Luminoodle provides type of camp lantern

 A 5-foot strand of USB-powered lights is touted as a “next-generation camp lantern.”

Made by Utah-based Power Practical – and cheekily called the Luminoodle – these silicone-encased LEDs glow bright enough to light up a tent, or a picnic table for camp cooking after dark.

Like many new gear inventions, the product is seeking funding on Kickstarter. It costs $19 for the light strand, or $39 with a battery pack included. It looks simple – and it is. The Luminoodle is a flexible and waterproof string of 26 LED lights, each with a quoted seven lumens of brightness.

You can hang, hook, or wrap them around objects. Drop the lights in a bag and you have a glowing pouch that serves as an orb-lantern. I tested it out this week. The lights gave off a surprisingly bright glow, and they were more than adequate to illuminate a portion of a campsite.

The Luminoodle can, indeed, stand in as an alternative to a traditional lantern. But because it is flexible and lightweight, it is easier to hang inside a tent or get into hard-to-reach places in vehicles, trailers, or darkened car trunks.

The light requires a USB battery pack or USB port on a device to turn on; there is no battery inside the light strand. From the company’s battery pack, which costs $20, you can run the lights for about six hours.

Take a look at the Luminoodle ( powerpractical.com) if you’re interested in a new kind of lighting solution for the campsite and beyond.

On the Web: gearjunkie.com.