Best Outdoor LED Rope Lights
We’ve rounded up some of the best outdoor LED rope lights for decorating and illuminating your outdoor spaces. Lighting your outdoor spaces doesn’t all have to be security or utility, it’s also a great way to add some character and ambiance to your outdoor escape!
Lighting is a great way to express your personal sense of style, and imbue it upon every area of your home. Creating a welcoming environment for entertaining guests, or simply relaxing on your deck or patio space are just a few uses for these lights.
First, we’ll dive into some of the things that set these apart from some of the other types of outdoor LED lighting you must be used to!
How to Find the Best Outdoor LED Rope Lights: A Guide
Looking at all of the sets of rope lights available, it’s easy to get a little confused. First things first, these lights are a great way to add some much needed accent colors to an outdoor area. They have the added benefit of providing some light as well, although it isn’t enough to rely on them solely for finding your way around.
So, where should we start? First, let’s try and address some of the things you might be asking yourself when considering installing outdoor LED rope lights on your own property.
Can you Keep LED Rope Lights Outside all Year Long?
Yes! Outdoor rope lighting is completely waterproof, provided they’re intended for outdoor use. The reason being is primarily because they’re entirely encased in a plastic tubing. This typically runs the entire length of the rope, thus making it completely watertight. If you’re worried about winter weather however, you should take a peak at the manufacturer’s specifications for cold weather tolerances and conditions. That being said though, frost, sleet and snow shouldn’t cause any damage to these lights for the same reasons that the rain won’t: They’re totally encased in tubing.
How do you Hang LED Rope Lights?
The most secure and simple method for hanging LED rope lights is simply by using plastic cable clips. These small clips are designed with a clip to support any one section of the rope light, while the upper part of the clip has a hole for nailing it in place. By following this method, you won’t have to worry about some wind or snow taking these lights down.
Another common method that you’ll see somewhat frequently is people wrapping them around deck banisters, or snaking them up porch columns. While this isn’t necessarily a ‘wrong’ way of doing it, just be aware that they aren’t very secure and are more likely to either fall down or simply sag and become more prone to damage and also just looking somewhat out of place.
Now that you’ve got a rough idea of the type of LED rope lights you’re looking for, let’s dive straight into our reviews of the best outdoor LED rope lights for you to hang over your patio, on your deck or even in your gazebo!
Novostella Smart Outdoor Rope Light
These are some of the most common style of rope lighting you’re going to find, indoors or outdoors for that matter. This 52.5ft spool of rope lighting features RGB LED lights, which can color change at the press of a button. If you’re looking for a seriously unique way of adding a touch of neon goodness to your outdoor setup, these can’t come highly enough recommended.
These lights are great for creating some truly unique ambiance, and they go up like nothing too. Seriously, these feature some pretty smooth installation thanks to the ‘tape’ style it comes in. These can attach directly to a surface, inside or outside. On top of that, they’re still completely waterproof. They’re energy efficient LED rope lights, too. Although they do operate on a standard outlet plug from an adapter. Also, be mindful that this style of lights is more suitable for square or ‘right’ angles, and doesn’t handle curves or rounded edges too well.
Pros:
- Waterproof
- Great for ambient lighting
- Tape style attaches directly (easy to hang)
Cons:
- Not the best for going around curved edges
- Although waterproof, tape may not stay stuck depending on weather exposure
Buyagn 100Ft LED Rope Lights, Cuttable & Connectable LED Strip Lights
These are a great example of the ‘other’ type of LED rope lights that you’re going to most commonly find for outdoor lighting use. They’re bright, come in a long plastic tube that makes installation a breeze. The benefit to using this style of light is that they’re really easy to install in the sense that you can simply wrap them around a plant, surface, structure or what have you.
Besides that, cable ties, or ‘zip ties’, hooks and clips are all suitable for keeping these in place all year long. Speaking of, they’re completely waterproof. What does that mean for all intents and purposes? They’re encased in a weather resistant tubing that doesn’t let any moisture in, keeping the lights safe for you to enjoy any time of the year. The color of these lights doesn’t change, but comes in a bright and relaxing cold white hue. They provide some degree of practical lighting, but mostly serve as really efficient Christmas lights, or ambiance lighting.
Pros:
- Weather resistant for all-season use
- Easy to attach to a variety of structures including trees and poles
- Reel style holder makes it’s extremely convenient to install or store
Cons:
- No color changing options
- Comes with clips, but they’re not the best option for installation
Homestarry Outdoor String Lights, 80 ft
Homestarry comes up to the plate with a seriously bright, and enchanting strand of lights that might just fit the bill for your intended setup. These lights create a dazzling display of colors, with 240 LEDs that change colors at the press of a button, bringing you a marvellous LED light show that’s sure to add to any outdoor party or event on your deck.
There’s 16 single colors, and eight lighting modes for a dazzling multicolor light display that will truly bring a totally unique sense of ambiance to your gathering. They’re great for Christmas decorations, outdoor mood lighting or just setting the atmosphere exactly the way you’d like. These lights are 80 ft long, but do come with an outlet plug end for power. That means that you’ll have to make sure there’s an outdoor power source, or outdoor-safe extension cord at the ready!
Pros:
- 16 different LED color modes plus multicolor lighting options
- Great for multi-purpose including Christmas lights or backyard mood lighting
- Long 80 foot string
Cons:
- Needs an outdoor power source
- No white light option
YEGUO Solar Rope Lights Outdoor Waterproof LED, 2 Pack Each 33ft
This next set of lights brings us to the solar powered offerings in the world of LED rope lights. And generally speaking, these provide an excellent choice for outdoor use where you don’t have access to power, but still want to impress your friends and family with your lighting design savvy. These lights are available in several different colors, such as a crisp cool white, a blue, multicolored, pink and gold designs.
This makes them a fantastic choice for Christmas or holiday lighting on a budget, as well as those who don’t have immediate access to an outdoor power outlet. Besides the convenience of being completely solar powered, we love how efficient these are, since they don’t cause a drain on your utility bills. They’re powered by two solar panels that can simply stake into the ground. These are waterproof, and feature a slanted design that’s sure to keep the snow and sleet off of them. These come in a two pack of 33ft each, with their own respective solar panel stake.
Pros:
- Waterproof lights designed to keep snow from building up
- Solar powered for a budget saving option
- No outdoor power required
- Lots of nice color options
Cons:
- Solar power is convenient, but may not provide the all-night light effect you may be looking for
- Solar panels will need to be staked in the ground nearby, which can be tricky if you’re setting up in an area without soft ground
Honche Solar Rope Light 33ft Solar Powered Strand
Again, the tubular design of this set of rope lights makes them particularly adequate for outdoor use. This time though, you can find this same design in a solar powered strand! It isn’t too long at just 33ft, but that might be exactly what you need.
What do I mean by that? If you’re working on an outdoor project where you want a large version of fairy lights that you can tuck into glass to create a dazzling effect, these are right up your alley! LEDs don’t put off an immense amount of heat, making them ideal for bundling together to create a truly inspired display. The LED solar panel, as well as the strand of LED tube lights are totally waterproofed for outdoor use.
Pros:
- Pretty fairy light design is perfect for intimate spaces
- Don’t emit a lot of heat
- Tube design makes it easy to wrap around a variety of structures
Cons:
- Shorter strands, which can be good if you don’t have a large area but otherwise you’ll need a few to light a larger area
VICSOU LED Rope Lights Solar Powered 40 ft Strand 2 Pack
These lights are definitely a spectacular sight to behold. They’re another instance of a color changing set of lights that you can use for your outdoor LED setup. Both of the 2 included sets of lights are completely waterproof, even down to the connected solar panels themselves.
Great for camping, holiday lights or just adding a touch of enchantment to your outdoor patio or deck setup, these lights are sure to grab some attention. There’s a manual power and mode switch on the back of the panels which is really the only huge drawback. In other words, you’ll have to trudge over to them to either turn them on or off, or change the color setting. That being said, if the manual controls aren’t a huge concern for you, you can be thrilled about the value you get out of this 2 pack set.
Pros:
- Great for a variety of uses including parties and everyday
- Color changing options
- Long reels of lights make it easy to set up
Cons:
- Manual turn on switch on the panels which means no auto lights when it gets dark
Best Outdoor LED Rope Lights – Conclusion
These outdoor LED rope lights are all great options depending on your needs. Some are best for holiday light displays, others make excellent mood lighting for outdoor events, and they’re almost all great options for everyday backyard lighting.
Hopefully you find the option that works best for you in your own back yard!
Thanks for checking out our reviews of the best outdoor LED rope lights! These are a dazzling and entertaining way to bring a sense of ambiance, and maybe even a little bit of practical lighting to your outdoor setups! Let us know in the comments down below if you’ve ever set up outdoor LED lights and how it went.
