Posted by Scientific data has shown that putting unnecessary stress on your eyes may cause short-sightedness and can eventually damage your eyes. Therefore, a balance called ergonomic lighting must be attained. This concept cannot be over-emphasized, as an ineffective light source will most likely render you less productive and susceptible to eye strain, headaches and other negative health effects. It makes no difference if you have a home office, or you just love to browse online. The choice of using appropriate lighting sources that will not be harsh on your eyes or too weak for your work and leisure activities is an important one.
Insufficient reading light can cause problems, as mentioned before. Thankfully, there are solutions in well-designed reading lights, from tiny book lamps to substantial floor lamps. In other words, your eye-straining days are certainly over. Reading lights and lamps can save your eyes from strain and illuminate both work and relaxation time.
How do you choose which reading lamp to buy?
We have some criteria for you to consider.
1. User Personality
When buying a reading light, buyers need to consider who will use the lamp, if it suits their person and any other underlying health factor like age. Age, for example, is considered a strong factor as it can take a toll on the quality of your vision as you get older. According to the UK’s NHS, it is common for seniors to experience some level of vision loss. The NHS also states that just about everyone, including those that enjoyed 20/20 vision during their youth, will need to wear glasses or contact lenses by the time they hit the age of 65. So, understanding the user’s personality is a key factor to consider when choosing the right book lamp for you.
2. Purpose and Design
It is no brainer that the design and the purpose of a book lamp are crucial factors to consider when choosing a book lamp. For example, will you be using the lamp at home or on the move, in the office or on the bed? These factors will affect what lamp you finally decide to purchase. Broadly, there are four main types of lamps.
Types of Reading Lamps
- Floor lamps are designed for reading and are different from those intended for ambient lighting although some are designed to double as desk lamps. These standing lamps should create a brightly focused beam of light that can be adjusted to the desired height and angle.
- Desk lamps are at least a foot high, designed with an adjustable neck or swivel arm to the position in the right spot. The body of a desk lamp may be plastic or metal. The head should create a bright, focused light beam that can be aimed.
- Bedside lamps can be either wall-mounted or freestanding with varying styles and designs. The base and body of these lamps should be durable metal construction, and the head should produce a steady, focused beam of light.
- Booklights are portable, lightweight and ideal for travel and mostly made of sturdy materials like plastic and metal. They fit into the palm of the hand and attach to a book or magazine via a sturdy clamp. Booklights are also suitable for nighttime reading in bed when bedside lighting is insufficient. We will be focusing on the best book lamps in this post.
3. Wire Charger or Wireless
Reading lights and full-sized lamps come with either wired or wireless charging styles.
Wired reading lamps are highly recommended in home settings, where a plug outlet is easily accessible. They don’t require recharging and can simply be plugged in and switched on or off any time or sometimes programmed with a timer.
Wireless lamps are the exact opposite and contain rechargeable batteries, typically with a lithium-ion core for long-lasting charges. Most book lamps are wireless.
4. Type of Bulb
LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are quickly becoming the reading bulbs of choice in lamps of all types and sizes. The recommendations here contain LED bulbs because they are affordable, safe, energy efficient, long lasting and user-friendly when compared to incandescent bulbs, which conduct electricity across a metal filament. However, LEDs are less energy efficient and burn out relatively fast.
Another option for highly efficient and cost-reducing bulbs is the Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) but LEDs are much brighter, and they offer more versatile size options, including travel light bulbs.
It should be noted that life-long exposure of the retina and lens to blue peak lights from LEDs could increase the risk of cataract and age-related macular degeneration.
5. Features
Portable book lamps should come with certain key features, such as:
- Any reading lamp fitted with amber-colored bulbs rates high, as such bulbs block blue lights, which according to Harvard health research are a source of health hazards. Blue light has been shown to suppress the body’s production of melatonin, disrupts circadian rhythms and generally leads to more restless, uneven sleep
- The ability for users to adjust the brightness level in at least three ways (low, medium, and high)
- Reading lamps that can be adjusted to different color temperatures, from bright white to warmer, softer tones.
- Adjustable head or neck of the lamp is a plus
Our Pick of Best Book Lamps
Buying a book light should not be difficult. So read on for guidance, recommendations, and product specs for the best book lights available for home and travel.
For our selection, we considered some of the best book lamps available in the market that provide user-friendly functionalities, eye-friendly light, are affordable, stylish and energy efficient. We will also be making noteworthy recommendations on the other types of reading lamps.
A quick comparison of the book lamps in our selection are presented in the table below following which we dwell more on the individual lamps.
| Product | Power Source | Brightness Mode | LED Bulbs | Price* | Run Time (Hr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Raniaco Daylight Reader |
USB-Rechargeable |
3 |
12 |
$13.99 |
24 |
|
CeSunlight Rechargeable |
USB-Rechargeable |
4 |
4 |
$14.99 |
10 |
|
TopElek Reading Light |
USB-Rechargeable |
4 |
8 |
$11.99 |
24 |
|
Skymore Book Light |
USB-Rechargeable |
2 |
1 |
$14.79 |
17 |
|
Vekkia Bookmark Light |
USB-Rechargeable |
2 |
1 |
$15.99 |
20 |
|
* All prices quoted were correct on Amazon at the time of publishing. |
|||||
1. Raniaco Daylight Reader
With 12 LED bulbs, Raniaco Daylight Reader book light is certainly powerful. It creates soft light, which is ideal for your eyes. It has a unique frosted lampshade design and stands out amongst competitors as one of the best book light lamps.
Raniaco Daylight Reader Features
- Fitted with a touch switch with three levels of adjustable brightness. The low setting is ideal for a night light use without disturbing anyone
- The reading light comes with a clamp holder, which can be opened at 2.36 inch and placed on your desk or fixed at the edge when you want to read
- Rechargeable battery of 1000mAh capacity built-in with USB interface design for easy charging with laptops, mobile phones and cars. The average battery life is 24 hours
- 360 degrees rotating flexible design with an adjustable twisted tube
- An anti-slip silicone pad coupled with its light body makes it sturdy when in a standing position
The Raniaco daylight reader is available on Amazon and comes with a three-year money back guarantee.
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2. CeSunlight Rechargeable Clip-on Booklight
Understandably, many readers who dislike the clip-on book lights on their books solely because of the additional weight. This is justified and the CeSunlight Rechargeable book light reader provides the best alternative to the clip-on versions.
CeSunlight Rechargeable Features
- It is hands-free thus reducing added weight to books by clip-on
- It comes with 4 LEDs and 4 levels of brightness: two LEDs on each arm, one Spotlight and 1 wide angle LED on each side
- It is designed with flexible strong steel alloy arms, which are covered with soft silicone making it non toxic, high-grade and safe to use
- Fitted with 700mAh powerful rechargeable lithium battery that takes only 3 hours to get fully charged and can last up to 8 hours with high brightness and 10 hours with normal brightness
- Weighing only 3-ounce, the bendable book light fits easily into your carry-on suitcase, making it an ideal choice from all aspects
- The neck design is ergonomic and does not weigh you down while reading/wearing it
- Lightweight, compact, portable and durable
- One downside is that conscious readers who shift around in bed would have to readjust the light every time they move
The CeSunlight book reader comes with an 18-month warranty from a company that offers excellent customer service.
3. TopElek Reading Light
The TopElek Reading Light gives you the ability to switch color temperatures and brightness levels to get the light to the most optimal level for your eyes.
TopElek Reading Light Features
- The TopElek is equipped with 8 upgraded LED bulbs to deliver more uniform luminance than normal LED
- It also features 3 colour temperatures within 3000K to 6500K and 4 brightness settings (low, medium, high), with a short press to control brightness and a long press to switch colour temperature
- Ease of operation, and come equipped with soft light, which makes it possible for you to read in bed at night
- Built in rechargeable 1000mAh lithium battery with up to 60-hour lighting time (at low brightness setting) and only 1 hour 30 minutes charging time, enabling you to enjoy longer wireless reading time
- Has a battery indicator, making it convenient to know the amount of power left in real time and the charging status to avoid over-charging
- 360-degree flexible gooseneck means you can rotate the light into your preferred position
- Silicone surface protects pages from being clamped and the adjustable clip ensures a secure grip
- TopElek book light is only 0.3 ounce and is lightweight enough to clip on books for your nighttime reading in bed
- The clip is strong and can be clamped on for a secure grip on books and most thick tables as well
TopElek is available on Amazon with an 18 months replacement guarantee available to users.
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4. Skymore Book Light
The Skymore LED Booklight comes with a fashionable circular ring-shaped beam outlet with 2 brightness settings and a magnifying glass lens when the light is turned off.
Skymore Book Light Features
- Ability to switch between 2 lighting color options: Cool daylight white (normal) and Warm yellow-white (for night time)
- A unique and circular ring-shaped 7 watts bulb that illuminates just in all directions plus free angle adjustment of the 14.96 inches long chord, rotatable 360-degree for maximum comfort
- Fitted with 2.36 inches large clamping clip, it clamps onto any table or book easily
- The Skymore book light mini size and compact design make it very easy to carry
- USB-compatible for fast charging, good heat dissipation and low light failure
- Magnifying glass function as well, useful for observations, tattoo zoom-ins etc.
- Sadly, it does not come with a warranty or returns window policy
Check it out on Amazon
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5. Vekkia Bookmark Light
The Vekkia Bookmark Book Light has a sleek design and is easy to carry. It has a flexible charging plug, which makes it a top pick for the best book light lamps.
Vekkia Bookmark Light Features
- High-quality 250mAh rechargeable lithium battery that offers up to 20 hours of continuous illuminating in the lowest mode
- 3 color modes with dimmable brightness
- Uniform luminescence prevents your eyes from strain
- It is ultra-thin and does not take much space
- 5oz lightweight, barely noticeable weight added to your book. The soft rubber allows you to bend it into any shape and position you want
- Side switch button to prevent accidental switching when not in use
- Light produced isn’t diffused so it covers less area of a book
- Has just 1 LED bulb
The Vekkia Bookmark Light is available on Amazon and comes with a one-year replacement guarantee.
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Worthy Mentions
1. Energizer Clip Light: Can easily displace any of the best book light lamps on our list. It is highly compact, handy, portable, runs on 2 Energizer CR2032 Batteries with a run-time of up to 25 hours, flexible and collapsible neck and a built-in clip for a firm grip.
Check it on Amazon
2. LEDGLE Updated LED Rechargeable Book Light: Neck style design with highly flexible arms for easy direction of the bright LEDs to the preferred location. Provides 5-15 hours of excellent lighting depending on the selected mode, comes with a USB interface design and is comfortable around the neck.
Check it on Amazon
3. MagniPros Ultra Bright LED Page Magnifier: Pre-programmed with 12 non-glare lights controlled by a dimmable switch. Large viewing area of 4.5″x 7″ with the optical grade magnifying lens giving you about 300% magnification. Highly recommended for seniors with weak eyesight.
Check it on Amazon
Check it on Amazon
Conclusion
If reading is a hobby or a relaxation activity for you, then a book light is an essential piece of tool that you have to invest in. The best reading lamps protect you from constant eye strains and their related health challenges.
Individual needs differ so will your requirements for a book lamp be specific to you. While some have argued that prescription glasses are all you might need, research has shown that it is not enough especially for older citizens who are at greater risk of weak visual capabilities.
There you have it folks, our five of the best book light lamps available in today’s market to users. Let us know what you think, for example, whether a particular brand should be added or be removed from the list?
