Side by Side Comparison of: Mr Beams vs Malibu

Update: We gor this the first part of June and it is HEAVILY used. We don't even bother to turn the light on in the toilet room during the day and just use this light. Here we are at almost September and we haven't had to replace the batteries and the light hasn't dimmed at all. Beyond happy with this light!

We have a brand new house and in the master bath we have a separate toilet room that has no windows and no outlets. If either of us had to get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night or even first thing in the morning, you had to turn on the light in there and it was blinding and you ended up waking up a lot because it was so bright. We wanted something that gave just enough gentle light to see in there, but would not hurt your eyes or make it hard to go back to sleep afterwards because it was so bright. This light is PERFECT! We have had it almost 2 months now and have not had to change the batteries despite it being on and off ALL day almost every day. Even though we bought it for just at night, we have ended up just using it for the main light in that room because it's such a pleasant low light and the overhead is so so bright. If you do want the regular light on this will not come on and I love that, too. So it only comes on when it senses it is dark and there is motion so as to not use too much battery. Awesome find and would totally buy again!

We have a short set of steps from the house into the attached garage that have always been dark and a little hard to see clearly in certain situations. These lights have been a perfect solution. They activate quite well and at a good distance, and put out a really nice amount of light. They also seem well made. I mounted one with the adhesive strip, and one with the screws (both included) and they are equally secure. They couldn't be easier to install and use right away. My whole family appreciates them.

These are great little lights! However if you're using them for pets on stairs please consider the following (problem + solution for my English Bulldog):

If you set your lights up on stairs and your pet is at the lower level walking UP stairs, these lights will likely create more of a challenge rather than a solution. The brightness & intensity of the LED, combined with the downward direction, will essentially BLIND your pet since their eye-level is 'super-mega-low' to the ground. Whereas humans shouldn't encounter this problem unless you're crawling up the stairs...which I, personally try to avoid.

I've come up with what I feel is an adequate solution which caters to humans, and our lovable creatures. Get some tape and a sharpie or whatever you have on-hand. I played around with different materials and colors until I found a good light filter or translucency I liked best, including: yellow and orange ribbon, clear scotch tape colored with highlighters, sharpies, markers etc...I tried brown box/shipping tape, which was a bit too deep of an amber for my preference, white(out) tape colored with a light-orange sharpie and that was the winner!! Just stick that sucker over the LED and possibly an extra piece of clear tape for security, and TA DAA!! I realize it's difficult to photograph bright LED's but I've tried in the same lighting in hopes to at least provide a comparison of the difference.

Aside from my little LED dimming experiment for our needs, these really are great lights. 5 stars because they don't claim to be, "PET STAIR LIGHTS." The functionality, consistency, and mounting options are great. I haven't actually tried the adhesive strips but I saw a couple review-pics where it looked to have damaged their walls. I'm in a rental so I'll likely use command tape just to play it safe.

The photos are from my cell phone, so the light is a little brighter than shown in my photos of the stares with only one light on.

Use these on the stairs for our condo. Our stairs has 2 flights, which we place one light on the top of each flight (lower rail). We placed the 3rd light on the wall so this light comes on before you get to the top of the stairs.

They use a single LED light that is plenty bright enough that we can see the stairs with just these motion light, especially in the middle of the night.

The batteries last about 6 month with us using these as our primary lights going up the stairs until we get to our bedroom

NOTE: These light will turn on in 2 situations where there is no one there..

** During the winter and summer they will sometimes come on when the heater or AC first kicks in during the middle of the night.
The difference in room temperature and the temperature from the first blast of heat or cold air is sometimes enough to trigger the sensor.
This scared the cr@p out of my wife (and me as she woke me in a panic) the first time this happened thinking there was someone down stars, since we can see stairs from our bedroom door as the lights turn on and off..

** When the batteries are low the light will turn on as normal then turn off and turn back on a second later, repeating until you replace the battery. My wife once again woke me in a panic because the heat or air was not on.

I hope my review help.

I've a soft spot for lights... torchlights, motion lights, spotlights, nightlights, etc. I've at least 2 dozen night lights; motion-activated, darkness-activated, battery-operated and electric. So my review is with reference to my collection and usage experience.

Good - This Mr Beams MB 723 is by far the best for lighting up pathways. Design is simple and robust, easily removed for portability, no reflective cover, no direct eye-contact with LED, wide-angle detection range(about 160 degrees), and has an active sensor (meaning it won't leave you in darkness until you're out of range and will only shut off 30 seconds thereafter). Although rated for 1.5V, Eneloop rechargeable batteries (1.2V) works just fine.

Caution - other reviewers had bad experience with the included double-sided adhesive; it is definitely of cheap quality and will almost certainly damage your wall when removed. This nightlight requiring 4xAA batteries needs stronger adhesive. I guessed that is why mounting screws are included. If you hate making holes in wall like myself, strongly suggest using 3M damage-free adhesive which I've been happily using and removing without pain.

Note: This is not meant for above eye-level placement because its LED will blind you!

Conclusion - For its purpose, this nightlight is a great design. Not meant to compare with overhead or directional models. Hence, I've rated this 5 stars. I'm usually skeptical about purchasing lights online especially when lumens ratings are not given. I took the risk even though some reviewers complained about it being not bright enough. Comparing this with my dozens of nightlight, it is brighter than all of them (both battery and electrical operated). All 3 works out-of-the-box as advertised and having read pro-active comments from the manufacturer for those 1-star reviews, I was not worried about DOA anyway. Glad I bought this and hope this review helps!

Update as of Oct 20, 2015 - It's coming 4 years and mine are still working great. No degradation on sensitivity of motion sensor or light brightness.

After many years of sun, rain and snow several of these were no MIA. These are exact replacement items and I expect they will out-last me.Installation hint: Do not attempt to replace/install these with the help of a 3-year-old.

Perfect replacement for an aluminum finish one that got damaged. I had to spray it silver before installing it. I wish you had it in that aluminum finish. Would have saved me time and the expense of buying a can of spray paint. At the end of the day, I'm a happy camper. thanks!

Good price, simple product. Will put my T-10 LED lamp in it rather than the supplied T-10 7 watt incandescent. Pigtail lead and pierce connector long enough for most uses. Nice fixture. About 31/2 inch dia by about 2 inches deep. I think it is aluminum so rust out is no problem.

Good price good quality. I use them for lighting around my outdoor kitchen.

These surface lights arrived timely for an addition to those on my fishing dock. They have a nice improvement over the older models of the same product, a slightly longer cord! These install easily. The attachment to the main wire is not as nicely done as the Paradise brand, but I was matching existing lights. Overall, I am very satisfied with this purchase. I did replace all of the bulbs with LED bulbs rather than the 11 watt standard bulbs that shipped with the product.

I installed six of these on my deck more than a year ago. They installed easily and still look good. All six of them are still working perfectly, no bulb replacements or any other maintenance required.Overall, I haven't had to think about them since they were installed. That's exactly what you want in this sort of product.

Reviewing the Mr. Beams MB723 Battery-Powered Motion-Sensing LED Stick-Anywhere Nightlight, 3-Pack. I bought the 3 pack in July 2015. The 2nd of 3 just quit working so after less than 2 years I only have 1 left. When they work they do a good job, but I would hope they would have lasted longer. Now, I will have to look for a solution to my needs - once again.

Revision: Moved to 4 stars because of the warranty on these lights. Since they were a bit less than 2 years old, I got free replacements - what can beat that? Glad to have them back as they discharge just the right amount of light I need for a stair step and for my front door area which is pretty dark. Take the time to register your product after you make the purchase.

I bought one of these directly from Amazon about 3 months ago and it's been mounted outside on a railing ever since. The motion detection works great and always triggers when a person walks up, unless it's daytime. The light is bright and covers a wide area, both downward and outward. I like it even more than the discontinued Sylvania light I used to use.

We trigger the light at least a dozen times a day, and the batteries haven't been changed yet. It's been rained on and snowed on, and still works when the temperature is 0°F.

Recently I saw the light on sale for a great price from a third-party seller fulfilled by Amazon, so I ordered a spare. The new light looks the same from the front, but the battery door is completely different. It has no gasket to seal out water, and doesn't use screws to hold the door closed. It's also missing the Mr. Beams logo and model number, which makes me think it's a generic knockoff.

I returned the cheapened version, and I hope it wasn't actually made by Mr. Beams.

Photos below are of the generic knockoff.

These lights are excellent: They're reliable, bright, perfect for lighting up dark corners, etc. I purchased my first set several years ago, and have since bought several more sets.Why only 4 stars? Because the battery replacement door is terrible!!! You have to loosen two flat-head screws (who uses flat-head screws anymore?) to remove the battery compartment cover in order to replace the batteries. Are you listening, Mr. Beams? Why not design these with an easy-to-use push tab?Here are some tips for using these:1. I recommend trying them out in various locations before permanently mounting them; it will give you the chance to tweak the placement before committing to it.2. I highly, highly recommend using rechargeable batteries with these: They can be battery hogs, and using rechargeables is easy. My favorite AA rechargeable batteries are eneloops: Panasonic K-KJ17MCA4BA Advanced Individual Cell Battery Charger Pack with 4AA eneloop 2100 Cycle Rechargeable Batteries (4 pack)3. Be sure to orient the light properly so that the LED isn't shining into your eyes! The clip on the back lets you hang the light so that the LED points down, but you can also just place it on a horizontal surface so that the LED shines off to the side.4. If you're mounting it somewhere that you can't use screws but the adhesive strip isn't strong enough, try Velcro.Hope this helps!

My dog is going a little blind...and when I say a little I really mean a lot. We were having issues with her not being able to find her way out of the bedroom down the hall and to the dog door to go outside to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I'm so happy I found these since they are working out great.

A few notes, I didn't like the sticky tape included in the packaging because it doesn't release so once you apply it you better want the light in that location forever. I did however also buy http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014CQGW4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 medium mounting strips that I've used for hanging seasonal items before and they work great.

It did take a little time to figure out the best location for the lights as the motion sensor is sensitive and the light will come on with and movement. I couldn't put one in my bedroom as just the comforter moving on the bed set it off. Another reason to have the mounting strips since it might take a little time to figure out the best location.

I like that the light comes on for about 15 seconds and then turns off. This works perfect even for me as I stubble down the hall to the bathroom and now I don't have to worry about waking anyone else turning lights on and off.

My only complaint is I wish I could adjust the motion sensor or that there was an on off switch.

I installed these in a garage on stairs leading to our main family entry door. They work as advertised, and have a warm, bright, pleasing light. I find the mounting tabs to be a little flimsy, but they are OK. If they fail, they can be mounted (hung)by keyholes directly onto screws. I wouldn't hesitate to install indoors. Outdoors could be an issue. On mine, the battery door gasket/o-ring popped out on all three almost as soon as I had the battery door off - (see customer photos). The gaskets are heavily coated with a clear oil or "silicone"; they should probably have been left dry because the oil chosen is swelling and elongating the gasket. The gasket cannot fit as intended. I may try leaving the gasket out to see if it will dry out (and so return to it's original size). Otherwise, it could be carefully cut with a gap toward the bottom and would probably maintain a sufficient seal in a moist location.

Nice but I got tired of replacing bulbs and went solar LED

Smaller than expected, but put out a reasonable amount of light. Seriously, these are tiny, but I guess they are accent lights and not meant to be a focal-point fixture. I cored thru a wall to power the light from behind, but for those that can't do that, there are small cutouts on either side for the cord to route thru on a surface mount. In my case the cutouts were not used and thus merely provided an opportunity for water to enter. I wonder what that will do to the lifespan of the light?

Replacing 20 16 year old lights with newer Malibu 8301-9400-01 7 watt lights. Chose this light because of color and looks. Seem to be well built, but time will tell if I still feel that way. Easy to install. Just wish the cable included was longer than 4 feet. I didn't use the connectors that came with them as that style of connector has a tendency to corrode over time.Lights look nice but like I said earlier, time will tell how happy we really are with them.

I used these lights around my deck railing- they look great and create a nice ambiance. To match other lighting fixtures around my patio, I spray painted these lights to match. The lights themselves are very simple and made satisfactorily. No issues or complaints.

Lights serve my intended purpose. Couple things- buy the 12 pack bulbs when you buy the lights. I got 6 lights and one came with a shattered bulb. Easy fix as it's not worth returning/ reordering because of a busted bulb. Second, the quick connectors are a bit cheesy. They are a bit difficult to connect to 16 ga landscape wire as the prongs don't penetrate the insulation without a bit extra work. They need to be worked in and you may need to tale them closed to avoid the connector from springing back away from contact with the bare wire. Working through these issues and the lights work ok.

Just the right amount of directional lighting along my driveway. I did have to upgrade my low-voltage transformer because I exceeded the number of lights recommended and learned (the hard way) that not all low voltage transformers are equal. I put the wire in conduit to keep the squirrels at bay, and the dogs from digging it up. That takes a little more work, and needed a T connector to raise from the ground and mount along the fence but that little extra cost, with the reasonable price of these lights turned into a first class project.

These LED lights work well and can be attached to walls with medium effort. However, they produce bright light, have good motion censors, stay bright after being activated for a few minutes and have no controls that reduce amount of time, amount of power and sensitivity. All these factors result in a situation that despite using LED these units drain four AA batteries pretty quickly if placed in the areas of the house that are visited at least one or twice a day. Basically, I have to change batteries every month or so using two units for my staircase to the basement. So I have to replace eight AA batteries often. Plus this replacement is not a very quick process, as I have to unscrew the back cover on every unit.

I bought a package of three to illuminate the bathroom for those late night visits. OK, they do come on pretty easily. But WHOA they are bright. It's a little blinding, even. I put these very near the floor but even so, the light is so bright neither of us liked it. We ended up putting them in a closet to illuminate upon opening the door, which works fine. But that's not what they are intended for, as they go out pretty quickly, as in about 10 seconds. They are OK, and for the price, I'm not regretting the purchase (too much)

I've been using this motion detection light for more than one month now. I originally bought it to place in the trunk of my SUV but there was no flat surface to adhere to. So I bought it into my house and placed ontop of floor board as a night light. It doesn't look great but it's useful.
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June 2017-
i decided to order a pack of six but one of them was defective. Two of the battery slots were missing the battery spring and positive terminal metal part (sorry i have no idea what these parts are called). I called Amazon and they were kind enough to issue me a partial refund. I guess the one I bought missed quality control.

These do not hold power for long with new Duracell batteries. We used these for several months over the past couple years but have since shelved most of them because of the inconvenience. The ones we use now (brand?) are heavier, are shaped more like a cube, and take 3 C batteries. The light these thinner Mr. Beams put out with new batteries is sufficient, and they might be worth using for only 2 AA batteries, but not for 4.

We have two Mr. Beams spotlights that we absolutely love (ASIN B008X099VA), but these thin nightlights don't compare in terms of battery life.

Dependably goes on with movement, but not sensitive to ambient light; the units turn on with movement unless the area is rather brightly lighted. The ones I received come on when there is still enough light to read, and often they hardly change the total light in the area. I have one at my computer desk, and it often comes on while I am working at the desk. The one in the kitchen comes on when it is not yet dark enough to turn on the ceiling lights. This aspect is not only annoying, but it wastes battery power. Thus I am relegating these to areas that are almost completely dark when unoccupied, and I am locating them near a light fixture so that perhaps they will remain off when the area ceiling lights are switched on.

Didnt fit

I have 14 of these in antique copper. After I changed them all over to the new L.E.D. bulbs I had the potential to add more lights because of the lower drain on my 12 volt transformer.... but woe is me! They are now only available in this unattractive black paint. Now I have to paint the 4 black ones.

We added a dozen of these to replace some older deck lighting. They are easy to install and provide the amount of light that we were looking for. However they are cheaply made and I do have concerns about how well they will handle the weather.The only negative is that I wish they had some sort of bulb cover or lens. The area under the dome is a fine nesting place for wasps - I got stung yesterday while replacing a bulb.

I received these lights when promised. The lights themselves are very cheaply made which explains the cheap price. The only real problem was that they have cheapened these up so much that I had to slice the existing cable to make the connection punch through. The connectors are terrible so make sure they work before you bury them or cover them under your wood deck like I did.

The items I received differ from those shown in the description. This in itself is not a problem for me, because they work as advertised. There are two sensors, one that detects light to keep it from turning on during the day, and one that senses motion to turn it on when approached.

I am using it above an external door to illuminate a key hole at night. It is positioned about 3 feet above the key hole, and the light is barely adequate to illuminate the hole. All in all, if the product were well made, I would have given it 3 or 4 stars because it's adequate (although only barely) for my purposes. However, the version I received has a serious manufacturing deficit.

The back of the unit attaches to a surface via a piece of 3M double-stick tape. The rest of the unit is held onto the back by two small magnets. This is potentially an excellent design, since it allows the batteries to be changed without much fuss. However, after a day, the unit dropped off its back because one of the magnets was not properly attached.

I used some epoxy to remount the loose magnet, but within a day or two the other magnet let loose, and I had to glue that one on as well. When gluing the closely fitting magnets into their holes, the wet epoxy tends to push the magnet out (the glue is viscous enough to seal the air in the hole in, and the air pressure does the pushing). To get around this, I had to hold the magnet in place with a vise until the epoxy hardened, with wax paper between the magnet and vise jaw to prevent gluing the unit to the vise.

I've only used one of the three lights so far, and I have no idea if this is a common deficit.

I got the items but Amazon sent me used, nasty dirty oily items. All 3 of the lights look like some had try to set them up and gave up. Deep cuts and oil or slime on them, just nasty. I think I might of gotten AIDS or Cat Cancer by touching these lights, that's how dirty and oily they were.Also the set up of these light is hard to do. The instructions that come with it do not tell you that you two screws to remove first or that before you remove the screws you have to remove this black plate. ( Had to firefox it to find a video from someone else that had the same issue. Bought in 2015 it's now 9=2017 and replacements are still going on strongThe LED is expose, there is nothing protecting it. I can see this LED coming off if you drop the light or getting dirty from dust or whatever, then how do you clean an LED??Lights are heavy, they take 4 batteries, and I don't see the tape that comes with them holding these up. The combination of exposed LED and heaviness of the lights ( if it falls or it is dropped) that LED is gone and your light is useless.

Good enough light, but the manner in which the product is packaged and the accompanying instructions are shown/written is supremely frustrating and will easily lead to a broken product.Upon receiving the lights, do the following:1. They are two screws holding the battery cover in place. One of them is hidden by the mounting bracket, which is mounted on top of the battery cover upon shipment. You must slide the mounting bracket down (toward the bottom of the light) and pop it off in order to access one of the battery cover fasteners. Do not try to pry the mounting bracket straight off, or you will break the mounting tabs.2. Once you remove the mounting bracket, you must then completely remove both screws that hold the battery cover onto the light using a flat head screwdriver. The illustrations on the instruction sheet are not clear. As the screws "hang up" after a half-turn or so one might assume that they are simply meant to be turned like a cam lock. They are screws and must be completely removed.Clearer setup illustrations shown in the correct order and any written instructions at all would be grand.

One works great but another randomly goes on and off. Good idea but ultimately disappointing.

UPDATE 9/1/15
It seems they all will turn on without any motion when mounted to the wall inside my closet. I can see the light under the door and it will stay on for minutes at at time, turn off for a few second and then come back on. If I put it on the floor it does not do this, but then I can't see what I need to. If I move it up it won't turn on at all, even if I do open the door. I need to practically stand inside the closet for it to detect motion when mounted up high.

The motion sensor seems to function in a way that makes them only useful for applications where you need it on the floor or in other locations that are not that dark and small. I'm not sure exactly what is going on, but they all do the same thing in this closet.

Works but very plasticy and not attractive. But it works. Also muck "fatter" than the description indicates. I would look for something nicer if this is going to be in sight.

These lights are cheap and look like dung . If you are trying to save money and need light without a cover then buy . There are other lights like this with better quality and glass cover for bulb for the same price . Search the enternet .

The ones that work are fine. Only 3 of 4 worked and I didn't bother with returns. Since installing them 8months ago another has stopped working. Disappointed about that.

I did not receive the product as pictured in the advertisement. I received a smaller battery powered motion sensing light with the only option of mounting by a small piece of tape on the back. This tape has given way and the light falls off the wall.BEWARE.

I kind of liked these, though my wife didn't think the throw and spread were as good as the ones that they replaced. But I've had them for over a year now, and the strangest thing has been happening. I use very nice Eneloop batteries in them, and almost every time I pull them out to recharge them, at least one of the batteries will refuse to take a charge ever again. I mark batteries with the month and year I bought them so I know it's not because they're old. I have a fancy battery analyzer and it just reads "null" for the problem battery. I've never had any other gadget that does this, and I didn't even know this was possible... but it's super consistent with these lights. So now I am replacing the lights.

These lights have been redesigned and are not as pictured. They are now smaller and do not have a flat surface to sit on the floor. Besides that 2 out of the 3 lights did not work and had to return. They are way overpriced also. This was the 3rd set I had ordered and I'm disappointed that the original design was replaced. These are a waste of time and money.

Do not use the enclosed double-sided tape to secure this to a wall... unless you want to rip out a chunk of wall when you want to change the placement of the light. They are not the 3M variety that can be removed w/o damaging surfaces. Also, the motion sensor is not very sensitive, and only works within about a 1ft radius. This product is a waste of money, I don't know how it's gotten so many positive reviews.

The motion sensing device is almost worthless. You have to be right on top of the unit to get the motion sensor to work, I don't know where they got the 15 feet from. And if you are using it on a stairway, you'd better hurry as the 30 seconds goes really fast. Apparently that's why you need all three on one set of stairs. Don't waste your money, you can get a great flashlight for the price.

We finally are getting these installed and one of the three lights DOESN'T work! Real bummer since we just remodeled and had the 3 lights planned out for the stair case! We tried new batteries (both tries were with brand new batteries so it ISN'T the batteries).

The only way it could be called junk is if they improved it.