Monster Basics LED Touch Lights: Basically Lit

POSITIVES

✓ Pack of three

Comes out to be five dollars per light

✓ Strong magnetic attachment

Won't fall off easily

✓ Easy to set up

Put batteries in and switch on

NEGATIVES

✘ They're small and require many to fill space

Needs more than one pack to look good

✘ Not very bright

Lacks vibrancy and variety in color

✘ Needs to be pulled off the wall to replace AAA batteries

This extra step can be annoying

Retail Price: $14.99

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I was browsing around Walmart and came across a Nanoleaf inspired product that caught my eye. Let’s be honest, all these shaped LED lights are a byproduct of the popularity created by Nanoleaf. Unlike the Walmart branded Onn tech products, these LED touch lights are from a company called Monster. As part of their Monster Basics line, I instantly connected the dots and classified it in my head as a super budget decorating piece. Sold in packs of three for $14.99, these essentially cost $5 for per light. Compared to the premium segment of these types of products from Lifx or Nanoleaf, seems like a worthwhile attempt at a purchase. At worst I’m out $15 and left with some oddly shaped paperweight.

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Out of the Box

The first thing I noticed when pulling these things out of the box is the thickness. Maybe I’m just used to the extreme thinness of the Nanoleaf mini shapes, but these immediately reminded me of the Yescom desk light hexagons I purchased years ago, more so than the wall mounted lights I’m used to. These lights require three AAA batteries to operate, hence the reason for the thicker body shape. I’d estimate the batteries will last a handful of months before needing to be replaced. It’ll probably be a smart move to use rechargeable AAA batteries. Unlike a Nanoleaf light, a receiver connector does not need to be connected to the shapes.

While it is a bit of a hassle to have to use batteries instead of a power source, a huge benefit to this is that the setup appears much cleaner without cables. It’s also a relatively simple process to put the shapes back into place as the hexagon layout location is already imprinted on the magnetic plate that’s attached to the wall. Monster provides a small round 3M tape to mount the hexagon plate to a surface. I have to give them extra points for actually giving us a branded tape. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to pay so much for say a Nanoleaf, only to be provided with the worst non-branded sticking adhesive out there. I cringe when I walk into a room to see my lights no longer on the wall where they were supposed to be.

I do have to say that these were also very simple to set up. I’ve had headaches dealing with other LED light products in the past, so having something so simple was refreshing. The magnetic base is relatively strong and sturdy. I’m quite surprised at how effective something like this can be.

I See the Light

In terms of brightness, the Monster Basics don’t push too brightly. If your lights are off in total darkness, they’re passable as a set piece though. I’ve seen plenty of brighter mini-lights this size albeit at a higher price point with a power source. The IR remote included is also quite generic in the RGB space. If you’ve ever purchased any sort of RGB light strip, you’ve probably handled a similar controller. One controller can hit all three or more units with manual accuracy required. Aiming in the general direction usually does operate the command desired, but that isn’t always the case. Although the remote seems to imply there are quite a few spectrums of color shading to select from, from my experience only a handful of them actually operate. The generic colors are the ones we are accustomed to like red, green, blue, and orange. Those colors work consistently while yellow and purple actually are slightly different shades of orange and blue respectively.  

Final Thoughts

What it comes down to is money. Obviously this in no way or shape (pun intended), can replace or compete with a Nanoleaf or Lifx product. While affordable in price at $15, it also doesn’t occupy much wall space when said and done. I’d estimate needing 18 or so of these (or 6 packs which makes it $90) to really make a cool design that would be eye catching for a spot worthy on the wall. By comparison, a 7 piece starter kit from Nanoleaf (about $199), while low in piece count, can fill space on its own without expansion kits. So while these aren’t on the same tier as the big boys, I actually still think they’re quite nifty for the price if you have a specific use case for them.

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