Wonder why we customize even the smallest details of our solar lanterns? There’s a design story behind even the smallest piece of plastic in our lanterns: inside the valve.
In traditional bite valves that you might see in other inflatables, there is a rigid layer of plastic inside the valve, blocking air flow even when the valve cap is open. The valve must be squeezed or bitten in order to open air flow and inflate/deflate the device. This can take a significant amount of force, especially when you are in a hurry and want to stow away the lantern quickly.
For our custom valve, we include a small "pie-shaped" cut to the inner layer, leaving a small portion of air flow open. This makes it easier for children, the elderly, and people with limited mobility to inflate the lanterns even if they cannot squeeze or bite the valve, and it makes it much faster to open and close the lantern by simply twisting the body. Check out how it works in this video:
Our Newest Inflation Design: The PackLite Titan
Our new PackLite Titan features a twist-to-inflate design that makes it quick to inflate with your hands, and easy to share with others, because you don’t need to blow it up with your mouth. With it’s ultra-bright LED’s, the Titan can light a campsite in Utah, an emergency medical tent in Peru, or a classroom in Uganda, making it a valuable community resource. With this in mind, we wanted to make it easy to use and keep clean while sharing amongst a group. With the new twist-to-inflate design, it opens and closes by hand, and it’s simple enough that anyone can do it.
We calibrated the tension in the body of the Titan to easily spring open after a little twist is applied, but stay closed when you’ve packed it flat for storage.
Curious to learn more about how our design has evolved over the years?
Read more in this article: Understanding the PackLite Titan.
