Here’s why these $9 flashlights are my favorite purchase of 2025

2025 is the year I bought both a Nintendo Switch 2 and a Samsung Galaxy XR headset, but my favorite tech purchase is neither. Surprisingly, it would be a night light. But it’s not just any night light.

A night light that is much more

I started the year by preparing my home for emergencies. I backed up our home with Anker SOLIX portable power stations and used portable solar panels for the first time during an outage. It was a game changer, and I wouldn’t downplay the value of these two investments, but it was a humble night light that surprised me the most.

The GE 4-in-1 Power Outage LED Night Light, as the name suggests, is more than just a night light. Inside each of them you will find two AA batteries. This allows the light to remain on in the event of a power outage. It’s this ability that has allowed this product to become not only an essential part of my emergency toolbox, but also an accessory throughout my home.

That’s not bad for a lamp that cost me less than $9 each. You can get a 2-pack on Amazon for just $17. Individually, they currently cost $9.50 each.

I placed one in every room of my house

With power stations like the Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus that I reviewed earlier this year, I have the ability to turn on all the lights in my house. Unlike built-in home battery backups like a Tesla Powerwall battery or Enphase IQ battery, this does not happen automatically. I have to go to the pantry, plug the power station into the wall, and flip a bunch of circuit breakers. In the meantime, we are still in the dark. At least we were.

I now have one of the GE night lights placed in my pantry, like almost every other room in my house. At less than $9 apiece, it costs less than $100 to provide ambient lighting throughout your home which, because of the way the light is projected upward from each outlet, looks quite decorative. In the event of a power outage, this light remains on. It gets a little dimmer as the light goes from wall power to AA batteries, but there’s no flickering or delay.

These are night lights, so don’t expect enough light for reading. They are not a substitute for an emergency lantern. But in the middle of the night, they provide enough lighting to allow me to walk around safely and find everything I need.

Now a flashlight is always nearby

Each night light also serves as a flashlight. Since they are battery operated, they do not need to be plugged into a power outlet to operate, which is especially useful in the event of a power outage. At any time I can rip one off the wall and walk around with it in my hand. There is a switch on the side that turns the light on and off. This also allows me to adjust between two brightness levels.

When I’m in the pantry plugging in the portable power stations, these flashlights allow me to see what I’m doing without the risk of dropping my phone. My foldable phone serves as my PC and I prefer to keep my phone bare, so I try not to use it for these kinds of tasks when I can.

These lights are not only useful in the event of a breakdown. If at any time I need a flashlight, for example to see behind a shelf, I no longer need to pull out my emergency supplies or put my phone at risk. I can just grab the nearest night light.

They are at their best with rechargeable batteries

These night lights come with two disposable AA batteries, but I’m gradually replacing them with rechargeable batteries.

With rechargeable batteries, it’s one less thing to worry about in an emergency. I don’t even need to make sure my batteries are charged in advance. My portable power stations can easily recharge AA batteries for night lights that go out. The amount of power they require would hardly hinder even my smallest units, like the Anker SOLIX C300. So far this hasn’t been a problem. In more than six months, most of these lights have still not been turned off.

I’ve shown several people our Anker SOLIX batteries, but most of them don’t live in a rural area where power outages cause not only loss of electricity, but also water. Their need is not so great to justify such a large expense. But these lights? It’s the kind of purchase you toss in your cart on the way to the checkout line or add to an Amazon order to get free shipping. I cannot recommend them enough.