Lantern Recommendaton?

[W I S N E R !]

I’ve been getting out for overnights almost every week and the darkness is starting to get a little long…especially with fire restrictions still in full effect.

Any recommendations on a lantern? I’ve used a UCO candle lantern for years but I’m getting sick of breaking the glass and running out of candles…on my third replacement now. Thinking it might be time for something battery operated (or preferably directly rechargeable).

Anything out there that’s a little more pleasant than someone’s high beams in your face? Something with a little more “mood” for sitting alone in the dark? I suppose I could get some amber lighting gels…

Thanks!

 

[John S.]

The luci lights seem cool. I was backpacking in Arkansas recently and someone brought one. I mentioned it would be cool if they made one that had a candle appearance and here it is.

https://mpowerd.com/products/luci-candle (2.8 oz)

All the others weigh 4.4 oz except the one above and the emergency one.

https://mpowerd.com/products/luci-emrg-f2017

[Steve Cockburn]

I’m with John S . Luci lights are the go if you can get enough light to recharge . Great option .

 

[Philip Tschersich]

Are you hanging it in the peak of a shelter, or is it just sitting on the ground? Recently I have been hanging my Nite Core NU25 from the peak of the ‘mid. Sometimes using the nice red LED when I just wanted a general idea of where things were but I didn’t need to do actual work, or the white ‘auxiliary’ light (a very diffuse, wide beam LED) for general lighting. It only weighs 1 ounce and you can use it while it is recharging (unusual for a light). It is a headlamp, so perhaps not what you are wanting.

If you have a flashlight you like, you can put a diffuser over the end.

“Luci” lights are popular with my group. Some new ones (not made by MPowered) have a USB port for charging when you don’t have enough sun during the day for the small solar panel to do the job.

[John S.]

And, some lights come with a diffuser so you would only need the one light and just a diffuser for a softer appearance.

[BlackHatGuy]

I’m a big fan of the Fenix CL26R lantern. Not exactly UL, but lasts a long time, can project light down as well as around, rechargeable (uses an 18650 battery, or two CR123s).

[W I S N E R !]

Probably use it in a shelter peak as well as on the ground. Generally looking for something to make camp a little more cheery after dark while sitting around and reading…

Not worried much about weight for whatever it’s worth…Noticed the Black Diamond Moji “Color” model can alternate between white and R/G/B. From Black Diamond:

If you’re looking for a reliable camp lantern that also adds fun to the adventure, the Moji Color is ready to party.

LOL, a one-man rave, coming to a quiet canyon near you!

[David Thomas]

10 grams, 10 bucks, 50 hours on low (1 hour at 45 lumens): the NiteCore Tube.

And 4 square inches of aluminum foil as a reflector.

Put them in the corner or ridge of your tent.

Or, weight aside, any LED flashlight with a translucent plastic cup stuck over its bright end.

30 years ago, when I wanted something more than a candle lantern but less than a Coleman white-gas lantern, I’d bring my brass carbide caving light.  Akin to about a 30-watt bulb.  Plenty if you aim it at a picnic table and I preferred the light being to the side and not in the middle of the table where it blinded you.  But now?  A rechargeable LED light is better in every way.  Before LEDs, carbide still had a niche on longer caving trips in bigger caves – you could throw more light with less weight than with alkaline batteries and incandescent bulbs.  As long as you were careful to not burn the butt of the guy crawling along in front of you.

[Kevin Babione]

I have the Uco Tetra lantern – currently on sale at Sierra TP for $14.99.  It’s bright, becomes a decent flashlight when compacted (it has two modes – lantern and flashlight), is rechargeable via micro-USB and will act as a spare battery if you need to charge another device from it (it also has a USB-out port.  It also has an infinite number of brightness settings.  It’s at full power when you turn it on and then you simply hold down the power button until it reaches the brightness level you want.

I can weigh it if you’re interested…

[John S.]

On second thought about luci lights, i would not want one that I could not usb charge from a power bank.

[Kevin Babione]

It doesn’t seem that the Uco Tetra is still available – it’s the Uco Pika that’s at Sierra Trading Post for $14.99.  It seems to have most of the same features but instead of unlimited brightness levels it has low, high, and strobe.  For $14.99 it might be worth considering – I think it weighs around 4.8 ounces.

[Erik Hagen]

I like this: Nitecore LR10 It puts out nice even light and found the medium setting to be in the right range for reading.  That’s the one thing I didn’t like with Luci lamps.  Lighting is uneven it creates some shadows.

I just got back from Grand Canyon and used these for 4 nights: Bio Mini SiteLight Found them to be quite fun and strung them up in trees or to the side of tent.  You would need to carry a battery pack as they are not standalone.  I ran them for around 9 hours in  total with a 6,700 mah battery pack and had over 50% remaining.  They can even be paired together.  Downside is only 1 setting.

 

 

 

[Rex Sanders]

I have a couple of the Luci solar-recharge-only lights. They NEED full direct sunlight for hours to recharge. Next lanterns will be USB-rechargeable. Not hard to find.

For backpacking, this 7-gram diffuser is on my long-term wish list, since I already take a headlamp:

https://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?p_id=1124658

— Rex

[Michael Sirofchuck]

As an outlying member of Philip’s group, I wholeheartedly advocate for the Luci-type solar lights.  We have used them on multi-day trips and even on cloudy days they charged enough to be used that evening. That said, I have found that rechargeability varies with individual lights; that’s why a I carry two.  If I have one that doesn’t seem to recharge very well, it sits in the windowsill at home for emergency use in the case of a power outage.

Usually each person brings a couple which means we have a backup or two.  I’ve used them on solo trips in the Southwest; they provide excellent light for setting up and moving around camp and in the tent as well.  I find that I still like to use my headlamp for reading.  Simple and rechargeable and no need for additional batteries.

[Aaron]

I got the Goal Zero Lighthouse Mini when I was first starting to buy gear to go backpacking. Upgraded/lightened/left home different items here and there, but I’ve literally never gone camping, backpacking, bike camping, or that one kayak camping trip without it.

It’s a whopping 8 ounces but so ridiculously useful. If I don’t need the full capacity it can charge other items, it can hang in the tent or branch by handle or a cord, fold out stand for tabletop or rock-top cooking, dimmable, one or both halves light up as desired, and it even has a magnet in the base for use around home/the garage/my campervan conversion project.

It’s the luxury item I always bring.

https://www.goalzero.com/shop/lights/lighthouse-mini-lantern

[Philip Tschersich]

Having access to the choice of white or red light is very nice. A white moderate-level light for organizing and cooking, then switching to lower level white as folks settle in, and finally a medium intensity red for when the whiskey comes out, lol.

[AK Granola]

I don’t know what weights any of these aforementioned lanterns are or what weight you’re aiming for. I have a Black Diamond Voyager Lantern, which weighs 4.7 ounces and gives a really excellent tent or cabin adjustable lighting. It’s also fairly indestructible and lasts forever on AA batteries. I wouldn’t take it backpacking probably, due to weight, but I do use it on spring/fall/winter cabin trips. I don’t need light in the summer anyway, but for longer trips, this one is probably too heavy. I’d consider taking it on a weekend.

Looks like there’s an update with LED, which must be lighter.

[Claiborne B]

I’ve been using the Nitecore LR10. It’s usb chargeable and 2oz. Long battery life, small package.. Its great.

https://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/lr10

Looks like its been discontinued, but options still available on Amazon and Ebay.

I did use the Luci EMRG, but it needs a substantial amount of direct sunlight to recharge. It was nice in the Southwest US, but didn’t work for me in the Appalachians.

 

[SIMULACRA]

So just like Rex’s idea here

 

I found this similar one at REI

 

Or better yet, if your already carrying a small white DCF bag like this, just dual purpose

[W I S N E R !]

Well, BPL never fails to confuse the hell out of me with 500 options I never knew existed ; )

Thanks everyone…looks like I have some homework to do.

 

[Rob Lee]

Nite Ize MoonLit LED Micro Lantern. @REI   Hangs, rotates, coin cells, 60 hr mood lite, 0.65oz, $10

 

[Rob Lee]

There’s also a rechargeable multi color Nite Ize mico at twice the weight & twice the $

[W I S N E R !]

I appreciate all of the responses here, I am well-educated on lanterns now! I went with my initial instinct and bought the Black Diamond Color Moji lantern. I was pretty sold on the color changing ability. You can cycle through the spectrum and freeze it on a color of your choice (and there’s of course white). It’s also dimmable in every color. I found that it produces a nice amber not far off from firelight…a pretty nice vibe for long nights in the dark. I’ve had it out three nights now, most recently on a solo small game hunt/overnight  in Los Padres.

Hung from the underside of my tarp off the center pole or from the edge on a guyout, it worked quite well. The red/amber isn’t obnoxious and doesn’t kill night vision.

[Greg Mihalik]

Details I’d forgotten –

By Jim O’Connor of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association

“Humans only need eight hours of sleep, maybe less, each night but there are more hours of night in most latitudes for much of the year. We tend to live a diurnal life, so we need eyes that can fill our needs both in light and dark environments.

“To do so, the eye has two types of cells; cones are used mainly for color vision, rods for black and white in low light levels. In daytime we need detail to live our lives, but at night our primary need is threat detection.

“The rods work best at detecting motion, for night survival. Since threats tend to sneak up from the side or behind, the rods are placed at the periphery of our eye while the cones occupy the central part of our vision. The effect is that at night we can detect motion at the edge of our view. Near the front we don’t see so well at night, but if we look a bit to the side objects ahead of us can pop into view. Astronomers call this averted vision, and it is used to find faint objects in an eyepiece.

“Rods don’t work on their own; they are inert. Their type of nerve cell need a chemical to enable their function. The body does not produce this chemical in daytime. It takes a very low light level sensed by the eyes to produce this chemical called rhodopsin, or visual purple. When the light is detected at a low level for 20 minutes or so, the body starts producing rhodopsin and night vision starts setting in.

“The other contributor to night vision is the pupil opening, but that goes to maximum within a few minutes of dark exposure.

“The big player in night vision is rhodopsin, and that takes from 20 to 40 minutes for humans to start benefiting from it. A key trait of this feature is that rhodopsin is photoreactive. It only takes a few seconds of bright light to cause the rhodopsin to decay into two parts with a photosensitive reaction, and the rods stop working. Then the cycle starts again.

“It is an interesting trait that deep red lights do not trigger the neutralization of the rhodopsin, so astronomers and safety officials use red lights for night lighting to allow night vision to continue. Since, unless the light is monochromatic like a laser, even red light has elements from other colors, even a bright red light can reduce the rhodopsin so a dim red light is best for maximizing after-dark eye behavior.”

[John S.]

Nice choice on lantern Wisner. You got the Moji Color lantern. It looks like there are about 4 types of Moji lanterns.

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