Lantern

[JCS]

I'm going to pick your brains for a minute.

We are looking for a compact camp lantern. It doesn't have to light the whole camp area, just the cooking area. I would prefer a led type that takes normal batteries that can be found anywhere but am open to suggestions.

Remember we are not travelling on normal touring bikes so space is at a premium.

Thanks in advance.

[GoldWingGL]

You have, or had some of the lights that are on here http://www.motocampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102, is there something more specific that you would like and I will keep my eye out for something.

This looks nice. I might even look into one of these.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5231136

[RangerBen]

Colman makes a very small one mantel lantern that will run of of a propane bottle, it is about the size of your fist but then again the bottle will take up room. I carry two bottles one for the one burner stove and one for the lantern, another type lamp is the colman that runs of four d cell bats. It will collaspe in to its self taking up very little room and is safe to use in the tent. Not the best light but it is enough to cook by and does not attract bugs like the gas light. I will not carry gas lantern in to the tent.

Ben

[JCS]

Yep, I have one of the Energizer folding led lights. It makes a decent reading light in the tent but does not have enough umph to cook with.

I haven't seen the Sylvania at the local Wally World. I'll have to check on that.

Ben, I know which Coleman lantern you are talking about and it probably has all the output that I need. I'm trying to get away from propane canisters, though. We use a Whisperlite International stove that burns Coleman fuel or darn near anything else (including unleaded gas) to cook. I still have a single burner propane stove that works fine but we never take it anymore. Plus I seem to always trash the mantles during transport no matter how I packed the lanterns.

I have checked out the Coleman tha takes d cells and it seems a little too bulky. I agree about taking flame into the tent.

Maybe I'm being too picky but somewhere out there is my ideal light. Probably somewhere in Central America lighting up a village in the jungle.

Thanks guys.

[Mellow]

I know the light you need.

I was camping with a friend and he had one from Garrity?
Here it is, it's about 7.5 inches tall and put out as much light as my lantern did.

(Update, just found it here for the same price as the other one - $20... VERY good buy in my opinion.)
http://www.sjgreatdeals.com/gark013gst02a.html
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/sjgreatdeals101_1920_11760724

I couldn't find one, until now, so in the mean time I found this one at
campmor, it was half the price.
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39182290&memberId=12500226
http://www.campmor.com/images/lights/larger/82964_l.jpg
I like this one but it has a couple drawbacks, the top of it blocks the light somewhat so there's a 'flat' spot... It lights the area very well. The glass is clear and the leds are intense so you have that in your eyes most of the time from any direction, I guess it just works that well.

If I had to do it over again, I'd get the garrity one as the lens is clear but the led housing isn't and the light is difused a little so it would be perfect for the picnic table... it appeared to reach out at least 10 ft past the table when I saw it in use. I recommend that one.

[GoldWingGL]

Joe,

Without a doubt, the light you posted on from campmor is the same one that I posted above but with a different name and a better price from campmor…hmmm

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/04/61/35/72/0004613572062_500X500.jpg
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/04/61/35/72/0004613572062_AV_500X500.jpg

[GoldWingGL]

Here is another one I found and it is smaller than the others listed but not sure how bright it is.
http://www.essentialgear.com/store.cgi?action=link&sku=13017_00
http://www.essentialgear.com/images/092006update/mini_lantern.jpg

[mageerc]

I just carry a LED headlamp with me... when you start cooking if you have the headlamp on, you've got light everywhere you look! The headlamp packs in a small package and it's the only light I take with me save for a small LED flashlight that I carry in my tank bag. I just use the K.I.S.S. theory...

[GoldWingGL]

That could work too, and they are smaller. I have one.

[sandman]

I'm in the headlamp crowd too.

With a headlamp your always in the light.

Gordon

[mageerc]

I'm in the headlamp crowd too.

With a headlamp your always in the light.

Gordon

It must be the coon hunter in us Southerners coming out! :D

[Mellow]

Yeah, I have the headlamp as well, and led flashlight... but, it is nice to have a little glow around the table maybe for reading or playing a game of cards..

And, I can't tell you how many times I've blinded a fellow camper looking up to talk to him, or visa versa... with the headlamp.

All good options, this is just another one, the headlamp is great for setting up a tent in the dark or looking for firewood or just walking to/from showers...

[mageerc]

Hey, you're on that big 'ol Wing... I'm riding a bit more compactly on my ST1300 :)

[Mellow]

Hey, you're on that big 'ol Wing... I'm riding a bit more compactly on my ST1300 :)

HA!... I've seen STers put more on their bike than I could imagine putting on the Wing... well, without a trailer.. LOL

I agree, if you are trying to pack the minimal... then, an led headlamp should be the first lighting accessory you get... then, get the rest of your stuff in order and see what room you have left for extras.

[Blues Traveler]

I alway's seem to have plenty of room on the GS. I carry the headlamp,LED flashlite, and a candle lamtern. Lately the headlamp is used more than anything. Lost one early this year at Furnace Creek was nice to have my LED flashlite along as a spare.

I also have one of those mini Coleman lanterns I bring once in awhile. Is great to have along, puts out a lot of light. If you plan on one of these be advised that there are two differant lanterns made by Coleman. Mine is the 35 watt lantern while the other is a 75 watt. Mine will run for about 5 hours on a can of fuel while the 75 watt will last about 2 hours. They look a like so look on the box, everythings the same except for 35 vs 75.

[ImRubicon]

They sell a knock off of this lite on Ebay with 8 leds instead of 4 and I used it camping last weekend and it worked fine .I wouldnt want to read by the light but it will keep you able to see things on the pinic table just fine . Worked better with a little semitransparent paper taper to the lense to diffuse the light a bit

I know the light you need.

I was camping with a friend and he had one from Garrity?
Here it is, it's about 7.5 inches tall and put out as much light as my lantern did.

(Update, just found it here for the same price as the other one - $20... VERY good buy in my opinion.)
http://www.sjgreatdeals.com/gark013gst02a.html
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/sjgreatdeals101_1920_11760724

I couldn't find one, until now, so in the mean time I found this one at
campmor, it was half the price.
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39182290&memberId=12500226
http://www.campmor.com/images/lights/larger/82964_l.jpg
I like this one but it has a couple drawbacks, the top of it blocks the light somewhat so there's a 'flat' spot... It lights the area very well. The glass is clear and the leds are intense so you have that in your eyes most of the time from any direction, I guess it just works that well.

If I had to do it over again, I'd get the garrity one as the lens is clear but the led housing isn't and the light is difused a little so it would be perfect for the picnic table... it appeared to reach out at least 10 ft past the table when I saw it in use. I recommend that one.

[ParkerBill]

I always carry a headlamp when camping for the reason stated above--it puts all the light I need right where I'm looking, but I also agree it is nice to have some type of small lantern, like the ones mentioned above, for that sort of soft glow when you're just sitting around talking, etc. So, looks like to me it might be best to have both types. :)

[Mellow]

I just got the Garrity in the mail

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/sjgreatdeals101_1920_11760724

It's a good size... about the size of a 20oz bottle of coke.

However, it gives off the perfect 'glow' of light without blinding you. I'll try to do a review later.

[Mellow]

I was at Walmart this morning and saw this LED lantern from coleman.. I've seen it 100 times but just never thought about it until this thread was started.

So, I thought I'd get it.. .it was just $10 and if I didn't like it, I'd bring it back...

Well, It's pretty small - about the size of the cardboard part of a roll of toilet paper. It has two bright leds but also a faceted and frosted lens that distrubutes the light well. It also has a slide down side so the light can be blocked on one side or 360 degrees.

This would be my number 1 pic for something that is great around a table as well as hanging in a tent.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/images/products/5319-700_500.jpg

[GoldWingGL]

Joe,

How would you compare this one as far as size and light output to the campmor lantern you posted?

[Mellow]

Joe,

How would you compare this one as far as size and light output to the campmor lantern you posted?

The Coleman has 2 LEDs, the Garrty has 4 however the Garrty is NOT twice as bright.. the Coleman is about 80% as bright as the Garrty and just as bright and the same size as the Quattro. The difference being the frosted/facetted lens on the coleman making the light softer like on the Garrty.

1st choice - Coleman - Good light and great size
2nd choice - Garrty - Great light but just a little big
3rd choice - Quattro - great size but clear lens blinds you with light.

[GoldWingGL]

Interesting..
Now I just have to find one..or 2...lol

[Blues Traveler]

Here's something my daughter bought me fo my birthday. She got it at Target and believe she paid about $19.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d59/ownst1100/DSCN6232.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d59/ownst1100/DSCN6229.jpg

Comes with 3 AAA batteries, very strong magnetic base, table clamp, and is all aluminum except for the flexable mast which is 24" in length. The 3 batteries power 6 LED's and with the rubber on/off switch it seems made to be heat and water resistance. All in one little handy package.

Some of those in our camp group have seem it and agree it will get a good workout.

Will come in handy for cooking after dark as I made a removable mount for my cook platform.

[ucwinters]

Was at the new Bass Pro store here in San Antonio yesterday and they had a 10-LED lantern for $14 & change that used 4 D-cell batteries and had an adapter for either 12-volt or wall outlet. Downside was that when the light was turned up to it's highest power, the light didn't appear to be very bright (of course this was inside a store during the daytime and it was have been a better test at night or in a darkened environment). Think that I'm going with the Garrity lantern since it puts off the most light, according to Joe's test, and they're available at the local Academy store and the size doesn't matter that much since I'll be pulling the trailer if going camping.
BTW, Joe, how's the LED flashlight holding up that you got at TexSTOC? I had bought those at a local gun show for about $5 each and gave them to Keith for the give-away prizes.

Ed W.
Universal City, TX

[Mellow]

Was at the new Bass Pro store here in San Antonio yesterday and they had a 10-LED lantern for $14 & change that used 4 D-cell batteries and had an adapter for either 12-volt or wall outlet. Downside was that when the light was turned up to it's highest power, the light didn't appear to be very bright (of course this was inside a store during the daytime and it was have been a better test at night or in a darkened environment). Think that I'm going with the Garrity lantern since it puts off the most light, according to Joe's test, and they're available at the local Academy store and the size doesn't matter that much since I'll be pulling the trailer if going camping.
BTW, Joe, how's the LED flashlight holding up that you got at TexSTOC? I had bought those at a local gun show for about $5 each and gave them to Keith for the give-away prizes.

Ed W.
Universal City, TX

Ed, that's the best LED flashlight I've had a chance to play with... the princeton ones don't compare. do you remember the brand? I tore it open at dinner and then threw away the package..doh!..

Maybe we can get a volume deal on them or something but so far it's holding up great.

[ucwinters]

Joe,

The guy at the gun show here in San Antonio was ex-military selling a lot of paramilitary stuff. He had a couple of the flashlights on display that were turned on and I noticed how bright they were. He lowered the price when I started to walk away so I ended up buying those two (if memory serves me correct, George Catt got the other one at TexSTOC). I think that those LED flashlights were made in China. Next time I go to the gun show (a guy can never have too much ammo:) ), I'll see if that guy is there and hit him up for info about a bulk buy of the lights or for the name of his supplier.
In the meantime, I might get one of those little $10 Coleman lanterns at WallyWorld and get the Garrity lantern later.

Ed W.

[Mellow]

Joe,

The guy at the gun show here in San Antonio was ex-military selling a lot of paramilitary stuff. He had a couple of the flashlights on display that were turned on and I noticed how bright they were. He lowered the price when I started to walk away so I ended up buying those two (if memory serves me correct, George Catt got the other one at TexSTOC). I think that those LED flashlights were made in China. Next time I go to the gun show (a guy can never have too much ammo:) ), I'll see if that guy is there and hit him up for info about a bulk buy of the lights or for the name of his supplier.
In the meantime, I might get one of those little $10 Coleman lanterns at WallyWorld and get the Garrity lantern later.

Ed W.

Found them, $6.95 here (http://www.southsummit.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=4088)

http://www.southsummit.com/images/products/fl212_l.jpg

[GoldWingGL]

I like this one on the same site for $10. Some nice stuff there.

http://www.southsummit.com/images/products/fl317bl_l.jpg