Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
I Tried 30 Emergency Candles So You Don't Have To, These Actually Lasted
27
items Power went out last February and my “emergency” candles melted into a puddle of wax on the counter in two hours flat. Spent the rest of the night using my phone flashlight like some kind of cave dweller. After that disaster I tested way too many cand...
Sections
6
Long-Burn Emergency Candles That Won't Quit
Drip-Free Candles That Respect Your Surfaces
Emergency Candle Lanterns That Contain the Mess
Backup LED Lights When Open Flame Isn't Safe
Emergency Fire Starters and Candle Accessories
Power Outage Comfort Items You'll Be Glad You Grabbed
Long-Burn Emergency Candles That Won't Quit
The whole point of an emergency candle is lasting through the night. I ruined a tablecloth and still sat in the dark because my old ones burned out in 90 minutes.
Keep one of these in every room during storm season. Burned mine for three consecutive nights during an ice storm and it still had wax left. Perfect if you rent and can't install a generator.
Stonebriar Unscented Pillar Candles
Grab these if you do any camping or just want something compact for your go-bag. They fit into UCO lanterns but I've used them freestanding in a pinch. Burned a solid 9 hours each, no drama.
Customer reviews for uco 9-hour white candles
Toss this in your garage or patio emergency kit. It kept mosquitoes away AND gave us light for multiple evenings when a storm knocked power out last July. Smells like summer, not chemicals.
Coleman, Repellents Pine Citronella Candle, 6 oz., Silver
Use this as your “oh no” candle. I lit mine during a 36-hour outage and barely made a dent. The tin container means no wax puddles on your furniture. Stock up before hurricane season.
GasOne 115+ Hours Emergency Candle Set
Pair these with any basic candleholder you already own. They burned clean for about 7 hours each and the drip situation was minimal. For anyone who wants a normal-looking candle that actually performs.
12 Inch Light Blue Unscented Dripless Taper Candles
Drip-Free Candles That Respect Your Surfaces
Nothing like surviving a blackout only to spend the next morning scraping wax off your grandmother's dining table. These stayed put.
Swap out whatever dollar store pillars you have for these. Burned one for six hours straight on my bare wood shelf and not a single drip ran down the side. My sister borrowed two and hasn't given them back.
"Bolsius 2x6"" Ivory Pillar Candles, 20 Pack
Bring this out when you need serious burn time without babysitting it. The wax pools inward instead of running down, which sounds small until you've cleaned hardened wax off tile grout at 2am.
Root Candles Unscented Timberline Pillar Candle
Get this chunky pillar if you want one candle to light a whole room. Burned it during a four-hour outage and the flame was bright enough to play cards by. Zero mess afterward.
Mega Candles 3 pcs Unscented Ivory Round Pillar
Try these in a power outage dinner situation. We lost electricity on Thanksgiving and these tapers saved the meal. They burned straight down, no sideways dripping, no wax on the turkey.
D'light Online Elegant Taper Candles Dripless
Snag this if you want the flicker without actual fire risk around kids or pets. Battery operated, lasts forever on one set, and looks convincingly real. My neighbor thought I had 20 candles lit during a blackout.
Luminara Flameless Candle
Emergency Candle Lanterns That Contain the Mess
Learned the hard way that a bare candle on a bookshelf at 1am is an anxiety factory. Lanterns solved that problem and kept the wax contained.
Carry this from room to room without worrying about dripping wax on the carpet. Collapsed it fits in a jacket pocket. I've used mine on camping trips and during three separate power outages. Worth every penny.
UCO Candle Lantern Value Pack with 4
Switch to this if candles stress you out. Fill it with lamp oil and it burns for hours with a steady, calm flame. Feels like living in a period drama, but practically it just works really well.
Lamplight Chamber Oil Lamp - Glass - 11 Inches
Grab the classic. Wind won't blow it out, kids can't easily knock the flame, and it throws enough light to cook by. Used mine on the porch during a windstorm when the power lines went down.
Stansport 12" Hurricane Lantern
For anyone who grew up with these at grandpa's house. Still made the same way and still reliable. Burned mine all night, refilled it once, zero fuss. The glass globe keeps everything safe and contained.
Dietz #76 Original Oil Burning Lantern (Red)
Toss this in your car emergency kit. Small enough to store in a glove box, sturdy enough to sit on uneven ground. Popped a tea light in during a roadside wait and it kept the cab lit for hours.
Hurricane Candle Holder For Centerpiece Set Of 6
Backup LED Lights When Open Flame Isn't Safe
Sometimes candles aren't the answer. Apartments with smoke detectors two feet from the ceiling, homes with toddlers, dorm rooms. These covered me without fire risk.
Keep one in the kitchen drawer. Runs on D batteries, folds flat, and lights up an entire room. Pulled mine out during a midnight outage and my kids thought it was a camping adventure instead of a crisis.
Energizer, LED Folding Lantern, 500 Lumens
Get the four-pack and scatter them around the house. Each one runs for something like 12 hours on low. During a two-day outage I had one in every room and still had battery life left.
Lepro LED Collapsible Camping Lantern 4-Pack
Use these as your grab-and-go lights. They collapse down to almost nothing and pop open to full brightness. Gave two to my elderly neighbor during a blackout and she called them the smartest gift she'd ever received.
Vont 4 Pack LED Camping Lantern
Charge it on a windowsill and forget about it until you need it. No batteries, no flame, just squeeze the air out to store it flat. Took mine through a full weekend outage on a single solar charge.
MPowerd Luci Inflatable Smart Solar Light with Mobile
Snag this if you want the Cadillac of emergency lanterns. USB ports to charge your phone, hand crank if the battery dies, and bright enough to read by. Paid for itself the first time our power went out for 18 hours.
Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Camping Lantern
Emergency Fire Starters and Candle Accessories
Realized mid-blackout that I owned zero working lighters. Had candles everywhere and nothing to light them with. Never again.
Ditch those cheap gas station lighters that die after a week. This one has lasted me four years, I just refill the fluid. Works in cold weather when butane lighters refuse to spark. Keep it in your emergency drawer.
Zippo Slim Brushed Chrome Pocket Lighter
Try this if you want something that works even when it's wet outside. One-handed operation, throws a shower of sparks. Overkill for lighting a candle? Maybe. But during an emergency you want things that just work.
Ust Blastmatch Fire Starter
Throw this kit in your go-bag right now. These matches burn in wind, rain, even after being dunked in water. Lit a candle outside during a rainstorm just to test them and felt unreasonably proud.
Customer reviews for UCO Stormproof Match Kit
Grab the multipack and put one in every room, one in the car, one in the junk drawer. Long reach means no burned fingers. My mom goes through these like candy but they're cheap enough that it doesn't matter.
BIC Multi-Purpose Lighters Classic Collection Pack of Two
Use this as your absolute last resort candle. Burns for 115 hours, comes in its own tin, and includes a small stand. I bought three after reading about them on a prepper forum and they've been sitting ready for two years.
Survival Candles
Power Outage Comfort Items You'll Be Glad You Grabbed
Sitting in the dark is one thing. Sitting in the dark, cold, bored, and with a dead phone is a whole different level of miserable. These kept us sane.
Charge this thing once a month and leave it in a drawer. When the power goes out, it'll charge your phone four or five times. Kept our whole family connected during a 30-hour blackout last winter. Non-negotiable.
Anker Portable Charger 20000mAh Power Bank 2-Port
Pair this with your candle stash. Hand crank, solar panel, AM/FM, weather alerts. When cell towers went down in our area, this was the only way we got storm updates. For anyone in tornado or hurricane zones.
Eton American Red Cross Radio