Lantern with High and Really Low Settings

I need a lantern for power outages that has a setting bright enough to light a room for reading and another setting for very long runtime. The fluorescent lanterns I have now go through a set of 8 D cells in about 6 hours even set on low.

I've done a lot of searching recently on a good lantern and the Rayovac 3D 300 lumen latern gets great reviews here so I bought one and tested it out. I liked it so much I bought 5 more. You can find them at Lowes for 25 USD

It's rated at 72 hours on high and 150 on low. My only complaint is that low is still pretty bright and I would like an additional mode of a lower low but oh well, it seems to be one of the best things going.

This is the one:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018S4XIS/?tag=cpf0b6-20

I'll be picking up a few more here and there just to have as well as use as gifts.

ETA: There is a Lantern forum here.

Check it out:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=90

How much light is "bright enough to light a room for reading"? That can vary a LOT from person to person. Personally I prefer at least 3000-6000 Lumens in an average sized bedroom to read comfortably. I can get by with the 18L setting on my zebralight though... camping and stuff where I am not reading for long periods. How large is the room you have in mind?

My advice is get a separate LED lantern with a low low, and use the fluoro for high modes.

I like to use a diffuser (with a tail standing flashlight).
Excellent control over runtime, intensity AND tint (a white diffuser will show the flashlight tint).

kramer5150 said:

How much light is "bright enough to light a room for reading"? That can vary a LOT from person to person. Personally I prefer at least 3000-6000 Lumens in an average sized bedroom to read comfortably. I can get by with the 18L setting on my zebralight though... camping and stuff where I am not reading for long periods.

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Just to show the individual variations, I think the 3 lumens of a zebralight headlamp with warm white (neutral) emitter and 80 degreee beam is perfect for reading. (I have the H50b-w, but the H501w should be identical beam).

It is not only a question of how bright the lantern is - it is much more a question of where you direct the light. If you put the lantern 2 feet from your book most lanterns should let you read easily, even at the lower settings. If you want a general room illumination sufficient for reading in any corner of the room from a single lantern - then you're looking at A LOT of lumens.

+1 for the Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme lantern. For $25, u can't beat it. Its compact, its tough (i've dropped mine many times), and it only uses 3 D batteries. Plus it gives off a good amount of light, but like was mentioned, it doesn't have a very low low. In fact i usually just leave mine on in low mode because its really not too much dimmer than high.

If you want something compact with a real low, check out the black diamond lanterns. They have the ability to ramp up and down in brightness.

duboost said:

+1 for the Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme lantern. For $25, u can't beat it. Its compact, its tough (i've dropped mine many times), and it only uses 3 D batteries. Plus it gives off a good amount of light, but like was mentioned, it doesn't have a very low low. In fact i usually just leave mine on in low mode because its really not too much dimmer than high.

If you want something compact with a real low, check out the black diamond lanterns. They have the ability to ramp up and down in brightness.

Click to expand...

What is the run time of the ray o vac?

Package states 150 hours low and 72 hours on high.

Wow. 8 D cells and I only got about 6 hours from my collapsible Coleman lantern.

Moving this to the Lanterns section...