I never thought I'd be reviewing a rock.  But that's exactly what I'm doing. 

As rocks go, I have to say that this one is kind of cute.  It's different from ordinary rocks.  Because ordinary rocks don't absorb solar energy during the day, and light up at night.  And ordinary rocks don't display your house's address number up to 5 digits.  But that's exactly what this rock does.   

Yes, the Newport Solar Address Number Rock is designed to serve as a solar-powered, lighted address-marker

How does it work?  The entire center portion of the rock is a solar panel.  During the day, it absorbs the sun's light, powering the internal batteries.  At dusk, the panel lights up.

How do the numbers get there?  The kit comes with large, black numbers.  There are 5 of each number, so any number 00000 to 99999 will work.  The numbers are decent-sized - slightly taller than 2 inches and just under an inch across.  There are plastic points on the back of the numbers, and holes in the solar panel into which the points can be pressed.  So, simply take the digits that you need, and insert them into the solar panel.

I thought it would add a nice touch to our yard.  After all, it's a fairly attractive rock, with cute flower and butterfly decorations.  But, mostly, I was hoping it would brightly display our address numbers to help people identify our house at night.

Sadly, the rock doesn't work particularly well at night.  In fact, we have come to think of it as a cute yard ornament that people can see during the day.  But at night it's fairly useless.  Why?  Well, the lights are simply not bright enough, and they don't stay on long enough. 

The lights are such that even at their maximum brightness, they're really only visible from the street, if placed right at the end of our driveway.  When we tried to place the rock in our garden, or near the front door, it was entirely useless from the street.  Even right at the end of the driveway, you have to be pretty close to the house before you'll be able to read the numbers, and even then, after just a few hours, the lights have dimmed to the point of being practically non-existent.

One thing I will say, is that the system works best when you have few digits in your address.  Unfortunately, my address has five digits.  That means that five inches of the light is covered by black plastic numbers.  A single digit, or two digits works best.  After that, too much of the light is blocked.  But even with the smaller number of digits, the lights dim so quickly, that the system is mostly useless.

The rock, itself, is a decent size.  Approximately 14"H x 16"W x 8"D, with a nice granite-like finish, it's certainly an attractive addition to a yard, garden, or walkway.  Too bad, it just doesn't do its job as a night-time address-marker.

Take a pass on this product.  Or, if you do buy it, don't rely on it, as your only address-marker.

Recommended: No