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We're about to go on our first family camping trip and are just gearing up. What lantern is STW's illuminator of choice?
Set of battery-powered fairy lights from Maplin (probably mega cheap right now)
Rachel
The gas ones give great light and a little warmth but no use with younger sprogs - they run really really hot. I have a couple as our main lamps, great for sitting out and playing games, reading etc.
Funnily I did buy a little one from Maplin recently but it wasn't massively reduced I think - £11 ish, 3 light strengths, 6 hours on max which was decently bright, USB rechargeable. Good enough.
We have a box of 5-6 lanterns and everyone has a LED head torch too, posh Petzl for te grownups accumulated at birthdays, cheapy Poundshop or Alpkit ones for the children depending on trustworthiness. You wouldn't think it was possible to lose a head torch whilst switch on in a dark camp site, but there you go.
Wind up/usb charge decatlon jobs.
Gas ones are great though great sound.
Have a couple of paragin paragin ones that are bloody useless for actually seeing what yiu are doing but are nice for ambience.
Gas is a PITA because the mantles always break. And they go through gas pretty quickly.
We have a Black Diamond one which is my favourite. Looks like they've updated the range now - they are called Orbit, Voyager and Apollo in increasing order of size.
Dynamo torch, with a diffuser made from a plastic milk container.
With the disclaimer that I can't give a personal recommendation as I never got around to actually buying it, I looked into this a couple of years ago and wound up bookmarking this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016W30EEA
<span class="il">Recommend what you use - Black</span> <span class="il">Diamond</span> Moji XP
Good light, dimmer, runs on 3 AAs, you can hang it up or just stick it on a table.
Plenty of rechargeable jobbies which will then act as a power bank to recharge mobile phones etc. We always charge up three or four and take those. Don’t depend on just the one. The good thing is that they last forever if you don’t use them as power banks - which we try not to but they’re handy if you’re stuck for a phone/BT speaker charge.
Not for everyone, but Coleman unleaded every time. Bright as you like, relaxing noise as it burns, same fuel as my stove... Did a couple of weeks in March with a 10l jerry can of unleaded hammering 2 petrol lamps and the stove (dark early, no lights on site, hot water bottles and endless brews every night)
plus
I've got a few of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HeroBeam-LED-Lantern-Technology-Collapsible/dp/B0189UAMEG
Great for camping and for power cuts.
Not for everyone, but Coleman unleaded every time.
+1
Only thing we found which lasted through the night at Mountain Mayhem and could light the whole camp (did need a few pumps every few hours to get the pressure back up).
I also have a Coleman unleaded and it's excellent - It's bright and cheap to run plus it will warm a tent at night.
We also found it v useful at Mayhem.
In addition I have a couple of led lamps that run from a powerpack - they are OK but not really bright enough
Does it need to be top spec/fancy? I’ve left my lantern in the bag last trip and just used these:
They were on offer a couple of weeks ago too. Loads of light, small, hang from vent at top of tent. Great wee things.
We use an old oil storm lantern. Not the brightest but give a nice glow that will last all night. Ideal for 24hr racing, just turn on the led jobbie when riders pit.
How bright does it need to be?
For not so bright, but nice light, try the UCO candle lantern (really soft warm light) or using a diffuse object and shining a light into it. I like using a big container/bottle of water and a torch pointing up or down into it
Got a UST 30-Day lantern after reading a review online. Very happy with it. Batteries last forever - we normally leave it on the dimmest setting unless we're hunting for something and want the extra light. Very rugged, and the hook and handle work as you'd expect.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ABUSWR2
Review: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-led-lantern/
Don't forget the midge repellent and mozzie coils.
Alpkit do some pretty cool camping lights: https://www.alpkit.com/featured/camping-torches-and-lanterns
Gas is a PITA because the mantles always break. And they go through gas pretty quickly.
Mantles are indeed a PITA. Gas wise though a cylinder usually lasts a years camping for us, and that seems a reasonable return.
Parafin Tilley for us. A bit like making a nice G&T of cup of coffee, it is also a bit about the process of making/lighting it which gives pleasure.
Gas wise though a cylinder usually lasts a years camping for us
I love the light from gas lamps so I wanted to like the one I have but I chewed through so much gas, especially at things like Mayhem, that I had to retire it. Also, the glass broke whilst being carried in a rucksack that also contained a climbing rope and a tent. Expensive, that was.
We have a Tilley lamp which runs on paraffin lots of light and heat and will run for hours on one fill, you can get all the spares . The Coleman lamps which run on petrol/coleman fuel/panel wipe are great but I dont like the idea of petrol lamps and stoves as if a seal leaks you have a big problem.
We had the lantern style ones and not been that impressed. We now have a usb lamp from eBay, clips to the roof and works far better. It’s the same as the alpkit, but way cheaper. Failing that small usb front lights like moon comet work well in smaller tents
I bought an Alpkit one a few years ago after a similar thread on here and find it really good...
LED thing that looks like a lightbulb. Takes one AA and hangs from a shonky little carabiner. Had it years and it's been great.
This one seems good https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lanktoo-Waterproof-Rechargeable-Emergency-Backpacking/dp/B01AUIMH9S/
Gotta the 500lumen version of this.
https://www.lightingever.co.uk/led-lanter-light-300lm.html
It's been really good. Batteries last for ages
I'm going to second the suggestion of battery powered fairy lights for a decent spread of light hung from a canopy/ tarp etc.
We've also got a Feuerhand Hurricane Lamp - not super bright but will run all night on a small amount of oil, nowhere near as hot and dangerous as a petrol lamp.
Coleman LED for inside and gas for outside.
We've got a Black Diamond Moji which is excellent. Doubles as a night light for the kids if you want, as it has multiple power levels.
Off the back of this, I'm tempted to buy their bigger one:
Edited to add: we also have a Coleman gas lamp, which has done many years of solid service, makes a nice background hiss for camping ambience, has a nice soft colour to the light, but does get hot (not good for having young/clumsy kids around) and needs a bit more care when being packed away/transported. It doesn't get a look-in nowadays.
Alpkitb lampray, lasts a few nights or if only one night can be used to charge "devices"
Depends how serious you want to be about this whole camping business.....
The Coleman stoves and lamps that Bob_Summers (and others) suggested above are absolutely the best kit you can get for "static" camping. I've used them for decades myself, and with groups of kids 8 - 21, who can be easily shown how to work them (under supervision for the younger ones, obviously). Changing the mantles can be a bit fiddly, but you have to do that so infrequently that it's not really an issue. Both the stoves and lamps are completely bombproof - as you can imagine, have seen them dropped, kicked, and generally mistreated for years and years, but they just keep going. Spares are plentiful, and the fuel is universally available.
If you are going-in hard with the above, it's worth getting the collapsible legs/stand for the stove, and the plastic box for transporting the lamp.
Having said all that - if you are just dipping your toe into camping, my advice would be to get some cheapy LED jobs from B&Q or wherever. They really cost no money these days, and are probably made in the same factory as more expensive camping-specific ones.
If you are after a hanging lantern, the Outwell Polaris is very good. Collapses to save space
Having said all that – if you are just dipping your toe into camping
Haha.. 'serious' campers need gas.. all you people who are simply 'on holiday' can get by with inferior LEDs.. FFS. What actually is 'serious' camping? You all sit around frowning? I'm not sure I'd like to be on a 'serious' camping trip?
Get over yourself!
Not much point in gas lanterns nowadays. LEDs are brighter and lighter weight, and easy to switch on and off as required. And last longer, so long as you have enough batteries.
And much safer to use inside a tent.
Get over yourself!
Egh? It was more to do with the cost.
As in, if you’re just thinking of an occasional camping trip, maybe not worth dropping a ton of cash on some quite “serious” kit.
Certainly sounds like one of us needs to “get over” themselves....
If you want a posh LED lantern, the Goal Zero one is very nice, but quite expensive... they do other versions too.
https://www.goalzero.com/shop/lights/lighthouse-mini-lantern/
I guess functionally t's not that different from the Alpkit equivalent, but better build quality and replaceable, posh batteries. For racing I've always used the bog standard Camping Gaz lanterns, but tents and flames aren't a great combination. And don't get me started on 'fire boxes'...
But what does 'serious' mean and why does it matter how 'serious' your camping is? And why does it have to be gas or liquid fuel? Why does going regularly mean you cannot use an LED?
LEDs give out plenty of light, and don't need faff with liquid fuels. There's no benefit to gas, really, unless you like faff.
Two of the smallest cheapest ones from decathlon. Plenty of light in our family tent. Plus a headtourch for hands free outside stuff. On low light they work for ages. Never realised it was so complicated.
But what does ‘serious’ mean and why does it matter how ‘serious’ your camping is? And why does it have to be gas or liquid fuel? Why does going regularly mean you cannot use an LED?
Serious campers use proper flaming torches, none of this liquid fuel, gas or LED crap. Better still if you can make one from an actual tree or carefully selected flammable pot plant / rare orchid / birds nest and light it using two piece of wood and an improvised bow...
Anyway, if you're not serious, my vote goes to the Alpkit LED lantern.
Molgrips - I really can’t be bothered, sorry. You’ll have to find somebody else to have your pointless argument with
But what does ‘serious’ mean and why does it matter how ‘serious’ your camping is? And why does it have to be gas or liquid fuel? Why does going regularly mean you cannot use an LED?
Give it a rest, FFS. It wasn't a contentious point and you're now scrabbling because you got the wrong end of the stick.
There’s no benefit to gas, really, unless you like faff.
My gas lantern is brighter than my good quality LED lantern. And I prefer the light it gives out.
I took the "serious camping" comment simply to mean going regularly rather than one weekend a year. I'm really not sure what the argument is here?
If you want to pootle down a towpath for a couple of miles on the occasional sunny day then you'll be well served by a £200 bike from Halfords, but if you're a "serious" MTBer then you will happily justify dropping £5K on a bouncybike. No?
There must be a gap in the market for gas powered bike lights. For serious cyclists.
You’ll have to find somebody else to have your pointless argument with
You're right, it was pointless, and I was just having a pop at what sounded like highly pretentious bollocks based on the language employed. Sorry.
But I still think LEDs can be used by regular campers just fine. Plus gas lanterns aren't more expensive to buy anyway, just more expensive to run,.
For serious camping, just get a decent quality LED lantern.
eg Fenix CL30R. It is 650 lumens, should be bright enough for most things.
Apology accepted - as you were.
Im just an occasional camper these days and so have a couple of led torches/lanterns - but the Coleman unleaded lanterns and stoves really are excellent bits of kit - But I couldn’t really justify having them.
LEDs may well be better, I've never tried them tbh - very rarely have anywhere to charge them and if there's no other lighting on site, I know the Colemans will do the trick.
We tend to be away for 6 or 8 weeks at a time, so when I fill up the van I fill a jerry can with petrol, some mantels live in the glove box and that's cooking, lighting (and heating!) sorted. Just works. As I said before though, they're not for everyone. Just the serious campistas amongst us 😉
Do you have to do much cleaning of the lantern if you're using unleaded.
I've always understood it to be pretty dirty stuff (OK for cars but bad for things like stoves) so they gunk things up quite quickly
For example, on my multi fuel stove, unleaded is OK to use if required but it's not recommended
No - they burn very cleanly.
The globes need a wipe occasionally if you’re fussy - fingerprints and dust mostly, not carbon or anything.
the flame burns a bit yellow at first, but settles down within a minute or two as it gets warmed up.
the stoves and lamps have a needle valve which can get blocked up - we used to clean these maybe once a year? But thats with the lamps getting completely abused by an entire scout group - even if you were camping regularly, you’d maybe have to do this once every few years.
I’ve only ever run them on unleaded
As I said - the lamps aren’t for everybody 😀 but the Coleman stoves definitely ARE...... and if you are running the stove already, using the lamps too kinda make sense.
I try to remember to empty the tanks after the end of the season, that seems to make the most difference - I've got a couple of stoves and one was stored with a full tank for a couple or three years so it'll need the mixture jet thingie de-gunking as it doesn't stay lit now. But by-and-large no problems with any of them.
The newer stoves don't seem to be as good a quality as they were - thinner sheet metal etc - so worth setting up an ebay alert for them and trying to get an old one. They still sell all the bits!
but the Coleman stoves definitely ARE
Hah 🙂
I used to have one of those - got rid of it cos it drove me insane. The fact that the second burner was driven from the first was just an awful money saving design. To get the simmer right on the second burner was a huge fiddle.
AND it rattled when it was packed in the car.
Whichever you go for, you’ll need at least 4 so you can create a circle of light around you.
Else prepare to be embarrassed.
AND it rattled when it was packed in the car.
I suspect your tea towel was in the wrong place 😉
I suspect your tea towel was in the wrong place
Like I said
FAFF