expedition lanterns

[wierdbeard]

So I'm looking for a new lantern, something rugged, puts out good light, I'm not really looking for battery powered, since they always seem to go dead at the wrong time. What's your recommendations?

 

[lovetoski]

Some of the LED lanterns use batteries, but last a very long time. Can carry extra batteries, or (better) rechargable ones.

Can also use a light that runs off of the car battery (best if you have a dual battery system).

If no batteries at all, then I'd look at fuel source...you can go propane, kerosene or white gas. I try to minimise fuels...so if you have a propane stove, get a propane lantern.

 

[wierdbeard]

yeah, I do have a dual battery set up, and have work lights on the rear that I can use, I'm looking for fuel lanterns I would suppose. I have a white gas stove for solo backpacking, and use a wood burning field stove for camping. I'm planning on adding a cook partner stove to my rig once I finish some other interior projects.

I'd like to stay away from the electrical stuff as with the mechanical I know I can fix it if something breaks or goes out when in the field, with the electrical, not so much.

what are you guys using? Are the old school colemans still the standard?

 

[BGarcia88FJ62]

When I get around to purchasing new camping gear.
I'm definitely buying dual fuel equipment white gas or 87 petro for fuel.
If your on an expo/camping trip you'll always have 87 petro to put in your
stove or lantern.

 

[REKCUT]

I have switched over to led lanterns and love them. The coleman one has a 12 charger. I took it on two camping trips back in jan and feb, two long nights each with the sun going down around 5. Ran all four evenings on one charge. Still has power. Can easily recharge while driving around during the day. Much better than transporting another type of fuel.

 

[george_tlc]

I stopped using fuel lanterns more than 8 years ago. One aspect of a lantern that I found annoying when camping is that it throws light in your face if you look anywhere in its direction - destroys night vision and detracts from the whole night sky appreciation. In addition, the constant noise of the burner is irritating.

I've used LED lighting for a long time (especially since I'm in the LED electronics business) and I've made lights that have directional flood heads (one has 3 heads) that are dimmable. I then mount the head on a tripod and aim the light sources down to the areas I need lit up. Now I can look around and not have to be blinded by a lantern, don't have to listen to it, can put light where *I* want/need it and don't need to worry about fuel etc etc. I run a cord to a powered 12V outlet on my 80 (have a bunch front & rear that are fed from the aux bat).

On a recent trip back to oz I spent about 10 days camping in the bush with a friend. I brought a few LED lights, but to be honest, it was a minimal lighting camp. We relied on light from the fire and a rear facing LED light on the back of my patrol for when it was (rarely) needed. You really learn to appreciate a relatively dark camp that is quiet other than your own personal noise. Quiet enough that the Engel cycling on/off every 5-10 minutes was irritating... but something we lived with in trade for nice cold beers.

Anyhow, it's not a specific answer to your fuel based lantern question, but more my view of night while camping.

Oh, I'd trade a fuel lantern for a LED lantern any day of the week. Unless you bought the biggest piece of cr@p from china I really can't imagine the electronics failing versus all the things that can go wrong with a fuel lantern.... just having it tip/fall brings a fireball of destruction to mind

Here's a picture from 8 years ago at camp, with a 3 headed LED light. One light for my wife reading, one lighting up the area around the fire and one facing towards the tent. The bright light near the ground is one of my loonie kids with a LED light as he digs a hole in the dirt

The unit during the day, this one had a 6V gell cell to power it (though now I run a 12V 'extension cord'):

cheers,
george.

 

[cody c]

Anyhow, it's not a specific answer to your fuel based lantern question, but more my view of night while camping.

Oh, I'd trade a fuel lantern for a LED lantern any day of the week. Unless you bought the biggest piece of cr@p from china I really can't imagine the electronics failing versus all the things that can go wrong with a fuel lantern.... just having it tip/fall brings a fireball of destruction to mind


cheers,
george.

I kinda both agree and disagree with george. The gas lanterns are fragile, and carry risk. But there are alot of them that are 2,3 4+ decades old.

Im not sure the LED's will be lasting that long. Then again, I guess time will tell.

There is something kinda cool about adding fuel, pumping up the pressure and illuminating camp with an old gas lantern as well. Maybe nostalgia makes up for a few lumens, though for convenience the LED's cant be matched.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I have an old kerosene wick style lantern, to my eye it has the most pleasing light, a very soft yellow glow. You can adjust the output from bright enough to read a newspaper by down to a very dim glow. I have left it burning all night at it's lowest setting as kind of a night light. It will run for many evenings on one fill. I've had the same one since the late 70's, they last forever since there are almost no mechanical parts to fail.

 

[doug720]

I have an old kerosene wick style lantern, to my eye it has the most pleasing light, a very soft yellow glow. You can adjust the output from bright enough to read a newspaper by down to a very dim glow. I have left it burning all night at it's lowest setting as kind of a night light. It will run for many evenings on one fill. I've had the same one since the late 70's, they last forever since there are almost no mechanical parts to fail.

I agree, it just looks and feels right. That faint yellow glow and the sound is very relaxing for me when out camping. Maybe my age, but LED's just don't do it for me for vamp lighting.

LED's are great and I use them, just not for camp lighting.


Doug

 

[george_tlc]

It's great to hear some of you folk love your fuel lanterns. I'm certainly not a spring chicken, but I'd rather run LED lights (I can also use a yellow or warm white LED if I need that colour tint for nostalgia purposes) than deal with fragile mantles and glass bulbs and have to fuel things up and deal with any leaks etc. Combine that with flame and wind and rain its just a pain.

When out camping for 2 weeks or more, I'd rather just be able to click a light on when needed and click it off when done. All my lights are dimmable and can be left on all night with minimal current drain. Since I run solar for keeping the aux battery topped up to run the fridge, it's not like I'm going to run out of 12V power. On a longer trip you will likely get some foul weather and having water/windproof sources of light that don't have bad 'side effects' if tipped over etc seems like a good idea...

I already have LED torches to use, so have several LED light sources, including fixtures in the vehicle and off the back of the vehicle. Only the handheld lights use batteries and of course a rechargeable and yes, I take a couple of chargers (that run from 12V or USB power) along.

I'd rather listen to the wind/breeze and night sounds than a wheezing fuel lantern

Seems like it's mostly a matter of personal choice/taste what type of lighting folk will use when camping.

cheers,
george.

 

[skidplate]

I'm with rusty on this one. I went on a mid week camping trip last week with only a Dietz kerosene wick lantern and campfire light. You'd be suprised how much light or how little you really need. I always have a good flashlight for moving around the campsite. If I go with my wife I still rely on the old Coleman lantern. I've been using regular unleaded gas in my stove and lanterns for over 30 years and have never had any problems at all. I always have at least one jerry can of unleaded gas and that will fuel anything I have when car camping. As mentioned, it's a matter of how much light do you need.

 

[greentruck]

In both Scouts and caving, it's standard to have more than one source of light. Be prepared, you know.

We use both LEDs and fuel lanterns, although LEDs have been getting better. With dual batteries, so long as you're near the truck, if you don't have power to light them, you've got bigger problems -- unless you've left your flashlight at home, too.

Each type of lighting has its pluses and minuses, so I pick the right lights to stock my lighting "toolbox" before each adventure.

 

[Bull Moose]

I used to swear by propane everything. Used it for about 10 years, and just accepted that I needed many many mantles on hand as every time I moved the lantern and it was not lit, the would turn to dust. I solved the broken glass issue by moving to a metal screen version of the globe.

I then moved to isobutane, about a year ago, which was fantastic, and more compact. While searching for an isobutane lantern, I had a VERY hard time finding the one I wanted. When I finally found someone with it in stock, I questioned him as to why there were not any to be found.

His answer was that LED was taking over.

So of course I thought I would get a tiny backpacking lantern from black diamond. I NEVER wanted to use batteries for the reasons you state in the first post, so I was skeptical. I must admit I am stunned with hoW happy I am with LED.

GIVE ONE A TRY. You might be happy too.

 

[rusty_tlc]

It's great to hear some of you folk love your fuel lanterns. I'm certainly not a spring chicken, but I'd rather run LED lights (I can also use a yellow or warm white LED if I need that colour tint for nostalgia purposes) than deal with fragile mantles and glass bulbs and have to fuel things up and deal with any leaks etc. Combine that with flame and wind and rain its just a pain.

<snip>

I'd rather listen to the wind/breeze and night sounds than a wheezing fuel lantern

Seems like it's mostly a matter of personal choice/taste what type of lighting folk will use when camping.

cheers,
george.

IMHO Tech has it's place, I love tech and electronics in general.
However I tend to tech down when I camp, the cell phone is turned off, no laptop, etc.

Just to be clear I despise pressurized Coleman lanterns, the light is to harsh they are noisy and to me they are the embodiment of the ugly red neck camper.

Kerosene has no mantel, just a wick.
The glass may be fragile I guess but I've been hauling mine around off road since the 70's and never broken the globe. (Of course I will now break it the very next time I use it. )
Kerosene is very efficient, I can camp for a week on a single fill.
No wheeze since it is not a pressurized system.
I've used mine in windy and rainy conditions on many occasions, you know how windy Nevada is.

I think a lot of people may be but off by the fact that they are inexpensive, it seems that to many in order for something to be good is must be expensive. You can pick up a kerosene Lantern and enough fuel for a whole summer at Walmart for the price of a few AA batteries.

 

[skidplate]

I just re read my post and may have been unclear on fuel. In my kerosene lantern I use lamp oil, kerosene, whatever is on sale. In my Coleman stuff I use unleaded gas. Please dont make a molotov coctail by putting unleaded gas in a kerosene lantern. I'm sure everyone knew that but I'm just covering my a**.

 

[Bogo]

I do like my old oil hurricane lamps, but I'll admit I haven't used them in well over a decade. I've gone all LED. I mostly use 3 AA cell LED Maglites. If you screw off the reflector they become a candle with a nice wide 180 degree lit area. In the candle mode they are great for walking around at night. They last a crazy long time on three AA batteries, and the light fall off towards the end is smooth and gives you plenty of time to switch batteries.

Darn, I no longer see the three AA cell ones in their lineup, but the two AA cell ones also work as a candle and wide field flashlight. Maglite® Product line

 

[cody c]

George, you should really make an LED lantern setup for sale on here. Something with a big and reliable/rechargable battery pack would be nice.

Or maybe have a few zinc and copper electrodes in the kit so you can run them off a few potatoes or lemons if you forgot your batteries.

 

[george_tlc]

George, you should really make an LED lantern setup for sale on here. Something with a big and reliable/rechargable battery pack would be nice.

Or maybe have a few zinc and copper electrodes in the kit so you can run them off a few potatoes or lemons if you forgot your batteries.

That market is owned by made in china lights. It would definitely be a very niche market of folk that wanted to pay extra for realistically not much more in features.

I have a bunch of LED lanterns (3 level output) that my wife has bought during various bargain sales and they all basically do the job. Drop in some eneloop AA (straight or inside C or D adapters) and you have plenty of light for several nights before needing to recharge. A small maha or equivalent 4 channel charger takes care of recharging the eneloops. I've moved to eneloops for all by non li-ion charging since they have amazing shelf life versus old school nimh cells.

I still like directed lighting at camp and prefer to use LEDs in flood heads that I can point to the areas I need light and preferably from above. Lanterns just do the wrong thing, they light from eye level, they cast shadows if you get between them and what you are looking at etc etc. Maybe I'm fussy, but I really dislike lanterns for general lighting (regardless of fuel). The only time I find a lantern to be useful is going for a cr@p at night

At night I really prefer minimal lighting at camp - I'm there to enjoy the outdoors, stars, fire etc. I use to enjoy lighting up a campsite as per a small city, but over time I'm become a minimalist when it comes to camp lighting. If the weather is bad, I'll cook off the tailgate and will have a tarp up over the back of the vehicle to create a shelter/cooking area so then I have LED lighting in the cargo area of the 4wd to illuminate the cooking area etc. If good weather, I prefer to cook on the fire (hotplate) and have plenty of light from the fire. Soon as cooking is done (preferably before sunset) I want minimal lighting to enjoy nature.

Drizzle at camp last year in the oz bush. 1 fire for heat/light, 1 small one for the hotplate for cooking. Only lighting was vehicle mounted on the rear. The tarp is stretched from over the back of the vehicle roofrack to 3 poles. That way the entire back of the vehicle is under shelter and we could move the chairs under the tarp when needed. Two weeks camping with 2 LED headlamps, 1 LED flashlight and the LED lighting in the back of the vehicle - NO lanterns

cheers,
george.

 

[General Automag]

So I'm looking for a new lantern, something rugged, puts out good light, I'm not really looking for battery powered, since they always seem to go dead at the wrong time. What's your recommendations?

I'm going to buck the post trends here and recommend a GREAT lantern to you. Take a serious look at the Coleman Dual Fuel Powerhouse Lantern Coleman - Premium Dual Fuel Lantern. Combine it with a plastic carry case Coleman - Liquid Fuel Lantern Hard-Shell Carry Case and you're good to go. If you're the Boy Scout/prepper/Survivalbog/self-sufficient type like we are, get yourself a replacement pump kit Coleman - Dual Fuel Lantern Maintenance Kit, a case of mantles (which cost about $10-$11), and a filling funnel/filter Coleman - Filtering Funnel just to make filling the lanterns a bit easier. If you really want to make things easy, get yourself a tree lantern hanger Coleman - Lantern Hanger. We never had the need for a tripod as we camp in the mountains where there are usually trees, and if there aren't any around, you can set the lanterns on your camp table, vehicle hood or fender, truck tailgate, or hang them off part of your camper or trailer setup.

These lanterns are such a good product that I've decided to spread the word about this simple but much-needed camping item. We actually own two (2) of these lanterns and use them most anytime we are doing trailer or vehicle-based camping. The LEDs are OK, and I'm not going to say that they won't work for you, but when you need a lantern (light), you really want light don't you? I've been camping, hunting, and spending time outdoors since my youth (and now I've discovered that what we've been doing for all these years is called "expedition" traveling - how amusing)

Just one of these lanterns puts out the equivalent of a 150-200 watt incandescent bulb, and other than the newer LED "light bars" that I've seen mounted on vehicles lately, it takes a LOT of LED lights to produce the equivalent amount of light from just one of these lanterns.

I usually fill up the lanterns before my trip and have never had to fill them up during any of our excursions which are usually 4-7 days in duration. I usually turn them on just before sunset and leave at least one of them on low during the night after we're all in bed. Having to worry about battery life, replacing batteries, or using solar chargers just to have good light at night just isn't for us. Yes, LEDs work, but the only lights that have the same or more lumens are powered by the CR123 lithium batteries such as a Surefire, Cyclops, or other brand of light.

As far as durability, globes breaking, mantles falling apart, messy fuel, etc., these are simply not factors. I was given a "regular" two-mantle Coleman lantern when I was younger, and I remember replacing the pump handle/rubber cup when I first started college, and that was a couple of decades ago. The main reason I upgraded was because of the price of white gas (Coleman fuel) which was close to $10/gallon the last time I check a couple of years ago. If you can find fuel (gasoline) for your vehicle, then you have fuel for your stove, plus you can always get yourself a gallon of white gas at most stores or filling stations. (By the way, I gave my first "old" lantern and a two-burner Coleman stove to one of our Boy Scouts who couldn't afford to purchase equipment on his own, and the Scout, who is now grown, still has them and uses them with his new family).

Unless you purposely bang the lantern around in its case or touch the mantles, you most likely won't have to replace them. I usually replace the mantles at most once every season. I usually store 3-4 packs of mantles in the bottom portion of the plastic case where they are always available if needed.

As far as the light itself, when we need and want to light up our camping area, we want to light it up! After all of the cooking, clean up, and settling down for the night has been done, we usually stoke up the fire and turn the lanterns down. I've never had anyone complain of the light, lumens, or color temp in Kelvin units. We like to be able to see the sky at night without much cast-off lights from our lanterns and other light sources.

If you use the plastic hard case which has is square at the bottom, these lanterns are extremely easy to pack in your vehicle or trailer and won't move around if you pack them well. You should have no problems with anything breaking, and you can stack things on top of them as they are quite sturdy.

For inside tent and inside roof top tent use, we keep a couple of Petzl headlamps around (good to keep one for each kid too) and sometimes we pack in a small LED light like one of these http://www.coleman.com/product/cr123a-lithium-pack-away-lantern/4347-710?contextCategory=24757. It works great and is very small.

We were in the outfitting business for years and we've traveled, camped, and hunted at length in southern Africa. Even after we sold the businesses, we are still testing and evaluating new gear because we love being comfortable in the outdoors, and we are "gear heads." We are always open-minded and are looking for something that is better-performing, more efficient,and cheaper.
It is interesting to note that there for some items such as lanterns and stoves, we prefer and recommend updated "old school" technology such as the Powerhouse lanterns. (On that note, I also highly recommend Kimber and Springfield 1911s in .45ACP, .308 battle rifles, and Coleman's 3-burner Dual Fuel Powerhouse stoves. Regarding the 3-burner Dual-Fuel stoves, you have to look around for them. We prefer the 3-burner models because you actually have enough room to cook more than one thing at a time. Get a skillet to cover two of the burners and you still have an open burner for a coffee pot or something else. You can also pack a small 1lb propane bottle and one of the propane bottle adapters Amazon.com: Century Regulated Propane Converter (Grey): Sports & Outdoors inside the stove which turns it into a 3-fuel stove. The Jetboil, MSR, Brunton, and other compact stoves are more efficient at boiling water, but there comes a time when you just get tired of freeze-dried food and want something different and need to cook more than one thing at a time. When you start cooking for more than 1-2 people, you'll understand). I would prefer that Coleman not be mass-marketed in all of the -Marts, and Coleman does have an Exponent line that was created to compete with the REI/Outdoor Retailer/climbing/hiking-marketed gear, which seems to a bit better constructed.

If, and only if, we are camping "light" or spot-and-stalk hunting where we have to camp overnight, I'll use battery-powered lights which are mostly LED. This is simply to keep the weight and space down. The technology is getting better every day, but as of yet, I haven't come across any camp lanterns/lights that do a better job than the Dual Fuel lanterns. As a plus, gasoline is usually cheaper and more available than batteries, chargers, solar mats or panels, inverters, or the $200 extra yellow, orange, or blue top AGM batteries that you will have need to wire up to run everything).

When and if we end up camping, oops, I mean expedition traveling, into places where no fires or firewood is allowed (Lord help us), then I will consider using a standard 20-lb gas grill propane tank and plumbing lines for a propane lantern, stove, Zodi hot shower, and one of those portable camp fire/camp rings that are becoming very popular. But still, I will probably end up using old-school fossil-fuel equipment over battery-powered devices.

I like improvements in technology, and eventually newer technology becomes cheaper and commonplace. When you factor in that with the cost of buying the newer gear, you tend to stay with what works best. A lot of people simply have to have the "latest and greatest" and are convinced by good marketers that their current gear is inadequate. It's very interesting to say the least, and it's provided us with a healthy income over the years. LEDs and batteries have come a long way, and it will be interesting to see this market in another decade or so.

Let us know what you end up choosing! )

 

[Josh N]

I am a big fan of these. Been using them for a few years now and the fact that all I have to do is store them near a window when not in use is awesome. No fuel, no batteries, no hassle. Just reliable.

Hybrid Lights Solar Power Lantern Yellow 5999