Recommend Me A Coleman Lantern!!!

I've been researching the Coleman lantern threads and I've also looked on the Coleman website at all of the different battery powered lanterns. I need some recommendations from those of you that have experience with the Coleman lanterns.
This will be the first lantern that I've ever purchased as well. My use will be for fishing at night on docks or from shore by myself or with 2 to 3 other people at the most. I will also want to use it for camping and emergency use during power outages... Please let me know what Coleman lanterns fits my need...

I've had 97 reviews but not one reply... I know there's people that must have some advise or comments about the coleman lanterns. Please let me know what you recommend...

flbowman1 said:

I've had 97 reviews but not one reply...

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Some of the views may be from people like me, who are also looking to see if anyone with specific Coleman experience will be posting any helpful info. I do not have any Coleman lanterns myself, but I have read some negative comments about the artifacts and glare in some of the lights. Does anyone out there have a Coleman that they enjoy using?

Backpacker Light said:

Some of the views may be from people like me, who are also looking to see if anyone with specific Coleman experience will be posting any helpful info. I do not have any Coleman lanterns myself, but I have read some negative comments about the artifacts and glare in some of the lights. Does anyone out there have a Coleman that they enjoy using?

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There are dozens of threads about lanterns, but basically it comes down to defining the usage and your budget more than just recommending lanterns. Some people have to have very bright lanterns, others want tremendous runtime and some want the cheapest one possible. You can get small 4AA lanterns and large 8D lanterns and coleman even makes SLA versions. There is gas lanterns also for those wanting in excess of 600 lumen output you almost have to go with them for the time being. LED lanterns can compete in up to 600 lumens but as of yet there is no lanterns much brighter than that commercially made and the 600 lumen models cost $75-$100+. And fluorescents do well in all categories with the highest output ones 15-18 watts.

I would like to run the lantern on D size batteries and I don't need alot of lumens. I'm thinking bewteen 140-200 lumens for my purposes and I would want to have the lantern offer good adjusting brightness levels as well. it's night fishing, camping and emergency use around the house..

coleman has a 4D 190 lumen lantern in the stores that "looks" pretty good. I haven't seen a review but I am sure you could find one somewhere. Rayovac has a 3D LED lantern also if you are not bound to just only coleman that people like.

I'm not going to make a recommendation per se, but I can tell you what I would buy if I needed a fishing, camping, emergency lantern by Coleman. I'd get a Coleman Twin High Performance Led lantern. It has a rotary adjustment dial to control brightness from an advertised 580 lumens down to ultra-low. You select the brightness needed for the situation. Bass Pro has it on sale at the moment if you care to check it out. There are a couple of reviews there as well. Oh, it requires 8 D cells so I do recommend investing in rechargeable batteries.

EDIT: I admit I consciously ignored the 140-200 lumen request, but I failed to explain why. A flashlight emits light from its source at a rather narrow angle. A lantern by nature is required to illuminate in 360 degrees. On a dark night of fishing I'm sure you will find the added 380 lumens a welcome sight. As previously stated, if 580 lumens isn't necessary just adjust the output to what is needed.

flbowman1, PM sent!

The Coleman recommended by Maskman is very good. I have one and it works well, brightness adjustable but a little heavy and bulky. The other one I would recommend is the Coleman 4D XPS High Tech. I have 2 of them - they're bright and a convenient size.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=2000002655&categoryid=1080&brand=

Maskman, thanks for the recommendation and why you would opt for the higher lumens. I'll check out the lantern as well as the Coleman XPS that was recommended. Last week I went ahead and bought a Rayovac Sportsman Extreme and a Coleman 4D rugged lantern for emergency use and camping. I think the other lantern you recommended might be the ticket for night fishing and any other use.. Thanks :thumbsup:

I have an older model coleman 4D packaway LED lantern that is rated at 140 lumens. It is ok but the light is kind of focused and hard to look at directly without adding your own diffuser. Also the tint is a tad purplish.

I just recently purchased the coleman 8D 390 lumen cfl packaway lantern and am so far really happy with it. Very bright, great tint and very smooth output. Only complaint is that the hi and low don't seem very different.