Our Recommendation
Our Ratings
Pros
– Sturdy Construction
– Brilliant white light color
– 10,000 Lux at a good distance
– Carry handle
– Lifetime warranty
Cons
– Spotty customer service
– Pricey
– No timer
- 10,000 LUX at 24 inches. Trusted since 1993.
- UV free. Includes a 25,000 hertz electronic ballast with no irritating flicker or electromagnetic field.
- Comfortable low glare prismatic light diffuser to protect your eyes. Can be used horizontally or vertically.
- Large enough for multi person use with 281 sq inches of surface area.
- Features 2 broad spectrum Biax bulbs and high mirror finish reflectors to give you the best distance for light therapy.
Analysis and review
Manufacturer
The company, Alaskan Northern lights, was founded in 1993 and are a specialist in bright light therapy boxes to treat SAD, sleep disorders and bi-polar. The company is based out of Reno, Nevada and has long customer service opening hours. They offer a 60 day trial of their lamps with a full money back guarantee and claim less than 2% of people return their lights during this period,
Look and Design
The North Star 10,000 certainly doesn’t try and be flashy. It is a simple design that functions well. It is housed in a metal with a prismatic diffuser on the font. While not all that aesthetically pleasing there is something about the simple design that inspires confidence. It comes with a carry handle along one side, the same side that the on-off switch is located along with an air vent.
Inside are 2 x 55w compact fluorescent bulbs and a metal reflector to help push the light out. There are rubber feet in the corners along both the long edge and one of the narrower edges to allow standing horizontally or vertically.
The unit feels well built and the size helps it feel sturdy whichever way you position it.
It is definitely one of the larger lights we have seen and weighs in at 10 pounds so is not considered portable.
Setup and Ease of use
The bulbs do not come pre-installed which is something you have to do yourself. There are simple instructions included in how to do this. The clips that hold the bulbs were slightly fiddly and I wasn’t sure how much pressure to apply to lock them into place.
Performance
This light is class leading when it comes to the distance you can be from it to get the full 10,000 Lux. At 24 inches away there is only a couple of others light that comes close and this is narrower than its competitors allowing you the option to set it up in numerous place.
The light that is produced is a broad spectrum as opposed to many manufactures broad spectrum bulbs. The light produced from the two 55 watt compact fluorescent bulbs is quite astonishing and it just pours out of the box.
There was no noise from the ballast and the light was flicker free. The on-off switch was easy to use and felt solid.
It uses 140 watts which isn’t too bad considering the brightness of these bulbs.
Features
This does not have any fancy features to note. We will comment on the fact that you can buy a stand and carry bag for this as an optional extra. This costs $80 more which doesn’t seem like good value but it must be noted that you may need it to raise the lamp higher should you not have a suitable place to put it.
It is rated as 120v AC.
Price
This light sells for a rather high $334.00 including shipping. To us, this seems expensive but the company does include a lifetime warranty with the product and it is a comparable price to other units of this strength.
