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!