Looking for a lantern...

Guys,
I´m looking for a lantern for camping use - it should be sturdy and run of some CR123 cells. Any ideas?

The only lantern I can think of that runs off that cell type is the Coleman Packaway. Is there a particular reason you want to go with CR123? AA, C, and D would open you up to a lot more possibilities.

So I have to keep only CR123s for my flashlights, my still-to-be-ordered-headlamp and a lantern.

Thanks for mentioning the Coleman Packaway, I can even get it over here in Germany.

You're welcome. If you decide you can/want to entertain other battery types, a lot of folks are very satisfied with the Rayovac Sportsman Extreme LED lantern. It uses D cells, but for its [relatively] small size and beam quality, I think it is a great deal. If you are interested, I would check around and see who sells Rayovac products in Germany, or drop Matt K. a line stateside and ask him for a shipping quote.

Otherwise, I hope the Packaway works out for you. If you like, edit the title of the thread to say "Looking for a CR123 lantern.." By adding the battery type to the thread title, you may get responses from people who otherwise might skip reading the thread.

LEDAdd1ct said:

The only lantern I can think of that runs off that cell type is the Coleman Packaway. Is there a particular reason you want to go with CR123? AA, C, and D would open you up to a lot more possibilities.

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LEDAdd1ct said:

You're welcome. If you decide you can/want to entertain other battery types, a lot of folks are very satisfied with the Rayovac Sportsman Extreme LED lantern. It uses D cells, but for its [relatively] small size and beam quality, I think it is a great deal. If you are interested, I would check around and see who sells Rayovac products in Germany, or drop Matt K. a line stateside and ask him for a shipping quote.

Otherwise, I hope the Packaway works out for you. If you like, edit the title of the thread to say "Looking for a CR123 lantern.." By adding the battery type to the thread title, you may get responses from people who otherwise might skip reading the thread.

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Good advise. Also, both members and Blacklight (Darin Webb from Coleman) don't recommend the use three of RCR123 (rechargeable CR123 cells) in this lantern because it would be more voltage than the regulator circuit could handle. If you wish to use RCR123 cells in the CR123A LITHIUM PACK-AWAY LANTERN, use of one dummy such as this one is recommended.

I have one of the Rayovac Sportsman Extreme lanterns and I highly recommend it as well. I'm using AA to D cell adapters in mine, so if you're not dead set against anything but CR123 cells, three 2000 mAh or better NiMh AA cells work very nicely in this lantern and keep it lightweight. See my post regarding it here. In Germany, it may be easier for you to get a hold of the Gentos version, which has white NICHA LEDs and produces 280 lumens. Still a lot of light and in my opinion, worth the small sacrifice for more natural light.

I´ve receiverd my Coleman lantern yesterday. The amount of light is OK for it´s use, specially the lower of the two settings should be enough for camping use.

The built quality is, well, matching the price, I´d say. It´s OK as well, but it´s clearly not constucted by SureFire standards.

I was in a Target a few weeks back, and had a chance to look at some Coleman lanterns. The construction did *not* impress me. The Rayovac seemed to be of a higher grade of materials/workmanship. Just my two U.S. pennies.

LEDAdd1ct said:

I was in a Target a few weeks back, and had a chance to look at some Coleman lanterns. The construction did *not* impress me. The Rayovac seemed to be of a higher grade of materials/workmanship. Just my two U.S. pennies.

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Agreed. For the asking price, some of their lanterns are not on par with the Rayovac branded lanterns. Although, the Sportman Extreme lantern does have that rediculous battery cover design. :shakehead