Brightest LED Lantern

DaMeatMan

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 25, 2003
Messages
197
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hey guy's just looking for some advice on a LED lantern to purchase for my up and coming camping trips this summer. What i'm looking for is the brightest possible LED lantern that will have a minimum run time of 30 hours on it's brightest setting and possibly 1 or two different brightness modes high/low but i can live without this.

Right now i have a Coleman 8D cell spiral flourencent lantern which i think does a terrific job. With all the new advancements in LED efficiency and output i am constantly wondering why a similar form factor High power LED lantern has not made it to market yet.

Size is not of importance to me, i am not doing any backpacking and i'm essentially looking for the same size lantern that will be brighter and run longer then the Coleman that i have now. So what do you guy's think? Does it exist yet, or do i have to go out and buy another Coleman Retro and mod it myself with 3 P4's?
 

DaveG

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 2, 2005
Messages
868
Brightguy.com has two Coast lanterns,that might work out for you.
 

CLHC

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Messages
6,001
Location
PNW|WA|USA
Minimum runtime 30 hours on brightest setting? Hmmm. . .Is there anything lantern that can claim such?

Sure would like to know. Enjoy!
 

LanternLover

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
88
I have been looking for bright, long runtime lanterns myself and have had the same expectation that LED based lanterns should provide the solution. In fact, I went out and bought about half a dozen different types of lanterns, both LED based and CFL based in the past few days and let them eat a set of batteries to see how bright they are and how long they would last. Here is what I found:

  • Current LED based lanterns are simply not bright enough. CFL based lanterns are still way ahead. Even with a lantern that uses multiple bright LEDs, you don't get as much light.
  • Runtimes vary depending on the lantern and can be quite low even for an LED based lantern. Apparently, the use of LEDs as the light source is not the only factor. Of course, D cells last a whole lot longer than AA cells.
  • The brightest I have seen so far is the K2 LED in the newer River Rock lanterns. However, it is still not bright enough. River Rock uses 3xAA cells and I expect the runtime to be over 12 hours but not the 30 hours you are looking for.
  • A more likely solution is the Energizer Weather Ready Folding Lantern. It uses 8 Nichia LEDs, runs on 4 D cells and has an advertised runtime of over 80 hours on high. I have had it on at high for more than 24 hours now, and I am sure runtime will well exceed 30 hours. It has high and low modes as well. The light is white but not very bright even with 8 LEDs. I am guessing that replacing the Nichia LEDs with something brighter will provide the perfect solution. You can get these at Home Depot for $20.
Let me know if you mod the Energizer since I am interested in doing the same myself.
 

CLHC

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Messages
6,001
Location
PNW|WA|USA
The current lanterns that I have in my arsenal are the RRD.LL and the C.MPL which is nice for the close range lighting. My favorite are the set of Bayco.SLR-9000 rechargeable 13W CCFL lanterns I have. These put out quite a light for under two (2) hours before recharging. I personally like these ones. Wish that it'll run longer than two hours though.
 

LanternLover

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
88
CHC said:
The current lanterns that I have in my arsenal are the RRD.LL and the C.MPL which is nice for the close range lighting. My favorite are the set of Bayco.SLR-9000 rechargeable 13W CCFL lanterns I have. These put out quite a light for under two (2) hours before recharging. I personally like these ones. Wish that it'll run longer than two hours though.
Can you clarify the abbreviations please? I am new here and not familiar with the names of current products. Better still, can you provide links to threads that review the products? Thanks.
 

CLHC

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Messages
6,001
Location
PNW|WA|USA
Ooopps! Sorry!

River Rock Design LLC. LED Lantern (Target)
Coleman MicroPacker LED Lantern (Wal*Mart)
 

leprechaun414

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 19, 2006
Messages
285
Location
Connecticut USA
Top