Mini LED Lanterns?

[limetrude]

Currently looking for a mini LED lantern for my survival bag up here in Alaska... have some basic criteria and was hoping for some ideas/pointers.

1. Light output - this is just an overglorified nightlight to hang from the tent peak to help find important stuff in tent when big fuzzies go bump in the night. To date I have been using light-sticks for the majority of my bear country camping, but that is wasteful and a pain to deal with, especially in cooler weather when the output is drastically reduced. Essentially, I don't care TOO much about light artifacts, though it would be really nice if I could read with it... I really care more about compact size, robustness, and runtime. It does however need to throw a reasonable amount of light downward as it will pretty much live hanging from my tent ceiling...

2. Runtime - best I can get given my size limits... ABSOLUTE minimum of 16 hours per set of batteries.

3. Size - this is my second most important factor - needs to fit my survival pack - so I am picturing something around 6 inches long by no more than 2 inches in diameter...

4. Bomb proof - my number one criteria- something like a pelican light would be ideal -- simply put - it HAS to work again and again- if it gets dropped it still needs to work... if it goes in the water it still needs to work...

5. Batteries - I would prefer to stick with my current survival pack battery compliment, so it needs to run on one of the following (in order of preference) 18650 batteries, CR123 Batteries, AA, or AAA

I don't live and breathe lighting stuff yet, so I would be more than satisfied if you folks could point me in a general direction... I can do my own legwork and research, but I would really appreciate a starting point...

I did find the following,http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00168VA9A/?tag=cpf0b6-20 and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EH0NLK/?tag=cpf0b6-20 -- both have good reviews from amazon, but having been given a Deerelight flashlight a few years ago and seeing the difference between that and a coleman, I know that what you can buy from Amazon and Cabelas is generally older/cheaper technology-- I am looking for quality and am willing to pay or modify as required to get it...

Thanks in advance, you all have been very helpful in my past searches for information and I just want to say I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I would recommend a waterproof multimode flashlight and a diffuser for you. To get both bomb proof and waterproof you are probably asking for something I don't know of any LED lantern to have. Their are multimode lanterns able to do the 16 hours you want on low mode, I modded a sylvania 4AA LED lantern and stock it did about 6 hours on low and about 30 hours on low.... to about 10 hours on high and 80 hours on low. to read with a light/lantern you will probably have to use a mode that consumes more than a 16 hour setting would put out.

 

[chmsam]

Seems to me that there have been a few threads on what diffuser/diffuser materials to use on a variety of flashlights.

Something as simple as an empty bottle from some over the counter pain medicine on a flashlight you already own could fit the bill -- cheap beyond belief, super lightweight, and you could carry stuff in the bottle until you needed it as a diffuser. Just a thought.

Also quite a few people have used different tapes to diffuse lights for various reasons. That's another cheap and lightweight option.

I'm a big time cheapskate but I also appreciate not having to use hard to find, bulky/heavy, and single use gear.

 

[FlashInThePan]

This seems like a pretty ideal situation for a Zebralight H50, and I honestly think you'll love it. Here's why:

Light output: The zebralight has a broad, diffuse beam that's perfect for a small area like a tent; it evenly illuminates everything, and has no hotspot. It has a clip that you could attach to the tent, or a headband that lets you use it as it was originally intended: as a headlamp. It doesn't quite offer the full 360 degree illumination of a lantern, but it's a 120 degree floodlight, so hung from the top of your tent, it should illuminate everything quite nicely.

Runtime: You wanted 16 hours; it'll go for roughly 3 days on low (which is still surprisingly bright), 15 hours on medium, and 2 hours on high. Various CPFers have tested the runtime on these lights, and they're surprisingly close to the manufacturer's claims.

Size: It's tiny. The H50 is literally just a bit bigger than the AA battery it houses. (If I remember correctly, roughly 2.5 inches by 1 inch.) It's always in my camping bag.

Bomb Proof: These are well-constructed lights. I've dropped mine, dunked it, and taken it in the cold, and it keeps on tickin'. (Note that the H50 is a bomb-proof twisty, but I've had a few issues with their H501, which is a clicky. Others have had somewhat similar problems with the clickies, but I've heard almost no reports of problems with the twisties: they're rock solid.) And, for what it's worth, I live in Alaska as well, so I've probably tested it in fairly similar environments. :naughty:

Batteries: Take your pick. I prefer the H50 for its size, but Zebralight makes lights that run on 18650s, CR123s, or AAs.

I'm Anchorage, so if you're anywhere close, feel free to give me a call; you can check out the H50 in person!

Hope this helps!

- FITP

 

[limetrude]

Many thanks for the ideas here...-Flash in the Pan, I am in Fairbanks but will PM you next time I am heading down your way... from what I am seeing the Zebralight H50 - its a right angle flashlight -correct? I think this is indeed very close to what I had in mind... really appreciate your time in comparing my criteria to the light!! Very helpful...

LynxArc - your modded sylvania lantern - was it something to the effect of this mod?http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=189628
I bumped into that post when I was searching for lantern related info last night before starting this post. I was thinking of trying to do the Cree Q5 and perhaps a 10 deg diffuser with this lantern...

Thanks again - will keep you posted on what I decide... additional ideas are always welcome!!

 

[limetrude]

Lynx_Arc: I am going through several PDFs on the binning and labeling used by Cree and I am realizing there are more options than i thought when it comes to selecting these things. I then ran over to cutter electronics website and saw the following: http://www.cutter.com.au/categories.php?cat=Cree+LEDS which only further served to confuse me. If I were looking into either modding or gutting a sylvania lantern, what type of Cree would I be looking for based on the above link? I understand temperature scales for lighting reasonably well and will be looking for something warmer, perhaps around the 4300K range. I think I understand that the Q number is simply how efficient the LED is, ie a Q5 can be the same brightness, but is more efficient... I think I also understand binning... but what I don't know yet is the difference between the XPC, XPE, XPG etc... could you perchance give me a jumping off point as to what you were able to use for your sylvania mod and if you have a moment some help understanding the Cree's? My background is I do a lot of hobby electronics, but never really used high end LED's before, so I understand a lot of the general electrical concepts, but am a bit lost on these Cree's.

Many thanks for whatever assistance you can render...:bow:

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Many thanks for the ideas here...-Flash in the Pan, I am in Fairbanks but will PM you next time I am heading down your way... from what I am seeing the Zebralight H50 - its a right angle flashlight -correct? I think this is indeed very close to what I had in mind... really appreciate your time in comparing my criteria to the light!! Very helpful...

LynxArc - your modded sylvania lantern - was it something to the effect of this mod?http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=189628
I bumped into that post when I was searching for lantern related info last night before starting this post. I was thinking of trying to do the Cree Q5 and perhaps a 10 deg diffuser with this lantern...

Thanks again - will keep you posted on what I decide... additional ideas are always welcome!!

I didn't have the optics that others did in that thread if you scroll down to post 213 and read from there you will see my notes about it. The reason I used a Q5 was I bought some cheap off the marketplace and at that time the XRE series Q5 was the most efficient LED easily available (the R2 and XP series were not out yet) If you wanted to mod for an XP series you would have more problems doing so because the XRE design has a large enough circuit board to make it easier to adapt in place of the factory LED installed in the lanterns. The XP and on series LEDs use a smaller base design it may be doable but without looking at one I would not know how easy it was to mod. I didn't use the optics and mine turned out ok. It looks like the optics helps focus the light sideways more losing less of it underneath the dome perhaps too but some complained that their attempts were somewhat fragile at installing the optics (tended to be succeptable to being dislodged).