We told the skeptical Yellowstone National Park ranger that we weren't camping....we were hiking at night.

Unfortunately, we'd overestimated our speed and the round-trip and beyond distance into Heart Lake, and ended up walking back to the highway under the stars through 6 inches of Halloween snow. Since it was supposed to be a "quick" hike, we also didn't have a working flashlight between the three of us, which added to the drama as animals moved around us through the woods.

So, at 2:30 a.m. we were trying to explain that we were just out for a walk in the dark, but he was suspicious, until one of my companions teased, "So the snow soaks up the light during the day, and lets it out slowly at night."

He cracked a smile and shook his head as we left.

But, what if we'd have had the new Solo solar light? Well, we'd have been able to see all the way back, instead of cursing two sets of dead batteries. The Solo set is small and light (it weighs under a pound and a half), and gives 24 hours of light when fully charged.

Sun King calls their light, "Not your average solar powered light," and I'd agree. There's the orange polycarbonate light, with three brightness settings of its two LED bulbs: four hours of 50 lumen, bright light in Turbo mode, eight hours at 21 lumens, and a full day at eight lumens.

The solar panel is encased in a lightweight aluminum frame and puts out 700 mW through a 16-foot cable, into a 3.3 volt battery inside the light itself, which is just 4-by-5 inches. The light has an elastic hand strap on the back, plus there's a metal stand for the light.

I'd have liked to see a way to connect the panel to the stand as well, to keep it oriented to the sun, but that's not a deal-killer. And, this isn't just for the outdoors, but imagine remote villages being lighted with these. Magical thought.

I had a chance to use the Solo a few weeks ago when I was camped above a high desert rim on a moonless night. The low-mode was plenty bright, and the light outlasted both my book and sleepy eyes.  In fact it was still going the next morning, and instead of raising my Scot's ire about waste, I just put the 4-by-7 inch panel back into the morning light to top of the charge once again. I think I just might pack this into the mountains with me this summer - it's that small and lightweight. It comes with a 2-year warranty, and usually retails for around $20.