16.4 Feet (5 Meter) Flexible LED Light Strip with 300xSMD3528 and Adhesive Back, 12 Volt, White 6000K, 2026WH

***Note: I am new to soldering so this review is both for the lights AND my experience soldering them!*** I'd been researching under cabinet (UC) lighting for a while when I stumbled upon LED light strips. I was looking for a CHEAP replacement for my halogens and was open to expending some effort if it saved me money. These light strips seemed ideal because they could be cut and rewired (soldered) together to create spacers - which I needed to accommodate because of cabinets joints and a 30" gap with the microwave. I’d never soldered in my life but enjoy DIY projects so decided to go for it. Read reviews, researched soldering, and watched YouTube videos…got myself a soldering kit ($17), some copper wire ($6), some heat shrink tubing ($8), and a soldering “helping hand” ($7) in addition to these lights ($12) and an adaptor ($9). With Prime, total cost was just over $60. Soldering isn’t easy because it requires 4 hands and I only have 2, but I cut a few strips and stripped some wires and practiced before doing the real thing. LESSONS LEARNED from this experience: - Measuring and precutting the strips and wire was essential so you can solder everything on a flat surface rather than in midair as you go. I tried the midair tactic and I’m still sore. - Best method (for me) involved putting a dot of solder on the strip’s circuit and some on the exposed copper wire end(s), then taping each piece to a board (my “work bench”) so they overlapped and wouldn’t move while I soldered them together. - Peel back the sticky tape just a wee bit before soldering so you don’t melt it – also helps to keep it in place when soldering. - Make sure the strips you’re connecting are both going the right way! I soldered everything together and then belated realized (when a strip in the middle wouldn’t light up) that one of my strips was “backwards” or flipped. (This is the equivalent of making sure you don’t cross polarities.) Novice way to do this: always have diagram of scissors on the strips point the same direction as you solder. - Recommended putting pieces of heat shrink tube on the wire BEFORE soldering each end to a strip so you can use slightly smaller pieces of it. And a powerful hair dryer works quite well for shrinking it. - Invest in a soldering stand. I was very careful but still managed to burn myself. As for the lights, I can only repeat what other rave reviews have said: these are powerful little beauties that give off NO heat. Their stickiness does leave something to be desired, however – will look into reinforcing it as next step (got masking tape over the heat tubing for now). But overall I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. These would be perfect for installing in dark areas like closets and INSIDE cabinets – which will be my next project! BTW, I bought both 4000K and 3100K since I wanted to avoid a yellow-ish hue. The 4000K was a wee bit brighter but too starkly white while the 3100K was perfect. In fact, for those who really want a warmer glow, the 2700K would probably be fine.

I had purchased some cheap closeout LED lighting for my cabinets off of Ebay. They kept failing really quickly, and soon 8 sections were down to 3 still working. I suppose this is why the product was being sold so cheaply on Ebay. This time I figured I'd spend a little more money and get something with an off-board power supply. That way, if the power supply fails again, then I can always replace it. It's very unusual for an LED to fail. So I ordered up a roll of these LED's and the recommended power supply to go along with them. They showed up in a timely manner, even when using the free shipping. Well packed, and looks to be very high quality. I strung them out, and had to cut them into two sections to fit my cabinets (in a store front, to light up products for sale). I soldered on two jumper wires to run in between the two sections, and soldered on the power supply to one end with heat shrink to protect the leads. Two-sided tape installation was a snap. It went on right where I wanted it and stuck there perfectly. Fired it up - and WOW! This is bright. If you're using this in a mood lighting situation, I suggest using less of it. I was going for maximum pop, and I got just that. I was thinking this roll might not be enough, but I could have lit three 6-foot cabinets with it, I bet. 3 sections just over 5 feet would work fine. No report on reliability yet, but I will report back if I have any failures. So far, so good! UPDATE: It's been a year, and I'm now using the leftover section I cut off to light a third cabinet. I wired the power wires off in parallel from the same power supply rather than going through the hassle of putting it in series. I saw no change in the lighting quality or brightness, so I assume the power supply can handle it just fine. It's been running strong for a year now and looks fantastic. People sometimes ask me how I did it, because it's so low-key you don't see the lighting - just the light. Definitely recommend. You can't beat this for the price.

a little trick to connect, light is very white

Solder went on fine with the proper paste. Tape sticks well, but we cleaned the surface (under cabinet) with isopropyl alcohol first. Been 2 weeks and it is not falling off yet.