Buy Camping Lanterns » car camping

Coleman Lanterns

admin — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:00:11 +0000

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 Battery Powered Camping Lanterns

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:07:08 +0000

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.

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.

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 if you’re going, say, backpacking in Peru (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.

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.

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.

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.

How To Choose A Camping Lantern

admin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:37:21 +0000

There are several things to consider when deciding on what sort of camping lantern to purchase. Size and weight, your camping conditions, potential safety issues and several other factors all need to be considered. It can all be a bit confusing at first, but once you know what sort of things to look for, the choice becomes much easier. Let’s take a look at what sort of things you need to consider when choosing a lantern.

The first thing to consider is what sort of camping you do. Are you a car camper? An RV-er? A hardcore backpacker? If you’re a car camper or an RV-er, then you don’t really need to worry about things like size and weight. So long as it fits in your car, then you’re good to go. On the other hand, if you’re going to hike for a significant distance to get to your campsite, then you’ll want to choose a smaller, lightweight lantern. Butane lanterns are often a popular choice for backpackers, although there are many battery powered lanterns that would fit the bill here too.

Cost is also a factor to consider. Liquid fuel is the most economical way to go and batteries are just a little bit more expensive. Using gas to power your lantern is the most expensive method. You’ll want to weigh your budget and the frequency of your camping trips when deciding on a lantern. If you go camping frequently, then the gas lantern you’re looking at might quickly become an expensive habit.

The next thing to consider is what the conditions will be like when you’re out at your campsite. Severe cold (sub-freezing temps) can affect the performance of both battery and propane powered lanterns – batteries can drain more quickly in the cold, and the gas pressure in propane canisters can be affected by the cold as well, causing poor performance. If you know that you’ll be camping in cold conditions, I would advise you to take a liquid fuel lantern (if at all possible), or better yet, take a backup or two in case your main lantern sputters out before you’re ready to head home.

Safety also needs to be a consideration. Liquid fuel and gas lanterns actually burn their fuel, and thus become very hot after operating. If you have any small children that will be going on your trips with you, you’ll want to keep that in mind. To be clear, you can use these lanterns with children around, just make sure that the children know not to touch the lantern – or even better, hang it up out of their reach so it doesn’t be come an issue. Another safety issue is using a lantern inside of your tent or RV. Due to their heat (and possible fumes) gas and fuel lanterns should never be brought inside when they’re running. Battery lanterns are the only option if you want to use them inside.

Lastly, if you’re giving a camping lantern as a gift, make sure to take all of these factors into consideration. Lanterns do make great camping gear gifts, but not if they’re too big, too heavy, or inconvenient for your camper to use. A good method to go about getting a good lantern for them is to find out what sort of lantern they use now, and then give them an updated version of the same type of lantern.