Coleman Lanterns vs. LED's -- From CPF to CCF

After almost nine years at the CPF I caught the bug for liquid fueled, mantle, lanterns and joined the Coleman Collector's Forum. I can't say enough nice complements about that site and its members. Being an older crowd maybe helps with their patient, laid back, nature. From personal experience, I can say not all oldies are easy going, but I think I'm working on that.

Anyhoo ... being new to a couple old 1939 & 1968 Coleman lanterns, which I restored, I was surprised to learn they are much more efficient than the best we have here. I'd also be surprised if that doesn't change, but for now a couple pints of fuel will last between about 7 - 14 hours. I believe a dual mantle outputs ~1300 lumens, but that depends upon ... everything. The condition of all the many parts can affect output and they can be labor intensive to keep operating well. Still, some of those very old lanterns are as bright as new models.

Over on the CCF lumens mean next to nothing and I'm trying to help in that area. Coleman junkies are more like small engine mechanics and antique restoration experts than tech nerds. It's great finding another enthusiastic group of helpful people who are happy to have new members. If you need old Coleman parts, they've got a lot at the oldcolemanparts store.

I had a coleman dual mantle lantern that was around 30 years old and it still worked like a champ. That is until I left it on a tree at a campsite. Talk about being disappointed. I wish I could get that lantern back. All the memories that was tied to it.

I also have a couple of Coleman dual mantle lanterns, and they work great when we go camping. Talk about lighting up the entire camp site with just one lantern, and it doesn't use that much gas to run it. One of them is a bit older so I still need to light it with a long match stick (not my favorite thing to do), but the others have a spark ignition.

Regardless of what LED lanterns I use (Coleman, Rayovac, Black Diamond), you will never get the same light output on a LED lantern as you can with a fueled lantern. I've even used multiple 300 lumen Rayovac lanterns (4) on a camp site table, and still using the single fueled lantern in the middle was much better lighting.

Some things get better with age. Some things don't. These are some of the things that are worth hanging onto.

Awesome thread! I have a single-mantle Coleman that screws on to a small tank of propane. I haven't used it in a while, but reading this thread reminds me of the sound and the nice light that it puts out. I may go dig mine out just for fun tonight.

I just fired up my model 220 with the dual mantles. I want to say it is from 1968 but I can't find anything that has a date on it. My dad bought it long before I was born in '71. I pumped it up and it fired right up, not as bright as I remember but the gas in it is over ten years old. It's been sitting idle for quite a while. We have been using led lights that just don't come close. The reason we have been using the LED lights is space. We tent camp from our honda pilot without a trailor or a shell on the roof so space is tight with gear, wife, daughter, and Stef the goldador in my avatar. This season we will be adding a shell so we can take the lamp. (With fresh white gas of course).

I also have a double mantle lantern. Another benefit is that they provide heat when it is cold. Really helps a large tent in the winter.
Jerry

I suppose they are useful for barbeques, beaches, and hanging on the front porch during power outages. My immediate thought though was of a camping trip long ago. My friends and I were sleeping under the stars on a mountain side in California. We were just gazing at the stars with quality dark and talking softly. Suddenly, on a nearby hillside, a double mantle Coleman lamp came on and a boom box playing loud and annoying "music". We thought the site was too remote for that. I wish I could get that association out of my head but maybe that is why I never bought one.

I never bought a boom box either. I hate them.
Jerry

If you want to BBQ, cook or picnic at night, the LED lamps on the picnic table just don't work. You end up with a table full of bugs. This is where you can hang one of these lanterns away from the immediate area and have it well lit. (no boom-boxes, laptops, Ipods, Ipads or TV's while camping)