Why it’s great: The Newhouse Lighting 48 ft. 11-Watt Outdoor Weatherproof String Light is a solid set of lights. It’s ruggedly built yet has a sophisticated look. It’s an ample 48 feet long, with 15 sockets spaced 3 feet apart, including 2 feet at the end of the cord with the input plug to help you reach faraway outlets. The other end has a foot of extra cord and an AC port, so you can string multiple sets of lights together. It also has a handy plastic cover attached to the “female receptacle,” to keep out water and dust when not in use. This set of lights comes with a five-year warranty, and it’s UL-listed for outdoor use. Its incandescent, Edison-style bulbs are rated for 75 lumens each, and they emit a warm, cozy cast. Newhouse makes an identical version with 200-lumen LED bulbs, which use less electricity and tend to last longer. But we slightly prefer the softer, sepia-tone glow of the incandescent bulbs. This string of lights comes disassembled (as with every model we tested, each bulb needs to be screwed in by hand), and it has three spare bulbs, in case some break or burn out. You can also buy replacement incandescent or LED bulbs separately. The bulb sockets each have a little hole at the top, so you can attach the lights to a house or other structure using wire, zip ties, or whatever material you so choose. Plus, each socket has an extra couple of inches of cord leading down to each bulb, so they dangle vertically, even if the main cord is hung at an angle.
