Soft Spot Solar H18.5, H25 or H34: Which Lantern Size

Rosendahl makes the Soft Spot Solar lantern in three heights, 18.5, 25 and 34 cm, and a newer Soft Spot Solar Circular in recycled materials. The shape barely changes from one to the next, so the real question is scale: which height suits a garden table, which suits a step, and whether the dome or the circular version fits the way you live outdoors.

One design, drawn by Maria Berntsen

Soft Spot is the work of Danish designer Maria Berntsen, and the idea is simple enough to describe in a sentence. A white light sphere floats inside a single band of metal, and that band does three jobs at once: it guards the sphere, forms the ring the lantern stands on, and rises over the top as a carrying handle. There is no cable, no separate base and no visible fixing. On the black versions the frame is powder coated steel and the shade is plastic.

The light is charged by solar cells tucked under the shade, feeding a rechargeable battery. On a grey day you can top it up by USB instead, and a built-in light sensor switches the lantern on as daylight fades. Rosendahl rates it to stand outside through wind and weather down to minus 20 degrees, so it can stay out on the terrace rather than being carried in every evening. Care is equally undemanding: wipe the frame and sphere with a damp cloth.

The three black sizes side by side

All three black lanterns share the same material, the same designer and the same solar and USB charging. What changes is height, diameter and weight, and those three numbers decide where each one works best.

The jump from medium to large is bigger than the height alone suggests. The Soft Spot Solar H34 cm black is 9 cm taller than the H25, but its diameter goes from 14.5 to 23.5 cm and its weight more than doubles, from 0.9 kg to 2 kg. It reads as a much fuller object, closer to a small piece of garden furniture than a table accessory. At the other end, the Soft Spot Solar H18.5 cm black is compact at 11.5 cm across and 0.53 kg, light enough to carry in one hand with a glass in the other.

On a garden table

A table lantern has to share space with plates, bottles and elbows, and it has to sit low enough that people can see each other across it. That is where the two smaller sizes earn their place.

The Soft Spot Solar H25 cm black is the natural centre for an outdoor dining table. At 14.5 cm in diameter it leaves room for plates and bottles, and at 25 cm it stays low enough to talk over. It is also the size Rosendahl uses as its medium, the reference point the other two are measured against.

The H18.5 is better on a small bistro table for two, on a narrow balcony ledge or along a long table where one lantern would not reach both ends. Two or three of the small ones spaced down a table give more even light than a single larger lantern in the middle, and each one is easy to move when the food arrives.

The H34 is generally too big for the table itself. With a 23.5 cm diameter it claims a serving dish's worth of space, and its height starts to interrupt sight lines. Put it beside the table instead, on the ground or on a low wall, where it lights the setting from the side.

On a step or a terrace floor

On the ground the logic reverses. A lantern placed on a step or at the edge of a terrace is seen from above and from several metres away, and a small one simply disappears into the paving. This is the job the H34 does best. Its broad sphere throws light across a wider area, its 2 kg weight and wide ring base keep it steady in wind, and at 34 cm it stays visible from a doorway or a garden path.

If you have a run of steps, one H34 at the top or bottom marks the change of level clearly. The H25 also works on a step, particularly in a smaller garden or on a front stoop where the large lantern would crowd the tread. The H18.5 is usually too low for the ground, unless it is set on a raised surface such as a planter edge or a wide window sill.

A good arrangement for a terrace uses two sizes: an H34 on the floor near the seating and an H25 or a pair of H18.5 lanterns on the table. Because the design is identical across the range, the sizes look deliberate together rather than mismatched.

Dome or circular: the two versions compared

The Soft Spot Solar Circular H25 is Rosendahl's update of the original lantern. The black lanterns have a softly flattened, dome-like sphere held by a flat band; the Circular version is drawn from rounder shapes throughout, from the sphere to the frame, a choice Rosendahl ties to the idea of circularity in materials as well as form. It comes in three colours, Sky blue, Wheat and Forest Green, which change its character considerably compared with the graphic black.

The bigger difference is what it is made of. The frame, lampshade, inner plastic parts and switch buttons are made from GRS certified recycled materials, and the lantern is designed to be taken apart for separation and recycling at the end of its life. That also makes it light. The Circular H25 weighs 0.46 kg against 0.9 kg for the black H25, which is almost exactly half, with a very similar diameter of 15 cm. There is also a smaller Circular at 18.5 cm tall, 12 cm across and 0.29 kg.

Like the black versions, the Circular runs on a built-in solar panel and rechargeable battery and is rated for rain and wind down to minus 20 degrees. The practical trade is weight for stability. If the lantern will be picked up and moved several times a night, from kitchen to table to the end of the garden, the lighter Circular is easier company. If it will stand in one exposed spot on a breezy terrace, the heavier steel frame of the black version is the steadier choice.

Which one to choose

• H18.5 black for small tables, balconies and ledges, or bought in twos and threes to spread light along a long table.
• H25 black if you want one lantern that does most things: the centre of an outdoor dining table or a step in a small garden.
• H34 black for the ground, a run of steps or the corner of a terrace, where a larger sphere and a heavier base matter.
• Circular H25 if you carry the light around a lot, prefer colour to black, or want a lantern made from recycled materials.

For more cordless lighting that moves between rooms and outdoor spaces, our guide to the best portable designer lamps covers the wider field. To see Soft Spot alongside Rosendahl's glass, ceramics and table pieces, browse the full Rosendahl collection.