Customer Reviews

ClearLite AB-CAM14SW-1N ArmorLite 14W/60W CFL Lightbulb, Soft White 1 Pack

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

At first, I was a little hesitant about spending a little extra for these bulbs but I'm glad I did. We seem to have more than our fair share of broken bulbs around our house and the peace of mind was worth it. Last week one of the kids tried to change a bulb in the kitchen and dropped the bulb when they went to put it in. Beyond providing assurance that there was no exposure to mercury, there was also no mess to clean up. It was great! I hate having to try to get up all of those little tiny fragments of glass. Instead I just picked it all up at once. I would like to see more varieties available but I'm sure that will come with time.

I must say that this is one great bulb! Whoever got the idea of putting this thick, yet clear plastic around the fluro-bulbs, deserves an award! First you have one of those "twisty" type fluro bulbs that uses very little electricity and lasts forever (not actually forever but a LONG time that seems forever). But as anyone whoever had one break, they make a real mess, and they have mercury inside (not good for you). But someone got the idea of putting this plastic around the bulb, making it all enclosed, so that if the bulb breaks, it all stays inside! No mess, or worry!

The plastic does not darken the bulb. Granted they may not be as bright as a regular 60 watt bulb, but it's not a major difference, and uses only 14 watts per hour! The bulb takes about a minute to get to full strength (bright), but I don't consider that a problem.

These bulbs are great for areas where children like to touch things. You don't have to worry about broken glass. It really is a thick (yet clear) plastic around the bulb.

I really like these bulbs!

. . . When small hands drop it. I have a bunch of kids and they are forever breaking things: furniture, lamps, the cat (just kidding)--but light bulbs are definitely on their hit list. And if you happen to miss a shard or two from a broken bulb it will almost certainly wind up in one of their feet. Its great, then, to have these bulbs with the protective coating so that when one breaks it doesn't shatter into a million pieces all over the floor. If only we could have plastic coating for the cat . . . .

Though I think the idea of CFLs is pretty stupid from an ecological standpoint (hello, mercury?), I was willing to try out this bulb. It mimics the old filament bulbs pretty well in fixtures which is a plus from my perspective. And I do appreciate the effort to lower the mercury content in this bulb. My only complaint is the same one I have with all florescent bulbs--it takes several minutes just to warm up.

Still, this is a decent step forward and a four-star bulb. If the price were a little more reasonable, I'd buy more.

Bulb works great as it fits perfectly into the socket it needs to.The quality of the light is similar to a "real" bulb and hasn't bothered us at all. I look forward to see how long the bulb will last and how fast it pays for itself in savings.

I have used these type of bulbs for months now and I have to say I really appreciate the savings. This bulb is different in that it has the usual type of twisted neon bulb enclosed in a frosted bulb. I have seen a marked reduction in my electric bill since I have changed to this type of light bulb. I strongly recommend this type to everyone.

Just what I was waiting for! I only use compact floursecents in overhead fixtures because of the mercury worry. There are several table lamps that I would like to use but I haven't because the risk that knocking down a lamp would release mercury and shards of glass. This bulb works as well as similar bulbs in terms of brightness, warmup time, and color. The protective plastic sleave gives some assurance of protection and the shape (hiding the spiral) gives it a more finished look and the ability to hold a lamp shade.

My experience with compact fluorescent lamps leaves me unable to trust them. They all promise thousands of hours of life, at a higher cost, but half the time the burn out sooner than regular incandescent lamps. I have invested perhaps $100 in these darned CFLs only to be disappointed one out of every two lamps.

I will not know until later whether or not this lamp lasts the 10,000 hours of that I am promised, but I'm not holding my breath. This is a very expensive light bulb, so hopefully it does last as long as they say. I have read that manufacturers (not necessary this one) have admitted that these CFLs only last the touted number of hours when they are left on for at least 15 minutes. Well forget putting one in the pantry when the light goes on as soon as somebody opens the door, then shuts it 10 seconds later, and you can think of a dozen more areas in your home that similar usage occurs. Those of us who have been around since the energy crisis in the '70s remember having to become very miserly with the lights and electricity.

Anyway, the rubbery coating that protects the coily CFL is great. I have purchased CFLs that have a regular light bulb type glass to cover the coil to make it look like a normal light bulb, but this is the first one that could actually prevent the insides from causing any harm if it were to be dropped. So kudos to the manufacturer for that. The outside safety coating helps make the light emitted from the CFL look cozier, really! And it beats looking at the coily CF lamp. I did not have any problems with the ballast of this lamp, it fit right in two different light fixtures I thought it might work in. It has the ballast (the brass colored metal part that screws into your light fixture) of an "A" type bulb, or lamp.

What I would really like is for an easier way to recycle the failed CFLs. I have a plastic market bag full of them in my garage. A lot of folks don't realize that we are not supposed to put these light bulbs in with the regular trash, as they contain mercury. Stores should offer consumers a way to return their failed CFLs so that they are not put into the regular landfill trash system.

While the packaging looked a bit 'cheap', the actual bulb looks to be very well made. At its core, it your basic compact fluorescent bulb, but the rubbery, thick coating, gives the light a warm glow, as opposed to a stark white light. My only knock is that it takes a few minutes to warm up for the light to build to its full potential, but overall I am very impressed with this little ArmorLite bulb.

ClearLite AB-CAM14SW-1N ArmorLite 14W/60W CFL Lightbulb, Soft White 1 Pack

This is a new more protective type of CFL light bulb. I put it into a small hallway, ceiling fixture. It replaced a 60w incandescent bulb. The light from it was more than acceptable, maybe just a little dimmer. It's a slightly difficult area to change the bulb so having a CFL bulb there with a lifetime rating that's probably longer than I'll live means I don't have to worry about changing it ever again. I also like that the protective coating means If I did have to change it and I dropped it, toxins won't be released all over the place. That is a concern of mine as I have 4' tube fluorescents in my kitchen and this technology would be appreciated on those. Maybe someday they will come. Very nice bulb, no issues during install or use. A little pricey but based on the expected life actually fairly cheap overall. I'll amend my review in the future if they fail early or something else goes wrong. Recommended.