What are floating lanterns for?
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fyrstormer
Banned
I was hoping this thread would be about the small candle-powered hot-air balloons that people sometimes release at fairs and festivals.
Personally I would advise against such things, one of those could start a fire somewhere especially in areas that have experienced droughts last year.
There are plenty of safe places to use them. I saw a few released over a large lake on a still night a few years back. Man what a sight!
Back to the OP, though (at least kinda…)
What about using something like a Chums Camera Float attached to a decent waterproof light? It should float a light that's not too heavy, it would give you a lanyard, and you could use whatever light you wanted so long as it had a way to connect a lanyard...
I've never used it for a flashlight, but a friend had one for his camera in Belize last year. Worked really well. Would seem like the perfect solution to me. I think I may order a couple
http://www.chums.com/category/water-sports-keychains/product/camera-float
fyrstormer
Banned
In my experience, the candle usually blows out and the balloon drifts to the ground, or the balloon tips over and the candle blows out while falling. It would be very difficult to start a fire with a candle-powered hot-air balloon, because as long as the candle is lit, the balloon will continue to generate lift and gain altitude, especially as the candle burns away and gets lighter.
Anyway...
StarHalo
Flashaholic
fyrstormer
Banned
Oh look, it's the guys who fired a cannonball through someone's house by accident.
StarHalo
Flashaholic
The guys who discovered the physical limitations of a bomb range through the experimentation they undertook, you mean..
fyrstormer
Banned
Yes. Fortunately candles are much less powerful than high explosives, and also not known for surviving drops of several hundred feet while remaining lit.
I get the point that anything is possible, but below a certain threshold, the risk is too small to worry about.
I get the point that anything is possible, but below a certain threshold, the risk is too small to worry about.
Sub_Umbra
Flashlight Enthusiast
I wish that someone would bust the myth that berets are cool...
StarHalo
Flashaholic
M@elstrom
Flashlight Enthusiast
Double Post
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M@elstrom
Flashlight Enthusiast
The Dolphin is the ONLY floating lantern style light I would bother with... all else are poor imitations :nana:
BTW Guys... top hats are posh and dressy but...
Fez's are way cooler
Legal statusIn my experience, the candle usually blows out and the balloon drifts to the ground, or the balloon tips over and the candle blows out while falling. It would be very difficult to start a fire with a candle-powered hot-air balloon, because as long as the candle is lit, the balloon will continue to generate lift and gain altitude, especially as the candle burns away and gets lighter.
Anyway...
Sanya in China has banned sky lanterns due to hazard to aircraft.[5]
It is illegal to launch a sky lantern in most parts of Germany, and in the remaining areas where use is technically legal, such as Herford, it is still necessary to obtain advance permission from local authorities. In Austria, it is illegal to produce, sell, or import them, or to distribute them in any other way.[6]. In Brazil, it is illegal to launch lanterns in the whole territory.
A permanent ban on sky lanterns that "rely on an open flame to heat the air inside the lantern" was made in Australia on 1 February 2011.[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_lantern
ericjohn
Enlightened
I have two Garrity G-Tech floating lanterns. They have a special material in the handle, that is some kind of flotation device. The thing I don't get about it is you can unscrew a cap at the end of the handle and the flotation material comes right out.
Do they float? Yes.
I use them when I go fishing at night (I rarely do that.)
Are they rugged?
Yes and no; They have slightly more shock resistant than those Wal-Mart Ozark Trail Lanterns, and definitely more water resistant.
Would they survive a drop on concrete? I doubt it.
Are they good to have on a boat? Hell yeah, they float nicely, even with a 6 Volt Lantern battery inside.
They cast a very good beam, approx. half a mile just like advertised on Garrity's website.
http://www.garritylites.com/page102.html
I think they serve their purpose for what they are designed; fishing and boating.
I call my two that I have my "fisherman's lanterns".
I am surprised that they are not that popular here in Louisiana.
My wife bought both of mine on clearance at West Marine, they costed around $8.
Garrity is unfortunately a defunct company, so these lights will be increasingly harder to find.
Eveready's Utility lantern is also supposedly a floating lantern, but it's not water proof.
Those are the only floating lanterns I know of, and I hope I have been helpful.
Do they float? Yes.
I use them when I go fishing at night (I rarely do that.)
Are they rugged?
Yes and no; They have slightly more shock resistant than those Wal-Mart Ozark Trail Lanterns, and definitely more water resistant.
Would they survive a drop on concrete? I doubt it.
Are they good to have on a boat? Hell yeah, they float nicely, even with a 6 Volt Lantern battery inside.
They cast a very good beam, approx. half a mile just like advertised on Garrity's website.
http://www.garritylites.com/page102.html
I think they serve their purpose for what they are designed; fishing and boating.
I call my two that I have my "fisherman's lanterns".
I am surprised that they are not that popular here in Louisiana.
My wife bought both of mine on clearance at West Marine, they costed around $8.
Garrity is unfortunately a defunct company, so these lights will be increasingly harder to find.
Eveready's Utility lantern is also supposedly a floating lantern, but it's not water proof.
Those are the only floating lanterns I know of, and I hope I have been helpful.
