We recently moved into a new house and are looking for some kind of outdoor lighting we can run from our back porch to the two pergolas when we're out back at night.

Something like this:


Not sure what brands/sources are good quality - it seems like HD/Lowes/Amazon have a million different options.

Costco has the bistro style LED lights made by Feit for a good pricier. I've had mine up for about 4 years without any problem.
Also, 1000bulbs.com is a source

Okay. Buy to replace, not buy it for life.

Any idea how long of a run I can do with just the lights, before I need to run a load bearing cable?

I would suggest attaching them to thin aircraft cable.

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

I would suggest attaching them to thin aircraft cable.

---

This. Don't hang them by the cord because that puts tension on the connections and wears them out much faster. If you end up needing to connect two strands, it also lets you make that connection without any tension on it. Use turn buckles at one end because the cables WILL start to slack and droop.

ETA I went with cable on relatively short runs, like 15'-20'. Mine have been up for 7-8 years and are still fine.