LED Lanterns

We are going camping next weekend for a family reunion. I am looking for a LED Lantern.

I am looking at the Coleman LED Quad Lantern and the Coleman LED Duo Lantern

Anyone have any experience with these? I like that you can detach a LED panel to use. I have flashlights, but these seem like they would be useful.

Any other LED Lanterns I should be looking at?

no experience with those, but i have one of these ray-o-vacs. it works well––you can get them at lowe's.

I've put decent use into a Coleman LED Lantern. Bought it new at Walmart.
Pros: 1. they put out decent light
2. you can get an adapter that will let you use 4 Ds
3. made decently well, plastic is tough, but clear cover can get scratch ––> didn't seem to decrease light output much though
Cons: 1. Heavy - compared to other lights
2. uses the batteries relatively fast
3. uses the XPS series 6V rechargeable battery pack ––> this is my major issue - these don't seem to last very long,
they fail and are relatively expensive to replace ($23 on Amazon)

I got tired of the battery failing, so I got rid of the lantern.

Since, I've gone with the Black Diamond LED lanterns. They are generally smaller than the Coleman counterpart. My favorite is the 4AAA Orbit, paid $29 at the local sports store. The globe portion slides down over the bottom, making it very small to store in a BOB or wherever. They also have a 4AA and 4 D version, all increasingly expensive though. Google them or look them up on Amazon. I have been pleasantly pleased with them. They will be the lantern I use until I find something significantly better.

ETA: here is an example on amazon. linky

I too am a fan of the Black Diamond (I have the new style Apollo) and use it frequently. There was a very popular small LED lantern made by Coleman I believe that ran off AAs. I remember they were very well received and available online. Hopefully someone will remember what they were.

I will also add that my Apollo, while not what I would call rugged, was dropped 4 feet on to concrete with the legs extended within 5 minutes of my owning it, and it was no worse for the wear.

Search my name in the archives and you can read about them.

We have a couple of those and love them.

Those come out first in a power failure. (OK, maybe third, but they are the first area lighting that doesn't have a wick)

I use this one and like it
http://www.energizer.com/lighting-products/preparedness/Pages/area-lantern.aspx

This is the one I use most.

Coleman AA



edited to add: I think this is the one I got from Batman's recommendation.

Yes, Sir!

While I love my Zebralight headlight, they don't make a lantern.

How much light do those put out?

I have a 3 room tent, not that I need it to light up the entire thing at once....

Enough to see what you are doing for a long time on low. You can read pretty easily on high. Its not like a light bulb. You can cook by its light and do basic chores.

I have the Colman LED duo lantern with the CPX6 rechargable battery pack. I am really happy with it. I charge mine every 6 months or so to use in case of a power outage. My kids love it for camping because of the detachable lights but I do not use it as my primary lantern while camping. I also have a Coleman kerosene and a Coleman propane lantern. Both are brighter with a warmer yellow light but that is expected.

Go to the WallyWorld pool section and take a look at the above-ground LED pool lights.
There's a model that is circular and has a detachable magnet on it.
You might find a use for one.

I have never endurance tested one, but the LED magnetic puck lights from Harbor Frieght put out a lot of light too.

As someone who now has two Goal Zero solar kits, I can say that the less drain on the batts, the better. These kits are pretty good, but they DO take a while to charge 4 AA or 4 AAA batts. The less drain your devices make on your batts, the more practical (portable) solar re-charging becomes.

The very low drain of the Coleman lantern, set on LOW, makes it the obvious candidate given the parameters stated above.

FWIW, a little aluminum foil, or even some white paper covered by cardboard and rubber-banded over half the cylindrical tube housing the light source gives a good deal more light output out the uncovered portion, and will not blind you when carrying the lantern.

Well, for now I ended up going with this Coleman one.

It had pretty good reviews and I liked the fact you could adjust the brightness instead of just Hi and Low.

I should have it tomorrow and will be using it next weekend. I will report back after I get to play with it.

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