial area. There are four light modes to choose from: warm light, natural light, white light, and SOS mode, which makes the LEDs strobe. It's also IPX5-rated, so you can use it in the rain. It's almost like an invaluable multitool that serves several purposes.

A light source with 4,000 lumens of output, like the Eventek lamp, may be overkill for a lot of people. However, the built-in power bank is certainly useful, and so are the different lighting modes. The ZMNT LED rechargeable lantern retains these core features while lowering the intensity of light to 1,000 lumens. If you only want to light up a small tent or the inside of your car or truck, that's more than sufficient. The design is also quite cool, with a foldable hook at the top to hang the light. Thanks to its compact form factor, the built-in battery is a 6,700 mAh unit, which is enough to charge your phone once and other small gadgets multiple times.

Despite the smaller battery, the ZMNT lamp can still run for up to 12 hours, thanks to the lower brightness levels. Speaking of which, there are buttons on the lamp that let you adjust brightness based on your requirement. You can run it at max intensity when you're outdoors, and tone it down to 5% or even 1% when it's time to sleep but you still want some ambient light. The brand also bundles a USB-A to USB-C cable in the box, which you can use to charge the lamp or other gadgets.

All the lights mentioned so far are quite large and mainly used to illuminate a tent or a broader area. For instance, a lamp can light up the space when you're eating in a group or chatting with friends. However, the Voltaic Systems emergency USB LED light is a different story. It has a much more compact form factor, roughly the size of a hockey puck. It connects to a USB port using a long cable and offers up to 200 lumens of warm white light. Thanks to its size, the Voltaic USB light is incredibly versatile. You can hang it on a tent's ceiling to illuminate the entire space, or use it like a flashlight when walking outdoors.

Since it's IP67 waterproof, you can dunk it into a transparent water bottle to diffuse the light, or tie it to a pole to direct light in a specific direction. You can also use it to search through your backpack or toolbox in the dark. Paired with a larger light source, the Voltaic Systems emergency light is a must-have camping accessory; it's durable, easy to mount on various surfaces, and occupies very little space. Not to mention, it's also extremely affordable, making it a no-brainer.

Technically, the Voltaic portable light was the last USB light on this list, and we've now moved on to fans. However, several USB fans on this list — including this Amacool portable camping fan — have a built-in light source that can also be used as a lamp when you're outdoors. While we'll be focusing on the core functionality, i.e., the fan, the onboard LED light has three brightness levels that can be used for different purposes. As for the fan itself, the brand claims it can run for up to 35 hours on a single charge, depending on the speed of the blades, which is excellent. Naturally, that kind of runtime without a cable means there's a large 5,000 mAh battery inside, which also powers the light.

If you want an uninterrupted experience while sleeping at night because it's too hot, you can connect a USB cable, and the fan will keep running at top speed as long as it has a power source, either from a wall outlet or a power bank. There are three speed modes, and you can manually rotate the fan in any direction. Notably, despite having a large battery, you can't use the Amacool fan as a power bank to charge other devices, unlike some of the products mentioned earlier.

If you're looking for a fan that covers a larger surface area and emits a cooler breeze, you may want to consider the Jinlicte rechargeable fan. It has larger blades, resulting in more effective cooling outdoors. Moreover, the brand claims that the stepless motor used in the Jinlicte USB fan produces less noise compared to competitors, so it operates more quietly. This is a nice feature to have while sleeping, since you don't want to be disturbed by constant whirring noises at high speeds. Speaking of speeds, there are three modes to pick from. The lowest offers a battery life of up to 36 hours, while the highest can run for up to nine hours on a single charge. The good part is that if you want to use the fan at its highest setting for longer, you can always plug it into a USB port on your laptop or power bank for uninterrupted use. 

Just like the Amacool portable fan, the Jinlicte also has a built-in lamp, though it's designed differently. Instead of housing the LEDs behind the fan blades, the Jinlicte uses a top-mounted setup. The result is the same, though, which means you can use the light for reading, cooking, or illuminating the inside of your tent. Notably, the Jinlicte fan can rotate only up to 270°, while the Amacool one mentioned earlier can do a full 360°.

The Jisulife portable neck fan is unlike any other product on this list. As the name suggests, it's a fan that goes around your neck and throws air directly onto your body to make it more effective. It's a wearable fan of sorts, intended to keep your neck cool when camping or spending time outdoors. Since it goes around your neck, it has a bladeless design to ensure safety. Despite the small and lightweight form factor, the Jisulife fan has a built-in 4,000 mAh battery, which is rather impressive. The way it works is that you put it around your neck like a pair of headphones, and it emits cool air from the 78 unique slits aimed at your body.

Depending on which speed you pick from the five available options, the fan can run anywhere from 4 to 16 hours on a single charge. Once it runs out of power, you'll need to plug it in for approximately three hours to fully charge it. While the design is effective for keeping sweat away while camping, one drawback of the wearable design is that you can't keep the fan powered continuously using a power source like a battery bank. So, if it runs out of juice, you'll need a backup fan to stay cool. Treat this as a portable accessory to carry in addition to any of the other fans on this list.

A ceiling fan is generally the preferred way of cooling your surroundings since it circulates the breeze evenly throughout the room. While it's difficult to find ceiling fans powered by DC instead of AC, the Scooyeees USB fan takes a different approach. It can be hung on a hook at the top, after which it operates like any other ceiling fan. It has six blades, which is plenty for a small tent or room when you're camping. The package includes a detachable USB cable, long enough to connect to a power bank or wall outlet. There's also an in-line remote to turn the fan on and off, along with a button that enables a timer to automatically turn off the fan after a certain duration.

In addition to that, there's a wireless remote to control the fan and set the timer for auto shut-off. There are four wind speeds to choose from, which is important since running it at the max speed may not always be ideal, especially if the hook on the ceiling isn't stable. It can be risky, since the fan may get unhooked due to the movement at higher speeds. Compared to the other fans on this list, the Scooyeees USB ceiling fan occupies the most space both inside a tent and in your luggage. However, it's also one of the most effective ones due to its design.

Most, if not all, fans on this list are designed to hang from a hook. While that's a practical approach, it may not always be ideal, depending on the tent or room you're camping in. Moreover, if you're staying in a car or a small enclosure, you might not have enough space to hang a fan. For such situations, the Beskar USB clip-on fan is a great alternative. It's slightly smaller than some of the other options on this list, but it has a clip-on mechanism that lets you attach it to almost any surface, like a handle, AC vent, or pole. Once attached, you can rotate and swivel the fan in any direction of your choice.

If you're sleeping on a bed, you can clip it onto the frame, which gives you a cool breeze close to your body while you sleep. While the form factor is perfect for small rooms and tight spaces, the Beskar fan does have one drawback: It comes with an attached USB cable that's also rather short. So, you can't place the fan too far from a power source, and there's not much you can do if the wire snaps. It would've been better if the brand had opted for a detachable cable instead, so users could swap in a longer one when needed.