Bell+Howell Vivi Disk: Shining a Light on this Home Product – Our Review

Before I begin explaining why I love Bell + Howell’s Vivi Disk so much, let me preface this review by explaining a little bit about my house.

I live in a ranch-style home with a small garden and walkway in between the two sections of the house. My front lawn has a garden and a few trees as well. I take a huge amount of pride in the way my lawn and garden look and spend a lot of time maintaining them. Suffice to say, I put a lot of thought into what sort of lawn decorations, plantings, and general layout I choose for that space.

Not to be dramatic, but it’s basically my pride and joy.

Well, Bell + Howell’s Vivi Disks might just be my favorite items I’ve ever bought for my lawn and garden. Right off the bat, that should give you an idea of just how good this product is. If you aren’t familiar with Vivi Disks, let me explain.

What Is a Vivi Disk?

Vivi Disks are solar-powered color-changing disks that come with attachable stakes and go directly into the ground. They’re like a variation on those solar-powered fairy lights that people often have in their walkways to illuminate the path at night. They almost look like little flat lanterns and usually are used to light up patios, gardens, or walkways.

These little marvels are solar-powered, so during the day, they’re non-illuminated and soak up sunlight to charge. They’re pretty low to the ground — about half a foot, by my estimate — and they’re fairly inconspicuous when they aren’t lit up. In fact, during the day, I hardly notice them at all, and I don’t think any guests do either.

I think that might be what I like the most about them: You don’t notice them until they’re lit up and casting a flattering glow on your walkway. It’s like when you get a new backsplash against your sink, and all of a sudden, the color of the kitchen cabinets is popping. A small, subtle change can have a huge impact on the overall look of a space, and that’s certainly true for the Vivi Disks.

Easy Installation

One of the things I really love about this product is how easy it is to install and maintain. All I had to do was pull them out of the packaging and stake them into the ground.

In the daytime, they soaked up all the solar power needed to light up at night. By the time it was dark, they were all lit up. It actually might have been the easiest product install I’ve ever experienced.

You know how people always talk about getting “bang for your buck”? Like if a product has super high value and is priced pretty well, the amount of money you spend on it feels proportionately less. I think another metric we could use is “bang for time spent setting it up.”

Some people are really handy with DIY stuff and don’t get intimidated by pulling out their toolkits or heading to the local hardware stores to pick up supplies. Me? I’m just about as far on the other end of that spectrum as you can get. The less work it takes to set something up, the better, in my opinion.

Something like this, where quite literally all it takes to get set up is to pull them out of the box and put the stakes in the ground, is exactly the amount of effort I like to see in a product set-up.

Fun Colors

Something my kids have really enjoyed about our Vivi Disks is the color-changing feature. You can toggle between a few different color options and have it permanently set to LED pink, green, or blue; I’m personally into the orange shade, which I think contrasts nicely with the greenery around it.

The kids, of course, wish they would be permanently set to “color-changing” and constantly cycle through the whole rainbow. I don’t like doing that every day, but it’s fun for special occasions. Plus, it’s nice to just have options! For my daughter’s birthday, I turned them all purple because that’s her favorite color. There’s also a pretty soft neutral white for people who just want something simple.

Placement

The Vivi Disks come in packs of four. You get four for $29.99, which evens out to $7.50 each. I got three four-packs and found that twelve total disks were the perfect amount to illuminate my walkway.

If you’ve never used anything like this before and aren’t sure how many to get, I think a general rule of thumb is to place one disk every four feet and keep them symmetrical. If you’re just lining one side of the yard or garden, that doesn’t really matter. If you’re lining a walkway or driveway, you’ll want to have an even amount on each side. At least, that’s how I like them. To each their own!

Vivi Disk FAQs

You might have a few more questions about the Vivi Disks, which I’m happy to answer – I know I did, too.

As I mentioned earlier, setup is super easy because there are no wires or batteries involved. It also has a smart on/off feature that senses how light or dark it is outside to trigger the lights to turn on or off.

When it starts to get light out in the morning, the lights automatically switch off, and the Vivi Disks start to absorb the light and charge up. Then when it gets dark out again, they automatically turn back on. As I said before, these involve super easy maintenance with hardly any work needed on your end at all. If only every product I bought for my home was this simple!

One thing I would be remiss not to mention: Vivi Disks are 100% solar-powered, so if you live in a region that doesn’t get at least three to four days of sunlight per year, these might not be for you. I live in the Midwest, and during the spring and summer, I get plenty of sunlight to use these as much as I want. During the fall and winter? That’s where it starts to get a bit dicey.

I think if I lived anywhere further north, I might not be as enthusiastic about them. But then again, if you’re shopping for solar-powered products in the first place, you obviously know if they’re right for you or not! I just wanted to toss out an FYI in case you’ve never bought a product like this before.

Recapping My Bell+Howell Vivi Disk Review

I spend a lot of time working on my home and lawn, and I think this product is well worth the money. If you enjoy having a cozily illuminated patio or walkway or think it would be fun to have colorful LED lights around your home, I’d highly recommend getting a few Vivi Disks. I’m obsessed with mine, and I’m sure that you will be, too!