I bought two strands of these a month ago this summer and they've seen some temperatures in the 40s-80s and several heavy rains. There have been no problems. There are two wires inside the strand. It is heavy duty. The bulbs are excellent - a nice yellow glow for my back patio that is just bright enough to see well, yet not bright. I was originally planning to put these on a dimmer switch, but they are perfect as is. Good thing because my electrician rigged me a GFI outdoor socket, which prevents me from using a dimmer.To erect poles to hang the lights from:I went to the hardware store and bought galvanized steel pipes which are used as horizontal rails in your average chain-link fences.They are 10 1/2 feet long and 1 3/8" in diameter and 17 guage. They only cost $11 each and will never rust. (The hardware store also sell these powder-coated in black or green for $27 each.). In the same dept, they also sell aluminum caps that fit these pipes. I used a little gorilla glue to make sure they stayed on. They are made of aluminum and have a hole which you can then use zip-ties to fasted the light strand to each one. (See photos)At first, I was going to dig a hole and use concrete to bury these pipes, but instead used this heavy big pipe with handles to pound them into the ground around my patio. I stood on a tall 8' ladder to pound these poles into the ground. I had a helper keep checking the pipe with a level to make sure pipes were exactly vertical. Next I glued the caps on the top of the poles. As I ran the light strand from pole to pole, zip-typing them on, I would wrap black electrical tape around the strand to create a cushion so that the zip tie did not wear into the wire, since the strands are hefty and I was running them pretty tight. Note: if you use zip ties to fasten them like I did, get the zip-ties that are rated for UV light so that they will last longer outside before rotting. Note: pounding the poles in caused a few to mushroom on the end preventing the caps from fitting on. I remedied this by cutting a 1/2 inch off the top of the poles with a sawzall.There are also little loops above the sockets which you could use to fasten them in some other manner.When you get ready to hang the strand and it is lying on the ground, Do be careful not to step on the bulb sockets, or you will squish them. It happened to about 6 of mine, but I was able to bend them back into shape with my fingers (make sure its not plugged in!)Everyone loves them. Even my electrician asked me where he could buy some for his yard.Update Nov '13 - A 60-70 mph wind came through and this setup survived without a problem.I did not mention before that the poles I used are thin enough so that they flex in toward the tension and weight put upon them. It is not noticable nor do they move around in wind, yet a bigger diameter or guage pole should be needed if this is a problem for your application.I decided I wanted some color and added some colored LED Xmas light strands to the light strand. (See photo). Another option would be to add flags between the light bulbs.Update Sept '14 - I left the lights up all winter and it was one of the longest and coldest and snowiest winters. Once in awhile, amongst the snow and cold, I'd flip them on to see if they worked and they always did. They survived fine. I did replace one light bulb this year, which I found a replacement for at Lowes. Also, regarding the flexibility of the poles, if you use that idea, you should angle corner poles outward from the direction of light string, as the poles will bend inward. I resolved my problem by tying a thin nylon rope to the top of a pole which had several lines puling it inward, and stretching it to a nearby tree limb which then holds the pole back in place.Update Feb'18 - The strands have been left up and outside the entire time I've owned them. They've endured the sunny 90-degree summers and the frozen winters of the midwest and have not suffered. In fact the only thing that has happened was the occasional bulb burning out. My local Lowes H/W store sells small wattage bulbs that are the same size and shape, albeit a little brighter. I stocked up on those several years ago.I finally bumped into one of the poles with my riding mower and bent it inwards. After disconnecting the strand from that pole, it was easy enough to bend the pole back into position by hand, and reattach the strand to it.I've noticed that there are many products on Amazon now that look like this product. Are they all from the same manufacturer with just a change of company name, or are they actually diiferent products? I don't know. I'd buy Bulbrite to be safe.I saw lights like these outdoors at restaurants, the ballpark and on TV and thought they'd look great at my place. I'm a lighting guy and I know my stuff. I wanted some outdoor string lights and there are a bunch to choose from. There are cheaper lights and I know because I had my wife take them back to the store where she got them as they were just that - cheap! These lights from Bulbrite are professional grade, heavy duty, weather proof string lights that are durable yet easy to install. Don't know why others complained of bulbs that were broken didn't work. As a lighting guy, I ALWAYS have spare bulbs so I ordered a case of spares - didn't need any with what came with the string lights but I know I will - it's common sense. What I like about these is the heavy duty cords and regular medium/Edison based sockets - this is the common household lightbulb socket so there are many bulb replacement choices. Also the fact that you can string 4 of these in a line without overload meant I could layout about 200' feet without running another line out - perfect! I used a cable to hang mine from just because I like to do things right and they get heavy but I'll bet you could just string them up by the cord. The light these bulbs emit is perfect - it's that warm incandescent glow that is just the right brightness at night. Really adds that special touch. I do recommend buying the black cord connector sleeves to make it look tight and they are absolutely necessary if you are hanging them by the cord (unless you tie a knot in the cord which would mess with the spacing and look terrible). At 11 watts a bulb and 15 bulbs a set that is only 165 watts each - totally manageable. Thought about LED upgraded bulbs and that might be nice down the line but I don't use them that often so the savings aren't there. Anywho, bought 7 strings and they are EXACTLY what I was looking for.I bought two strands for my 14' by 42' patio. These strands are longer than I need so initially I just left the bulbs out of the part I didn't want lit. My plan is to cut off the extra and cap the ends so they won't short out or be exposed.The bulbs are tough, they bounced against the wall several times while I was installing the strands. None broke. The power cord feels sturdy and well made. I like the nail hole just above each light.My wife and I love the light they produce. We have 19 of the bulbs installed on the string and the light is perfect for the porch. I have these plugged into an Alexa controlled smart plug and they are just perfect. The bulbs are incandescent so there is no issue with seizures due to LED flicker. Really, couldn't ask for a better set of Market Lights. I may buy another set for the camper.I wanted a quality outdoor light strng that looked like ones we saw at restaurant patios and wedding venues, ect. After reading reviews about the product and seeing that the bulbs were not too fragile and the construction was heavy duty, I ordered two strings. When they came in, they were packed well and there were not any broken bulbs. When unpacking the actual strings, you immediately feel the quality of the construction and they feel very sturdy. The cording is heavy duty, like a good outdoor extension cord. We immediately strung them for an outdoor party in our front yard. Two strung together worked well. I believe you can string up to 4 of these end to end. Two of the bulbs were DOA, but Amazon replaced them for free with a simple online chat to a rep. I bought the "Starlight" bulbs and they put off the perfect light. Not too bright, but subtle. Perfect for an outdoor event where you don't want to blast the participants out. I did notice that I had to screw of couple of them on pretty tight to get the bulb to light. We got compliments on them during and after the party and a few folks even asked us where we got them! We left them up for a couple weeks and they went through rain and winds and they didn't seem worse for the wear. I have no doubt that they'll last a good long while, even when left up all year. Spend a little more and get quality!I've owned these for just over 3 years now. The quality is very good in the wiring and sockets and connectors; you can tell it's made to last many years outdoors. These are the same ones that bars and restaurants use on their patios. You need the thick cable these provide.The only issue I have with these are the bulbs. They last around a year, sometimes less, which is just okay. Replacement bulbs are expensive, a full set can cost as much as half this whole kit. Finding local stores that stock S11 bulbs is also difficult. I ended up buying led bulbs to replace them at great cost but they have lasted 2 years already.Otherwise it's great kit. I wouldn't buy any other one, especially ones with thinner cables or smaller bulbs. This one is worth the money.Excellent quality, you can see that is made with heavy duty material and will probably last forever, the negative aspects that make me skip a five-star rating are the distance between the plug and the first bulb, it is really short, 3 feet more and it'd perfect, and also the ending plug cover doesn't fir tied as it should be and to make it water proof I had to put some tape.I've owned these lights for three or four years now and I love them. Heavy duty too! I have them around my back deck where they stay all year. We live in Ontario Canada and they survived the harsh winters with no problems. In fact, out of the 15 bulbs I've only had about three burn out so far!I have this string of lights hung out around my pergola and after a few years (they were installed in summer of 2016) the lights were falling off the string at the point of connection. I live in Canada so the heat is not an issue here of melting the wires. So, far, I have 9 of the lights that have broken off the strings in the space of 2 weeks. I have taken them down but very disappointing that they only lasted 2 summers. I want to send these back to manufacture as this is truly a defective product. Where do I send these backThese are great lights. They look great, and they are well-built. We ordered another string of them to fill out the rest of the garden. The only advice I'd give is to be careful planning where they go, because the hanging hoops are on each light. Sometimes one light is too tight, but going to the next one is too loose. If I had planned out where they would hang a little better, I could've saved myself some time.