LED lanterns

D

DOC-CANADA

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Apr 14, 2006
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Last week we were hit with a torrential downpour - what the officials call the 'storm of the century' (we've had 3, so far, in the last few years :rolleyes: ). There was extensive flooding and the power was shut off in our apartment building and surrounding area for seven hours by the hydro company. This was done to prevent somebody from electrocuting themselves while trying to retrieve their belongings from their flooded basements.

I have the usual assortment of candles and flashlights, and a propane/butane lantern, so it's no big deal, but I didn't want to fire up the lantern because it was already hot, and, of course, the air conditioner wasn't working. :( So I got to thinking that an LED lantern might be handy for this kind of thing. Anybody have any experience with them, and, maybe some recommendations? How do they compare in brightness to a fuel type lantern?

Thanks,

Doc
 
I like em. I got a generic one a few years ago (trade show),
uses D batteries and has a brightness knob;

24gow7p.jpg


I've used it alot for camping and power-outages.
A nice safe light that does the job.
 
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Doc, I have a layered system for everything including lamps. Like yourself I have the standard fare of Coleman White Gas and LP Lanterns. I also have three LED Lanterns that I find very valuable. One from Cabelas with a wireless remote I use in my canvas tent after I crawl into bed I can hit the remote switch to shut down the lights. It is a dandy but isn't extremely bright and runs on four D batts. I have a compact Coleman I got at Walmart that compacts down very small and also runs on four D batts. This Lantern is regulated which is a good thing and very bright. The great thing about both lanterns is they work with rechargeable batts.

So, as long as their is sun for the solar panel or gas for the generator I'll have battery power! Finally a friend gave me a hand crank lantern and to my surprize it works very well and lasts a long time. For ever one minute of hand cranking you get an hour of illumination.
 
Coleman makes a new series of lanterns with CREE LEDs. We got the single LED version and that was a mistake. The dual LED one is the one you need (we ended up getting that one too). It's bright, it'll last a long time, but it's pretty big. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely not for backpacking. Got mine at the Sports Authority. I also saw them at BassPro.com: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&CMID=TOP_SEARCH_GO
 
Wildewinds said:
Coleman makes a new series of lanterns with CREE LEDs. We got the single LED version and that was a mistake. The dual LED one is the one you need (we ended up getting that one too). It's bright, it'll last a long time, but it's pretty big. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely not for backpacking. Got mine at the Sports Authority. I also saw them at BassPro.com: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&CMID=TOP_SEARCH_GO
Click to expand...

What's a CREE LED?
 
Midnight Scout said:
What's a CREE LED?
Click to expand...

Cree is a make of LED's, another well known maker is Lumileds who make the luxeon LED range.

LED's are complicated things if you really want to get into them (just take a look at the flashlight forums!), but bottom line is Cree are the current (probably) best choice taking into account cost, brightness and power efficiency for most uses.

A good LED for a lantern would be something like a Cree MC-E, preferably a neutral or warm tint one rather than the usual blueish-white tints. Don't know if anyone's made one though...
 
BushcraftBrainTrust said:
Doc, you may want to look into the Fenix LD10 with the diffuser tip. Very compact and lightweight, it makes a great camp lantern. You get 34 hours of light, on low, with a single AA battery.


https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=466
https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_38&products_id=339
Click to expand...

Great tip, BBT (no pun, intended :rolleyes: ) I already have a Fenix L2D and the Fenix web site says the diffuser tip will work with it. :thumbup: I still want a larger lantern, as well.

Quirt said:
Doc, I have a layered system for everything including lamps. Like yourself I have the standard fare of Coleman White Gas and LP Lanterns. I also have three LED Lanterns that I find very valuable. One from Cabelas with a wireless remote I use in my canvas tent after I crawl into bed I can hit the remote switch to shut down the lights. It is a dandy but isn't extremely bright and runs on four D batts. I have a compact Coleman I got at Walmart that compacts down very small and also runs on four D batts. This Lantern is regulated which is a good thing and very bright. The great thing about both lanterns is they work with rechargeable batts.

So, as long as their is sun for the solar panel or gas for the generator I'll have battery power! Finally a friend gave me a hand crank lantern and to my surprize it works very well and lasts a long time. For ever one minute of hand cranking you get an hour of illumination.
Click to expand...

Hey Quirt, how bright is the hand crank lantern? How far from the lantern will the remote work?

Wildewinds said:
Coleman makes a new series of lanterns with CREE LEDs. We got the single LED version and that was a mistake. The dual LED one is the one you need (we ended up getting that one too). It's bright, it'll last a long time, but it's pretty big. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely not for backpacking. Got mine at the Sports Authority. I also saw them at BassPro.com: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&CMID=TOP_SEARCH_GO
Click to expand...

Hey Wildewinds, I was looking at the Coleman yesterday. Coincidentally, my local Canadian Tire store has them on sale. Good tip about the single versus the double LED.

Dantor said:
I like em. I got a generic one a few years ago (trade show),
uses D batteries and has a brightness knob;

24gow7p.jpg


I've used it alot for camping and power-outages.
A nice safe light that does the job.
Click to expand...

Hey Dantor, how bright is it? I'm guessing it's the same one as the Innovage shown at Bass Pro.

Thanks one and all for your replies,

Doc
 
The Coleman lantern I mentioned which compacts up (from Wal-Mart) does have the Cree lamp. For those of you who don't know about Cree...they are one of the top manufacturers of good LEDs. LED's like knives are abundant and just about everyone is making them. Cree is one of the better manufacturers. Cree also makes regulated LEDs which means as the batts get weaker the lamp maintains its level of brightness and doesn't start getting dimmer, and dimmer as the battery drains like incans lamps or lesser expensive LEDs.

Doc, with the Cabela's remote control lamp inside my canvas tent I can operate the remove (which resides inside my Filson wool vest pocket) from about 20 to 25 yards away +/- 5 yards. Regarding the hand crank brightness I do not have the specs on that unit but I'd say it is on par with the Cabelas lamp maybe a bit dimmer.

The Coleman is called the Max LED Pack Away. It is on sale at Walmart right now. It is 140 Lumens. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8223672

The Cabelas is a 12 LED lantern and not as bright at the Coleman Max but it ranks high in convienance in my book.
 
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Check out the Rayovac Sportsman Extreme lantern. Very bright and good battery life.
 
I use a Brunton Polaris for power outages etc. and its plenty bright for most situations. A nice compact light, and I have yet to change the batteries (3 C cells)!
 
I own an embarrassing number of LED flashlights. For an emergency area light, though, I have a Coleman 4D cell florescent lantern. Florescent tubes are more efficient than LEDs. At least they were the last time I checked. :(
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Hey Dantor, how bright is it? I'm guessing it's the same one as the Innovage shown at Bass Pro.
Click to expand...

That's the same one! when our power goes out, I put it in the bathroom (no windows) and it's bright enough for "taking care of business" not the brightest you can get, but not those prices either! I've had/used it for hours, no problems with battery drain (of course I use fresh and recharged ones).

I like it alot for camping, in the tent and walking to the stinky house.

If you want more pics/comparisons just ask bro ;)
 
Scott Free said:
I own an embarrassing number of LED flashlights. For an emergency area light, though, I have a Coleman 4D cell florescent lantern. Florescent tubes are more efficient than LEDs. At least they were the last time I checked. :(
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Not in my experience. I have a 4d flourescent. It puts out less light than the single LED lantern and it lasts something like 1/4 as long.
 
Wildewinds said:
Not in my experience. I have a 4d flourescent. It puts out less light than the single LED lantern and it lasts something like 1/4 as long.
Click to expand...

+1 on this. I have two of the flourescents that I picked up for a ridiculous price on close out. (The reason I have them) I have a couple of the River Rock K2 Lanterns from Target. They put out way more light and last a lot longer on 4 AA batts.
 
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