Review Hikari SQ: Kitchen Integration Luxury Combi-Camp Valley Folding Trailer

It’s a public secret that I am a great fan of Lightly Technologies in business life. Their ultra-flat yet smooth and powerful LED light panels offer great versatility for a variety of lighting applications and are an excellent replacement for non-performing, short-living OLED panels. After gathering the first experiences in project applications since 2018, I am happy to share the Hikari SQ capabilities from my own experience: our 2019 Holidays Camping Adventure!

Combi-Camp Valley – A Folding Trailer

With the Combi-Camp Valley, our newly bought ‘outdoor home’ there is no need to choose between outdoor experiences and comfort anymore. With a Combi-Camp trailer tent, you have all the pros without the cons of luxury camping. It is brilliant to be able to pitch camp in a minute – and lie 60 centimeters above the ground in a tent. This tent on wheels is, in all its simplicity, sleeping under a cloth on a kingsize bed made us realize we have never celebrated true holidays before.

Going out for a holiday break is about spontaneity, freedom, and simplicity. When the basic things function, the map is bought and the kids are happy – the rest follows naturally.  The holiday must begin when you pull out of the driveway.

Problem Scenario

Despite all the great comfort offered by the Combi-camp concept and the careful (and joyful!) preparations we did before going out, we realized we missed one thing: proper lighting in the front awning. Although we prefer having it dark during the nighttime, the kids may require a different set-up, and for cooking some proper countertop lighting is most welcome.

Most lighting solutions that are available on the market, however, include common LED strip solutions. Poor light quality, especially in color temperature, and lots of heat development are common for strip lighting. On average, the diffusers used to cover the binding PowerLEDs – if used at all! – are not meeting the standards for high-quality lighting. Now, with such a nice new camping concept available, the challenge was to find a proper lighting solution that would align with the look-and-feel of the Combi-camp tent. Light in weight, minimal in glare but a powerful light output were some basic requirements we had for an optimal lighting solution.

The Solution: Hikari SQ

Our search took us to a concept we got introduced to not so long ago. Business-wise, I stumbled upon the Hikari SQ concept from Lightly Technologies back in 2018. When initially spotting it online, my impression was that it was ‘just another OLED version’. But after realizing that the technology was based on traditional LED sources and inspired by advanced cell-phone technology, I decided to purchase a developer kit. Since then I have been investigating how to incorporate the Hikari SQ into our creative lighting projects, both for my design company Luminous Concepts and our additive optics fabrication firm Luximprint.

Hikari SQ installed in the Combi-Camp Valley Kitchen Cabinet as functional task lights.

To date, I am impressed by the thinness of the panel, the ease of installation and the high level of quality light output (CRI93, 88lm/W). The quality of the optics ensures that the panel is evenly lit across the surface, allowing a great uniformity.

Apparently, the greatest interest in the modules so far has come from common sectors in lighting, such as retail and hospitality. On the search for new applications, I decided to not only use it during my business projects but find also an application for all-day use. And here’s the perfect match! The wonderful, ultra-flat and easy-to-install light modules perfectly fit underneath the shelf of the kitchen cabinet in the folding-tent.

The Realization

A total of four 4,000K Hikari SQ modules were installed beneath the shelf in the Combi-Camp kitchen to equally lit the work area. The total power consumption is no more than 15W and the weight of only 35 gr (!) per panel makes sure we add limited additional weight to the construction.

A total of four Hikari SQ LED panels (4,000K) was installed at the bottom side of the kitchen shelf.

Due to the limited time available, I chose to use a thin adhesion film (tape) to surface mount the individual sources. A constant current driver from Meanwell, some Wago connectors and a power-cord with manual switch completed the initial package. During a next upgrade, I will either integrate the panels (countersunk) in a light-weight sandwich panel or use some special frames for mounting. Without changing the concept, they should take the overall installation to the next level of design.

Review Hikari SQ – A Happy Ending!

During our recent summer break in France, the set-up served us greatly. When using them during travels, we had them connected to a power dock (USB), when arriving at the campsite, we could switch to the mains by using the available power connections.

During the nightly hours, the (dimmable)  light sources provided us with just enough light output to maintain a cozy yet safe atmosphere, and cooking, hair-styling, and toothbrushing all were ‘easy-peasy’.

Lightly’s Hikari SQ is greatly recommended to any camping enthusiast in need for good lighting!

I am sure that one day, the official Combi-Camp factory will find out, as our camping friends greatly liked the concept and are spreading the word all around! We just can greatly recommend the installation of Hikari’s to any outdoor enthusiast in need of good lighting!