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Backpacking Lanterns Buying Guide

Backpacking Lanterns Buying Guide

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Camping Lanterns
Area lights for family camping, garden parties or as emergency power failure illumination. All the lights are quite weather proof and robust, the main differences between them are the fuel or power source that runs them. Below is a brief overview of the advantages and disadvantages of candles, gas, liquid fuel and electric lanterns.

Candle Lanterns:
Candles give of a surprisingly good light and are suitable for lighting medium sized tents on their own. The light given of has a nice outdoorsy quality and proper candle lanterns are quite wind proof and cheap to run.

A candle does however have a naked flame so care should be taken as tents and most other outdoor equipment is flammable. The candle will give off a fair amount of heat, which is nice, in that it will help to warm whatever it is in but can also be dangerous, especially when children are involved.

Gas Lanterns:
Gas lanterns run off butane or propane based gas cartridges  these are either refillable or disposable. The refillable ones are the larger 904 or 907 lanterns (below). They give of a powerful light and the gas canister will last a long time but they are big, heavy and the cost of the initial canister is high. 

The smaller disposable gas canister fuelled lanterns (see below) are much smaller and lighter, because of this they are suitable for backpacking as well as general area lighting. The gas is also a much smaller outlay so they are more economical if they are not used often.

Gas lanterns burn gas partially trapped inside a mantle in the bulb. They need to be lit with a match or lighter and have a naked flame. Due to this and in common with candle lanterns they produce heat which has its comfort advantages and its safety disadvantages. The lantern will be very hot while in use and is certainly a fire risk, great care should be taken when used where children can reach it.

Liquid Fuel Lanterns:
Sometimes known as multi fuel lanterns these lights can be run off petrol, diesel, paraffin, kerosene and white gas . The advantages of being able to use a range of fuels are the ability to source fuel in almost any part of the world and better performance in low temperatures and high altitude. These stoves also tend to be the most robust and serviceable so they are ideal for expedition and long term use.

The disadvantages of these stoves are again the safety issue of a naked flame and the heat given off from the units. They are also the most expensive style of lantern.

Electric Lanterns:
Electric lanterns are with out doubt the safest type of area light. They do not heat up very much and are not likely to become a fire risk. They can offer quite a good, consistent light and are normally quite cheap to buy.

Electric lanterns run of batteries so the cost of the batteries should be taken into account when thinking of the prices. Some can run from the car cigarette lighter socket or from a three-pin mains plug, this feature makes the lights more versatile and reduces the cost of batteries.

Electric lights will either use a normal bulb or LED's to produce the light I have discussed the pros and cons of both below.
Standard torch light bulbs are cheap and can be replaced when they eventually "go" just like your house bulbs. Unfortunately they are quite power hungry and battery life is normally quite low. They are good for occasional or emergency use but soon become uneconomic when used for a longer period of time.

Light Emitting Diodes known, as LED's will make a lantern more expensive than bulb lanterns initially. However their low energy use allows batteries to last a lot longer than in a bulb lantern so they soon become cheaper and using less batteries is more environmentally friendly. LED's give off a nice even cloud of light and they are a good choice for family camping.