I’ll tell you something after hours of testing — outdoor flameless candles are better than the real thing. I wasn’t a believer at first, but my wife convinced me to bring a set home. I was simply blown away at how much I ended up liking them. So much so that I went overboard and bought a ton more. Most sets are less than ~$30 or so, so it has actually proven to be one of my less expensive obsessions. But with all of this experience in hand, I decided I’d sit down and make a list of the best outdoor flameless candles.
Why Flameless Candles?
I made a lot of bold statements above. Is it really possible that flameless candles can capture the romantic glow of actual candlelight? Don’t you lose some of the realism by going flameless? Before I dive into specific candles, let me qualify some of those statements. While some of the romance is lost, I ended up loving outdoor flameless candles because they shared the following characteristics.
Battery Operated
First things first. The outdoor flameless candles featured are battery operated. This means no dealing with lost lighters, wet matches, or irritating smoke. Most of the lights are LED as well, which means low power consumption (and by extension, reduced battery change frequency).
Waterproof
That’s right. Outdoor flameless candles can be waterproof. This is perfect for exposed outdoor spaces. No one wants an unplanned rainstorm to kill their light source! While there are water-resistant combustible candles, nothing quite comes close to the waterproof candles I tested.
Realistic Flickering
All of the outdoor flameless candles I’ve listed below feature realistic flickering. Some models achieve this better than others, but they all do a fairly good job at mimicking the real thing. I won’t tell you that it’s 100% accurate, but it’s good enough to fool my aunt! She was amazed to learn the candles I had “burning” weren’t actually real.
Remote Control
Many of these flameless candles are able to be remote controlled. This is a great thing, as most sets come with between 9 and 18 units per pack. It would be a huge pain in the rear if you had to manually turn 18 candles on and off! Not to mention, it looks really, really cool. You can press one button on a remote and have a dozen flickering lights fade-in. The effect is both futuristic and rustic at the same time.
On A Timer
Quite a few models also have a timer included, simplifying the turn-off process even further. If you know you’re going to be going to bed in an hour, you simply set a timer for an hour and a half. You can leave your candles unattended with no risk of fire and no worry that the batteries will go dead.
The Best Outdoor Flameless Candles
Without further ado, let’s get down to business. Here are my top picked for the best outdoor flameless candles.
Best Overall
Outdoor Flickering Resin Candles (set of 8)
The best overall candle set. Includes remote and timer. The flickering wasn’t as realistic as other products, but the price and other features more than made up for that. Additionally, the manufacturer seems very reputable. They replaced a broken light on shipment with no questions asked.
For the best overall flameless candle, I’m not sure you could ask for anything more. They’re moderately realistic, has a remote and a timer, and do everything you’d expect. However, I did end up having better experiences in specific areas with some of the other products I tested. Let’s evaluate the best value flameless candle I tested.
Best Value
Enido Flameless LED Candles (pack of 12)
This Enido model was the best value of all of the products I tested. You can get 12 candles for the price of 8, essentially (and there’s a coupon available now as of this writing). These didn’t “wow” me, but I couldn’t argue with the price point. If I needed as many flameless candles as I could get, the Enidos would be my choice.
Sometimes price isn’t a major concern in the purchasing decision. When products are as inexpensive as flameless candles, it can make sense to target realism / quality above other aspects. There was one product in particular that caught my eye for realism.
Most Realistic
Antizer Flameless Candles (set of 3)
This Antizer model is absolutely gorgeous. Unless you’re up very close, this looks just like the real thing. However, this realism comes at a cost. The Antizer candles aren’t waterproof and don’t have a remote or timer. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that’s a dealbreaker. One other thing to note: the candles are all different sizes. This has a great staging effect, as the uniformity of the other models was slightly creepy.
I’ll also note that these Antizer’s have the best battery life of any of the candles I reviewed. Two double AAs will provide 400+ hours of lighting.
Finally, there’s an honorable mention that I’d like to include here. While this didn’t particularly impress me in any of the criteria, it has a coolness factor far above the other products.
Best LED Lantern
zkee 11″ Vintage Decorative LED Lantern
These decorative lanterns are the bee’s knees! They’re brighter than combustible lanterns and their flame effect is a sight to behold. Hang these anywhere on your patio and you’re sure to attract some gazes!
Don’t Forget Batteries
Each of the candles above takes either a AA or AAA battery (except for the lanterns and the Antizer, which require 2 AAs each). You’ll want to stock up if you plan on having the same kind of outdoor flameless candle party that I did. Luckily, I stock up on all types of batteries whenever I see them on sale. However, if you don’t have a stockpile you need to pick up a few packs (regardless of the product you choose).
Luckily, LED lights are fairly energy efficient. You’ll get many, many hours of usage out of a single battery for all of the products I shared.
Reliability
You might be wondering about the reliability of the candles above. Well, to be honest, so am I. I haven’t had any go dead on me yet (except for one that arrived broken, but the manufacturer sent a new one for no charge). I’ll report back if any of the outdoor flameless candles I bought kick the bucket. To put it in perspective, I’ve used them all for over a dozen nights so far.