After 15 years of loyal service, it was time to upgrade the incandescent fluoro 12v camp light to contemporary LED camp light bars. The Hardkorr organisation offers a wide range of camping and 4WDing gear, with us settling on two 100cm, tri-colour light bars with a diffuser and dimmer switch.

Out of the box
Each kit contains the camping light bar, dimmer/tri-colour select switch, 3m extension lead and a vehicle cigarette plug for power. The connectors are a 4-pin push configuration with an alignment lug and a locking screwcap for improved water resistance and to help stop any vibrational release. The lights feature reinforced grommets at the ends of the light bars to prevent wire breakage. Their low power consumption means that they have very little impact on your battery, even if you like to leave your lights on all night.

One of the big bonuses of this set-up is the three light options available. This allows you to maximise the versatility of the light bar. The three colour temperatures are cool white (rated at 1300 lumens), warm white and orange light. The cool white is the brightest for general camp use. Warm white has less glare but still plenty of illumination. An orange or yellow light is critical when camping in various locations in the warmer weather to reduce bugs. The Hardkorr light bar has orange light available at the press of a button. All three options are fully dimmable, provide 180 degrees of illumination and have an IP68 rating for very high-water resistance. They are even claimed to work underwater.

In the field
There are several mounting options for these lights depending on your set-up. The simplest is to use the integral magnets to firmly stick to any steel surface, including steel camp poles. Or if you run an aluminium frame, there are pole clips available that make mounting and removal a breeze. Finally, there are flush mount clips available with a through-screw fitting so you can semi-permanently mount the Hardkorr light to other surfaces and materials.

Another feature of this system is the ability to ‘daisy-chain’ up to five 100cm light bars or 10 of the 50cm light bars off the one feed. This is done via an extension cable fitting at the far end of the light bar. All the lights in the chain work off a single dimmer/control switch, so they will all adjust at the same time, eliminating the need for additional controllers. The controllers appear to have a ‘memory’ in that whatever your last temperature and dimmer setting was, is there when you turn the lights back on. The lights are extremely easy to set up, either in a daisy-chain or individually. A single light bar will probably provide enough illumination for most applications. 

As expected, within minutes of turning the light on bright white, the moths arrived. But with the press of a button, the orange light quickly saw them disappear. The versatility of the dimmer function saw us running the lights on full when necessary, then turned down low to fully enjoy the beauty of nighttime in the bush. This still provided enough illumination so that no-one tripped over when moving around camp. The lights were left on all night on the low setting for the same reason. 

It’s hard to find fault with these lights. The flush mount clips are more or less a ‘one-and-done’ set-up as they aren’t easily removable once mounted, which means they should stay in place in a vehicle or campervan. The mounting system of the clips or magnets are best for make-camp/break-camp type scenarios.

The lights come in a range of sizes and in various combination packages to suit all camps. Hardkorr lights come with a comprehensive 5-year Australian warranty and a 30-day money back guarantee. A single 100cm tri-colour LED light bar kit with diffuser retails for $109. For more information and to see the full range of products visit hardkorr.com.au or email [email protected]