Finally, we tested how long the lamps stayed illuminated after a full charge to find any discrepancies between reported battery life and actual battery life.
What we looked for in cordless table lamps
We limited our selection to rechargeable table lamps, leaving out disposable-battery-operated table lamps. We wanted to get as many “name-brand” lamps as possible, since they are able to offer warranties and customer service that generic lamps from Amazon won’t have. But due to the sheer popularity of some of those generic lamps, we chose to test the bestsellers and highly rated cordless rechargeable table lamps from Amazon as well.
We also tried to test lamps that would look good in a variety of design schemes and have the potential to work as outdoor lamps as well as indoor ones, and in a variety of circumstances, like as dining lamps or bedside lamps. We figured the best cordless table lamps would seamlessly blend in with any home decor scheme and add warmth and ambiance wherever they’re needed.
Other rechargeable table lamps we tested and liked
Louis Poulsen Panthella 160
The Panthella is a beautiful designer lamp. It has an attractive dome-shaped “shade” and a high-quality opaque polymer body. The most notable detail is actually a small one. When shifting between its three brightness settings, the transition is noticeably smoother. More like a dissolve than a jump cut, if you will. Since the Panthella doesn’t offer the same level of variation, it’s ultimately not a top pick. However, if you find the design and aesthetic pleasing, you’ll be satisfied with this lamp.
Olivia Tarantino
There’s an undeniable charm to the Balmuda lantern, which takes inspiration from those old-fashioned kerosene lanterns once common on railroads, on ships, and in the hands of mysterious strangers on lonely moonlit paths. The light is controlled by a single knob, and it ranges from a bright white light to a dim flicker setting. Vibes-wise, this is suitable for indoor or outdoor use, as it creates a lovely ambiance with its gentle, diffuse glow. Our main issue with this light is that it had the shortest battery life of all the lamps we tested, going kaput after just three hours of continuous use.
Olivia Tarantino
This lamp is fun and playful, but more suited for a spot on a bookshelf in a living room rather than on a dining table. It has a warm light, a dimmer that operates by touch, and has a long, 10-hour battery life. One frustrating thing about the lamp is that it comes with a special angled micro USB charger that allows it to charge standing up. However, if you try to charge it with a conventional micro USB, you have to lay the lamp on its side. If you use the cord that comes with the lamp, this isn’t an issue, but we mention it because we received a model for testing without the special charging cord. That meant we had to make do with the other cords we had. We even tried buying a generic angled micro USB cord on Amazon, but none of them fit correctly. All of this is just to say: If you buy this lamp, do not lose the cord.
The shape and wide dome of this lamp aren’t ideal for a smaller dining table. Still, we wanted to test it out due to its popularity online. This is clearly a well-made lamp, and it became the most sought-after by other BA staffers based on its appearance alone. It has three brightness settings; however, none of them were particularly bright. The dimmer is also on the bottom of the lamp, which requires you to pick it up to change the setting. We’d recommend this as a desk lamp or for ambient lighting in a living room rather than for the table.
Weilailux Cordless Mushroom Lamp
WEILAILUX Cordless Mushroom Table Lamp
This is a more affordable alternative for those looking for a portable table lamp with more character. It is waterproof, holds an 8-hour charge, and offers a decent range of brightness settings. It’s broad, diffuse glow makes it suitable for a variety of places in the house. We think it’d be nice as secondary lighting on an outdoor table or as a night light in a child’s bedroom, but maybe a bit too casual for a formal dining room vibe.
Table lamps we don’t recommend
This is one of the popular-on-Amazon lamps we tried that appears under a variety of generic brand names like JONEMO and NEWSEE (if you see a brand name in all caps that looks like it was generated with a Boggle cube, this is probably the kind of product you’re looking at). We chose to include it here because it’s a top seller. There’s always a small risk with buying generic products like these on Amazon because their quality can be inconsistent. That said, the model we tested worked well. It had three color temperatures, a dimmer, and a battery that lasted around 8 hours. Amazon reviews varied widely, though, with complaints about lamps burning out after a few minutes. If you wanna roll the generic dice on this one, you might end up with a decent lamp, but given other users’ experiences, you might end up sending it back.
This generic lamp looks like a generic copy of the Poldina sold under a range of names like La Luz and KDG. Most models are dimmable, but only some provide color temperature settings. With the model we tested, the charging cord plugged under the shade rather than at the base, which we thought looked cheap and unappealing.
Here’s another extremely common style of generic lamp available on Amazon. Our biggest problem with it was the big ugly power button right on top of the base.
