Coleman Lanterns

It’s pretty tough to write about camping lanterns and not talk about the lanterns available from Coleman. I’ve mentioned a few in passing but wanted to devote some more time to the subject.

Coleman has been selling lamps and lanterns for around 100 years, ever since W.C. Coleman started selling lamps in Oklahoma around the start of the 20th century. Since then the company has grown to over 1500 employees and has offices in two states. They are generally regarded as the world leader in lanterns and light sources for all purposes and occasions. Coleman lanterns are available today in stores across the nation and across the globe.

The most popular lanterns available from Coleman are their line of battery powered camping lanterns and flashlights. Not only are they great for camping – small, lightweight and durable – but they can also come in handy in emergency situations, such as the power going out in your house or your car breaking down on the side of the road. Coleman has a wide range of battery lanterns available, from personal sized ones that are great for backpackers to family sized lanterns that work great when you are car or RV camping.

If you prefer the traditional gas or fuel powered lanterns, Coleman also offers many options for you as well. These lanterns are generally a bit bulkier than the battery powered ones, making them less suitable for backpacking, but gas and fuel lanterns can come in handy in cold weather situations where the low temperatures can sap the power from batteries. Some people also just like the looks and feel of these traditional lanterns more than the newer models.

If you often camp with your family, you’ve probably run into the situation of a child wanting their own version of your toys to play with. Since children playing with a real lantern usually leads to a broken lantern or even an injured child, Coleman has a special line of durable camping lanterns made especially for kids. These lanterns are made of plastic, so they don’t break as easily, are battery powered for convenience and offer on-and-off switches made for little fingers to manipulate.

No matter what situation you need a light for, you’re sure to be able to find a Coleman lantern that is right for the job. They can do everything from provide enough light for reading your book after sundown, to helping you pitch your tent at night, to lighting your entire campsite. It’s no wonder they are the world leader in camping lanterns.

5 Great Fuel and Gas Lanterns

Now that we’ve seen some of the battery powered lanterns out there, let’s take a look at some of the fuel and gas powered camping lanterns available. One thing you’ll notice about these lanterns is that they are generally larger and have shorter run times than the battery powered ones. They do, however, provide a brighter and clearer light in exchange for this.

First up are a couple of propane powered lanterns. This first one is made by Brunton and is available at Amazon for about $120 US. It will run for 3.5 hours on high and probably double that on a lower setting.

bruntonpropane

As you can see, it is larger than the battery powered lanterns and, due to some fragile parts inside, these sort of lanterns usually need to be transported in their carrying case. Due to their bulk, these propane lanterns are generally not a good choice for backpacking.

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Next up is another propane lantern from Coleman. It’s also available at Amazon and is priced at $35 US.

colemanpropane

This lantern will run for up to 14 hours and has two mantles inside for additional light. Once again, as you can see, fairly large and bulky. Great for car camping, but not for backpacking.

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This next lantern is powered by butane and is great for backpackers looking for a small and light lantern to take on hikes. Made by Snow Peak and available at REI, it stands only 4 inches high and weighs under 5 ounces (without the butane canister).

reibutane

In addition, the butane canister is multifunctional and can be used to power a camp stove as well.

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Our last two lanterns are powered by liquid fuel (also called Coleman fuel) and would be great for severely cold conditions. The first one is available at Amazon and would be great for car or RV camping. It weighs in at 5 pounds and will run for 7 to 14 hours, depending on the light setting.

colemanfuelcar

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And the last lantern is also by Coleman, available at Amazon for $60 US, and would be a great option for backpackers looking for a liquid fuel lantern.

colemanfuelback

It weighs only 2 pounds and will burn for up to 3 hours on one canister.

5 Great Battery Powered Camping Lanterns

Now that you’ve got an idea of what type of lantern to be looking for, let’s take a look at some of the specific options available. First up are 5 battery powered lanterns that would be a solid choice for just about any camper.

First up is a Coleman lantern from Amazon and is available for $25 US. This is a very traditional, classic looking lantern. It runs on 8 D-cell batteries and will keep going for 20 to 25 hours, depending on the light setting you have it on. It weighs about 3 pounds without the batteries, so it would probably be upwards of 5 pounds when it’s ready to go.

colemanbattery

This sort of lantern would be ideal for car or RV camping. It’s a little too big and heavy to use in backpacking, and it also uses florescent bulbs, which I don’t usually recommend for backpacking either.

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The next lantern is also available at Amazon and is made by Brunton. It is an LED lamp, instead of florescent, and is a good bit smaller and lighter than the previous lantern.

bruntonled

The advantage of LED lanterns is that they are more durable and will also run longer than florescent lanterns. This Brunton lantern will run for up to 45 hours on three C-cell batteries. It also weighs in at only 15 ounces without the batteries, and so would probably be about 2 pounds when filled. Definitely an option for backpacking (it’s also only 7 inches tall!).

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This next lantern is also a great option for backpacking. It’s another Coleman and is available at Amazon for about $10 US.

colemanbackpacker

It runs on three AA batteries and weighs only 8 ounces by itself. It will very likely equal the Brunton and run for upwards of 40 hours on one set of batteries.

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The next two lanterns are somewhat different in that they are not strictly battery powered. This first lantern is actually solar powered.

soladynesolar

Made by SolaDyne, and available at Amazon for $30 US, it makes a great backup plan for when your main lantern goes out unexpectedly. The weakness of solar powered lanterns is the possibility of being out of luck if the sun doesn’t shine much during the day. This Soladyne lantern comes with a crank that you can use to charge up the lantern manually, but I wouldn’t choose to do that if I didn’t have to.

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This last lantern is solely a crank model. Made by Wind N Go, it’s available at Amazon for $20 US.

windngocrank

As with the Soladyne, I wouldn’t want to use this as my main light source, but it’s great to have as a backup for camping, or even to keep at home for emergencies. If the lights go out and your batteries decide to quit unexpectedly, it would definitely be a great thing to have around.