The Coleman Thread
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I can't believe I have never noticed this coleman thread before.
Picked this stove up a few months ago for $30.00
It still has the original box, I think it had been used once or twice before I got my hands on it.
My family has 5 of these stoves now. One my grandpa bought new and one my dad bought new.
We also got 4 or 5 old coleman lanterns. I will have to fire up the lanterns one night and post some photos.
Picked this stove up a few months ago for $30.00
It still has the original box, I think it had been used once or twice before I got my hands on it.
My family has 5 of these stoves now. One my grandpa bought new and one my dad bought new.
We also got 4 or 5 old coleman lanterns. I will have to fire up the lanterns one night and post some photos.
I remember a Coleman lantern at pretty much every camping trip with my folks growing up. Green hat and dual mantles is about all I can recall. I'm sure my Dad still has it.
I saw a few at an antique mall last weekend. 1 was a (green)228E in box for $75. It seemed like the hat/lid was a larger diameter than others I see.
I saw a few at an antique mall last weekend. 1 was a (green)228E in box for $75. It seemed like the hat/lid was a larger diameter than others I see.
The 228s are known as the "big hat" models. The vent has a wide brim that's coated white on the underside to help with throwing light down if you want to set it on a table or hang it above one. They're really a lot nicer for that sort of use than the "normal" models like the 220s. Not only do they toss more light down, the brim keeps the mantles from shining directly in your eyes if the lantern is even slightly below eyeheight.
well crap. Is $75 ok for one in a retail setting, or I should I prowl the garage/estate sales if I really want one?
You can probably find a good deal on one ☝ if you start hunting.
But I find myself thinking about these lanterns as the prices go nuts, that you will have a hard time finding a brand new Coleman model lantern in the box for $75 or under…
$75 is low-ish but not brag-worthy from a dealer assuming it's in excellent condition. If you work around long enough, you'll probably find one on Craigslist for $25-$35 but you might wait a year or so for a deal like that.
Did coleman make a blue lantern?
Yes.
For Sears.
Coleman made several different types/colors that were labeled Sears with Sears part numbers.
Lots of the Canadian Coleman white gas lanterns came in shades of blue, as well. Uncommon here in the US, but look at the valve clocking (*where the valve points) closely. US lanterns all will have the pump on the right side of the valve and the fuel fill to the left. Canadians clocked their valves opposite.
Don't ask me, it's canada...
Don't ask me, it's canada...
I also saw a full stainless/chrome plated one a while back. It was labeled as German, Pertex, Permatex, a "P" name at any rate. Priced at a cool $500. Very similar in size to the 228E
Petromax. Veeeeery different lanterns than Colemans.
Way back in the day, when they were actually made in Germany exclusively, they were good enough and safe enough. Now, just the trademark is licensed and they're made god knows where. The US licensee of the trademark is BriteLyte and they're made in Asia somewhere. The new ones are NOT good enough and absolutely NOT safe enough.
I have NEVER paid more than $25 or $30 for ANY lantern. Most I buy are $5-$15. $75 for a big hat 220 or 228 is outrageous.
Welcome to 2022.
The huge upswing in the number of people trying camping and the fact that liquid-fuel Coleman stuff has become HUGELY collectible in Japan has pushed prices sky high and they're still rising. If you shop garage sales long enough, you'll eventually find one at more historically normal prices because the seller doesn't know what they have. If you buy anywhere on the internet where there's other buyers who know the current market, prepare to be shocked at the prices.
Thats the attitude that causes prices like we are seeing. Japan is on the other side of the globe. I dont see many people buying up old coleman gear to give camping a try, especially with the variety and quality of LED lights on the market today. Ultimately, an item is ONLY worth what someone is willing to pay. Ive bought more lanterns this year than I ever have, at normal prices. When I see ammo, 4 runners, guns, coleman, etc., etc., priced into oblivion, I laugh and walk away. I dont buy into any of that crap, and neither should you. Dont create a panic demand and be patient.
I see people in their 30s-40s saying "Hey, I have an LED light and it works but I remember these green lanterns my parents used when I was growing up. What are they and where can I get one?" Those same people are back shortly after happy as a clam because they paid nostalgia pricing to get a lantern. They're not buying it as a necessary piece of gear. They're buying a feeling from their childhood or a decor item for their campsite.
Same thing with the collectors in Japan. You can say "oh, they're way over there!" but when they're on our forums and our auction sites paying collector's prices for things, that drives up American pricing too.
Like I said, you can get good deals at garage sales still. For a while. But what's actually happening when you laugh and walk away is that you're being priced out of the market. Will there be a crash in valuations? I hope so. However, people who don't know any better are sending them to the landfill, people who do use them are cannibalizing them for repair parts, and collectors are shipping them overseas. In the long run that leads to supply becoming smaller than demand.
You sound exactly like the old guys (which included me!) who were scoffing at film camera prices rising about 5 years ago after cratering in a trench. They refused to spend $500 to get a camera they could have gotten for $25 the year before. So they laughed and walked away. Now that camera is going for $2,000 if you can even find someone willing to sell. The price of film is through the roof and still the prices of cameras continues to rise because, just like Coleman gear, the good ones aren't made anymore. Imagine if your lantern cost $45 to fill with fuel. That's the pricing we're up to for a roll of film plus processing and the market just keeps going higher and higher. Hasn't slowed the rise of equipment pricing at all.
That's not guaranteed to happen to Coleman, but when it's happened to vinyl LPs and to film photography, only a fool would think it couldn't happen to Coleman stuff.
HelloKitty65
SILVER Star
FYI, if searching you can skip Goodwill.
They won't even accept them as a donation, having once had a problem with mixing customers with gasoline in a store.
If gets past the intake, they toss it. A friend dumpster dove a lantern and gifted it to me.
Am totally not seeing price crazyness in the PNW. Can hardly give them away here.
They won't even accept them as a donation, having once had a problem with mixing customers with gasoline in a store.
If gets past the intake, they toss it. A friend dumpster dove a lantern and gifted it to me.
Am totally not seeing price crazyness in the PNW. Can hardly give them away here.
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Prices vary greatly on eBay depending on model.
My price examples have both been from "retail" places. I don't really need a liquid fuel lantern, but if I trip over one in nice shape for 20-30 bucks, I may grab it.
$72,989 window sticker for a trdpro 4runner is a whole other ball of wax. Goodwill can't take the old-school "deadly" lawn darts either.
@williaty I feel you on the film camera thing. I shoot a Mamiya 6mf. I wish I would have scooped up a bunch of Hasselblad gear back in the late 90's.
Was there or is there a plastic case that fits the big hat models?
$72,989 window sticker for a trdpro 4runner is a whole other ball of wax. Goodwill can't take the old-school "deadly" lawn darts either.
@williaty I feel you on the film camera thing. I shoot a Mamiya 6mf. I wish I would have scooped up a bunch of Hasselblad gear back in the late 90's.
Was there or is there a plastic case that fits the big hat models?
On cases for 228 Big Hats, it depends on which model you have; early 228s (A-E) with the tall ventilator won't fit in the clamshell cases. The later models -K with the shorter, modern vent definitely will. This is due to the height of the ventilator nut. The later models big hat's are the same dimensions as any other 220 series, for which the clamshell cases were designed.