Help buying a led lantern.....

coachbigdog

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What is a good led lantern? Do any of the dealers on CPF sell any? I live in Hurricane country so I need to get ready now.Thanks!
 

83Venture

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I was at Boscovs Dept store last week and they had a display of the 12 LED lanterns at about $9.00. Sportsmans guide had a 3 pack in a case for $44.97. I think Craig had a review of a similar light, there were some threads on this subject about 6-8 months ago?
 

4x4Dragon

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[ QUOTE ]
coachbigdog said:
What is a good led lantern? Do any of the dealers on CPF sell any? I live in Hurricane country so I need to get ready now.Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

im probably going today to get one of those little 4aa dorcy 2-in-1 lanterns at wal-mart and plan on putting my everled in it. will let you know how i like it.
 

The_LED_Museum

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I evaluated the Guide Gear 12-LED Lantern ($17.97) and the Nuwai CK-120 Lantern ($39.95).
The Guide Gear 12-LED lantern is significantly smaller than the Nuwai 12-LED lantern.
The Guide Gear lantern uses four AA cells; the Nuwai lantern uses four D cells.

Here is an approximate size reference: Guide Gear lantern on the top, and Nuwai lantern on the bottom.

gglant2.jpg


lantern2.jpg
 

4x4Dragon

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[ QUOTE ]
coachbigdog said:
Ok thanks.Also let me know if the everled gets to hot!

[/ QUOTE ]

well the aftern running it for a few minutes, i took the bezel off and felt the black part of the everled around the emitter was pretty warm/intense. don't know if it's "that" bad though because this lanter does have a bulb fastener like that in maglites, made of aluminum. so that might give a tad bit of heatsinking and there is a little more room to incorporate some more heatsinking.

as far as the light output goes, well im pretty impressed! when adjusted to "spot" mode it is substantially brighter than the UK 4aa LED with a beam pattern similar to that of having the everled in a stock Maglite reflector. when ajusted to flood/candle mode the light output is again reasonably bright, actually it's brighter than my Coleman Excursion lantern! and that's with pretty drained batteries! there are some rings but all-in-all i think this may be my new backpacking lantern! although i may use a different bulb to keep my everled safe, im actually thinking of sticking the stock bulb back in because there is something soothing about the orangy glow, kinda like a normal lantern/candle.
 

DaveT

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Hi Coach - good that you're thinking ahead. It was only after the East Coast blackout that I saw the big gap in my collection - once you're settled where you're staying and it's all dark, your needs change from flashlights to lanterns/area lights.
I have both the lanterns Craig lists above - got the Nuwai first, and I'm very happy with this one, especially the listed runtimes (haven't tested it out). Also, just recently got the three-pack of Sportsman's Guide lights...nice output for a smaller light, and I like the smaller size...and having several lights for about the same price as the bigger light. Here's an earlier thread on these lights:
Guide Gear thread
I'm also glad to have two similar lanterns with different battery needs - diversity might not be a bad idea in this case. What I can't speak to is the water resistance/accidental bang and drop sturdiness. I'd say both types are decently made, but in the aftermath of a hurricane, they'll probably be treated fairly roughly. That said, my estimation is that both of these would survive at least as well as the GE Steelbeam lantern I have - and I think the LED would survive better than the fluorescent bulb.
Good luck
Dave
 

4x4Dragon

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[ QUOTE ]
DaveT said:
I have both the lanterns Craig lists above - got the Nuwai first, and I'm very happy with this one, especially the listed runtimes (haven't tested it out). Also, just recently got the three-pack of Sportsman's Guide lights...nice output for a smaller light, and I like the smaller size...and having several lights for about the same price as the bigger light. Here's an earlier thread on these lights:
Guide Gear thread
I'm also glad to have two similar lanterns with different battery needs - diversity might not be a bad idea in this case. What I can't speak to is the water resistance/accidental bang and drop sturdiness. I'd say both types are decently made, but in the aftermath of a hurricane, they'll probably be treated fairly roughly. That said, my estimation is that both of these would survive at least as well as the GE Steelbeam lantern I have - and I think the LED would survive better than the fluorescent bulb.
Good luck
Dave


[/ QUOTE ]

on the sportsmansguide 4aa lantern, do you have any other commononly know led light that it's on par with? do you have the energizer arc white w/ the flourescent lamp?

im trying to decide on getting this lantern for backpacking.
 

RonM

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IMHO, LED lantern designs too often attempt to copy the form factor of fuel and flourescent lanterns, making more bulky than needed. I think the designers need to start from a clean slate to create much smaller and more rugged LED lanterns.
 

Phaserburn

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You should check out CCFL's. They do the best job, IMHO, of lighting an area with artifact free, even, bright light. I keep a couple around for blackout purposes. They also make good area worklights.
 

DaveT

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4x4 - I'll have to get back to you on comparisons...and nope, I don't have the energizer to compare it to...let me dig around tonight or (more likely) tomorrow night to come up with a decent comparison.
 

4x4Dragon

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[ QUOTE ]
DaveT said:
4x4 - I'll have to get back to you on comparisons...and nope, I don't have the energizer to compare it to...let me dig around tonight or (more likely) tomorrow night to come up with a decent comparison.

[/ QUOTE ]

thnx! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 

RonM

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"....see my new post on a 1 watt lantern/area light......"

Looks promising. Will probably order one. Two reservations though. First, output isn't adustable. Second, unless it's a side emitter, those types of convertable lights usually send most of the light forward even in lantern mode.
 

The_LED_Museum

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Well, I bought one today...guess we'll all soon know if it uses a low-dome, high-dome, or side-emitter. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
But figure it'll be at least a week. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 

Phaserburn

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Considering it's physical setup, I would hazard a guess that it's an SE. If not, it wouldn't think it would work all that well.
 
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