Ok so the Rayovac 300 seems to be a big leader right now. I just dont like the green finder led pulling juice all the time, but I've seen you can some how disable this.
I had seen a Dorcy LED at ****s that had 2 leds & a third amber LED for super low light, which I think is a great idea:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GNC9A4/?tag=cpf0b6-20
It's only 160w light, which is obviously a big difference from the Rayovac.
Does anyone know of any other higher lumen lanterns that also have this amber light for super low light situations?
I'm also highly considering the cranking style of lanterns, but I've read mixed reviews. A lot of the lanterns in this particular area seem to be junk & the cranking feature doesnt seem to last very long.
Are there any higher end, heavy duty, long lasting cranking LED lanterns out there?
This one was suggested:
http://windupradio.com/FPindigolantern.htm
For 60 seconds of cranking, you get almost 3 hours of light - thats a pretty good ratio for the effort.
But it doesnt state how many lumens it is? I'm sure its not upwards of 300 like the Rayovac though.
I also love the idea of the Coleman Quad LED lantern, but it takes 8 D batteries & seems pretty heavy. It would be something great to keep around the house, but think its too much weight for camping.
I dont know, I guess I'm still on the fence yet. I'd love to find one that accepts batteries, (3-4 D batteries MAX) is rechargeable like the Coleman 4D LED Classic - XPS is, but also has a crank feature with a low light amber LED.
Does my perfect lantern exist out there?
JS,
First of all, as for the locator beacon, it lasts at least two years and you can always take out the batteries if it's going into storage for say the entire winter.
With all due respect, please save yourself some agonizing over choosing a lantern and make use of the extensive energy I put into researching, finding and using these lanterns and the lessons learned and get the Rayovac.
I'll bet what's happening is that the Rayovac name conjures up images of cheapness, but the Sportsman Extreme line of lanterns is the real deal.
Honestly man, they kicks ***!!! The fence your sitting on over making a decision, would be demolished by throwing a bunch of these lanterns at it and they would barely show signs of how badly they were abused...seriously, it's a top notch light that could fetch 2x or 3x maybe even 4x the $25.00 price tag.
Forget the cranking model...period. If you get anything that cranks like that, get a small Eton or Grundig AM/FM/Weather band radio that comes with a small LED emergency light. These come with AC adapters that can be plugged in at home to save the batteries. Ths product is nice to have not just for music, but more importantly when your camping off the beaton track like we do, having a weather band radio provides a family an added sense of comfort through safety. Check out LL Bean to get an idea of what one looks like.
I woudn't even consider the 8D coleman, It's more than double the size of the Rayovac and buying eight batteries, no way would I do that. I would go to propane first.
And finally, if you don't mind a seperate lantern for inside the tent, consider the Black Diamond Orbit which
can be dimmed right down to a night light. Here's the link:
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/mountain/lighting/orbit/. Read the description and specs carefully. When fully collapsed, it's tiny, about the same size as the sportsman Extreme Mini LED lantern or a can of Campbells soup.
Does the perfect lantern exist, of course that requires subjective criteria from the end-user. IMO, the Rayovac Sportsman Extreme 300 lumen along with Rayovac Mini and or the BD Orbit or Apollo or Titan are a kick *** package.
And don't foget to consider the Coleman collapsible lantern stand for around $20. It' widely available. You can hang one or two Rayovacs upside down with the frosted globe either on or off (we takes ours off in this configuration) while it's hanging high on the Coleman stand or from a tree along the perimater of camp. You can also hang the lantern from the Coleman stand right next to a table to place cards. Or you can stand upright right on the table. I can't describe enough how nice these lanterns are. Everyone that camped with us over the summer inquired about where to get them so they could buy one for themselves.
That's the only way I would go until upgrades begin to appear down the road. Heck, just order them from Amazon.com or look at a local Lowes store (if you have one) and remember that if you don't like it, take it back. With Amazon.com, if you spend at least $25, you get free UPS ground shipping, but can pay for expetited shipping!
Worst case scenario, if you didn't want to keep them and can't return it for some reason and it's still in "like new" condition, if you were willing to part with it for say fifteen bucks with you paying the shipping, I would consider buying it from you even though I have two each of the 300 lumen models and two of the minis.
Take care and happy camping,
John
