Heads up for the bargain hunters:
I Went to Big lots looking for the $3.99 compact Fluorescent lantern from the other thread and struck out. But I did find another lantern there for only $6.99. It looks like the brand name is Expeditions and it comes in a blister pack. I couldn't find any pictures at all online and I don't think I can upload pictures to the board so I'll have to describe it the best I can.
The lantern itself is about 8 inches high and 3 inches in circumference. It's close to traditional lantern shape. The bottom is a combination of metal and plastic. The handle is metal with an added plastic grip. Attached to the plastic grip is a metal hook that flips up so you can hang the lantern up. Another thing it has is what they call a 'compass' on top of the lantern. I think this is the reason it ended up at big lots. The compass sucks, plain and simple.
I'm a CPF newb so please forgive me for not being able to describe the technical aspects of the light and test things like runtime and lumens. The package says the tube is 5W. It's U shaped and about 3 to 4 inches tall. It runs on 4C batteries but the package doesn't list any runtimes.
Quality of light: It's brighter than my flip up energizer fluorescent lantern with both bulbs on. Good enough to read by with the light nearby to you and acceptable for quick reading at around 12 feet. The quality of light seems to be smother than the energizer, maybe since the glass housing is round. Another good thing is that you can unscrew the useless compass which casts more light onto the ceiling and lights up the room a little more.
I was happy enough with the lantern to buy another. I told my wife the second one was for her. One thing to watch though is that some of the lanterns I picked up rattled like something was loose. The bulb in my wife's new lantern also occassionally flickers when warming up.
I was ready to buy one or two more (Help me, I have a problem) but then I went to target and found the Coleman Twin Tube fluorescent lantern (looks exactly like this one) on clearance for only $9.98. The local target is clearning out a bunch of their camping stuff and this was one of the things marked down. I didn't let the fact that it required 8D batteries deter me. It was only $9.98. I would have been a fool not to buy one for that price!
The box claims 18 hours run time on 1 tube, 12 hours with both, and that it can light up 1,200 square feet. Unfortunately my house has these pesky walls so I can't test that claim. But this sucker is bright. My only complaint besides having to use 8 D batteries in it is the glass / plastic housing has vertical grooves etched into it on the corners, and that hampers light quality a little bit. But for $10 I'm not complaining.
The brightness list right now, from low to high:
Energizer on single tube
Energizer on two tubes
Expeditions lantern
Coleman Twin Tube on single tube
Coleman Twin Tube on two tubes
I Went to Big lots looking for the $3.99 compact Fluorescent lantern from the other thread and struck out. But I did find another lantern there for only $6.99. It looks like the brand name is Expeditions and it comes in a blister pack. I couldn't find any pictures at all online and I don't think I can upload pictures to the board so I'll have to describe it the best I can.
The lantern itself is about 8 inches high and 3 inches in circumference. It's close to traditional lantern shape. The bottom is a combination of metal and plastic. The handle is metal with an added plastic grip. Attached to the plastic grip is a metal hook that flips up so you can hang the lantern up. Another thing it has is what they call a 'compass' on top of the lantern. I think this is the reason it ended up at big lots. The compass sucks, plain and simple.
I'm a CPF newb so please forgive me for not being able to describe the technical aspects of the light and test things like runtime and lumens. The package says the tube is 5W. It's U shaped and about 3 to 4 inches tall. It runs on 4C batteries but the package doesn't list any runtimes.
Quality of light: It's brighter than my flip up energizer fluorescent lantern with both bulbs on. Good enough to read by with the light nearby to you and acceptable for quick reading at around 12 feet. The quality of light seems to be smother than the energizer, maybe since the glass housing is round. Another good thing is that you can unscrew the useless compass which casts more light onto the ceiling and lights up the room a little more.
I was happy enough with the lantern to buy another. I told my wife the second one was for her. One thing to watch though is that some of the lanterns I picked up rattled like something was loose. The bulb in my wife's new lantern also occassionally flickers when warming up.
I was ready to buy one or two more (Help me, I have a problem) but then I went to target and found the Coleman Twin Tube fluorescent lantern (looks exactly like this one) on clearance for only $9.98. The local target is clearning out a bunch of their camping stuff and this was one of the things marked down. I didn't let the fact that it required 8D batteries deter me. It was only $9.98. I would have been a fool not to buy one for that price!
The box claims 18 hours run time on 1 tube, 12 hours with both, and that it can light up 1,200 square feet. Unfortunately my house has these pesky walls so I can't test that claim. But this sucker is bright. My only complaint besides having to use 8 D batteries in it is the glass / plastic housing has vertical grooves etched into it on the corners, and that hampers light quality a little bit. But for $10 I'm not complaining.
The brightness list right now, from low to high:
Energizer on single tube
Energizer on two tubes
Expeditions lantern
Coleman Twin Tube on single tube
Coleman Twin Tube on two tubes