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DIY camping LED lantern. LED camping lanterns - home comfort in camping conditions Homemade camping lantern

Camping lights generally come in two types: LED/electric and fuel. LED models use batteries to create light. They tend to last much longer and are easier to carry. Plus, they don't explode. Fuel models are available for propane gas or two types of fuel. Whichever option you choose, here are the 6 best camping lanterns for your humble venture in the dark.

Black Diamond Orbit - Best for Hiking

Pros: lightweight
Cons: limited lighting
There were other options that were three times brighter than the Black Diamond Orbit, but they were all a little heavy. Any hiker will tell you that just a few grams may not seem like much, but it will be noticeable on a long hike. 150 grams and 60 lumens of illumination and all this without adding extra weight. It is easy to hang, has adjustable brightness and a built-in flashlight with 50 lumens of illumination. The case is a little unstable and there is a risk of tipping over when used while standing.

Coleman North Star - the brightest

Pros: power
Cons: short validity period
This is our only fuel option. There are of course many other great flashlights, but this is the only real choice that will appeal to you the most. The North Star series is a Coleman favorite because it's safe, heat resistant, and nearly indestructible. It also has a handy little InstaStart system that lights it up with the press of a button. It's only about 3kg, making it very portable. The wire frame surrounding the light bulb will protect children from accidentally touching the lamp.

The best part of the North Star is an eye-popping 1,543 lumens at maximum. You can easily adjust the flow to get less light. As you would expect from Coleman, the construction is top quality, even by their standards. With a full tank, the operating period will be somewhere between 7 and 14 hours, but gas consumption depends entirely on how you use it, save it or burn it to the fullest.

Weatherrite 610 – bright light

Pros: bright LED
Cons: no light brightness adjustment
LED lanterns are notorious for not being as powerful as fuel camping lanterns and generally cannot compete with them. That's why Weatherrite made the 610: for people who want maximum power output to light up large campsites. The amount of luminous flux at the high level is - you guessed it - 610, and at the low level 270 lumens. Unfortunately, due to the high power, the entire load falls on the batteries. And they will give you about 25 hours (maybe) of work at the highest level and perhaps twice as much at the low level.

UST 30-Day – long lasting light

Pros: long working time
Cons: flimsy handle
Power and portability in one compact package. The UST 30-Day may look similar to the LED flashlight from Streamlight, but not only is it a body, it also lasts longer. At the lowest light level, this model can work for a whole month, and at the maximum - more than a day, so you don’t have to insert new batteries into it in the dark. Light levels from 29 to 300 lumens, there is also an SOS strobe light. The body is generally solid, but the handle feels a little flimsy.

Rayovac Sportsman – tough rider

Pros: durable
Cons: tight battery cover
You can argue that the UST-30 is technically a better LED camping light because it puts out more light and lasts longer, but when you put it up against the Sportsman's rugged design, you start to see why the Rayovac rules the roost. The highest light level is up to 240 lumens, more than enough to bring a yeti into your camp. The low level produces almost 90 lumens. You will get about 40 and 90 hours of work, respectively. The design is waterproof and shockproof for rough use, plus a lifetime warranty for peace of mind. There is, of course, a downside: replacing batteries will cause you trouble.

Coleman Duo/Quad LED – high-tech

Pros: design
Cons: cannot be hung
This is an attractive lantern that immediately caught our eye, and all because of several different innovations. Apparently Coleman wants to be the best among gas lamps, but the same among LED lamps. An interesting design with split lanterns, which can be nice for a couple of people. This is certainly a new look at

With the development of tourism, more and more related products appear that allow you to travel in comfort. LED camping lanterns will be excellent companions on hikes, picnics, and country get-togethers.

Tourist lighting products are very diverse. Camping lanterns are no exception. To figure out what is best to choose, you need to know their main types and characteristics.

An autonomous lighting source, such as an LED camping lantern, is a very convenient and useful device in many situations.

It can be used:

  • For illuminating the camp area during a camping trip, fishing or hunting.
  • As a source of lighting in tents or under awnings.
  • At a summer cottage in gazebos, outbuildings, just on the street.
  • In the house as additional lighting or in case of power outages.

This lighting device will become an indispensable assistant in the absence of stationary lighting and the impossibility of lighting a fire in the camp. In the event of a power outage in a house or country house, LED camping lanterns can be a source of emergency lighting.

Rules for choosing camping lanterns

When choosing the right light source for camping, you should not stop at models with a very low price. Often, cheap flashlights simply will not perform their functions well. In more severe cases, they can pose a threat to your health.

There are some basic points to consider when purchasing a camping lantern:

  • Reliability of the entire structure, its strength, will guarantee long-term operation of the lighting device in extreme hiking conditions. A well-known manufacturer’s brand can be a good choice for a high-quality lighting fixture.
  • A significant role when choosing a flashlight is played by its efficiency parameters. In conditions of unavailability of electricity for charging batteries, it is worth paying more attention to models in which the light power can be adjusted. It’s even better to choose flashlights that are self-charging (with a built-in dynamo).
  • A large luminous flux angle is necessary to illuminate a larger area. For this reason, it is worth choosing a lighting device with special optics that can perform the function of creating a wide luminous flux.
  • Uniformity of emitted light creates less strain on vision and better illuminates surrounding objects.
  • An LED camping lantern must have sufficient protection from moisture entering the structure, since it has to work in different weather conditions. The degree of moisture resistance of a structure can be very different. Some models can only be used in conditions of high humidity, others are able to withstand a fall under water. The instructions for the product must contain the IP marking - the degree of protection for moisture permeability and dust resistance of the flashlight design (from IPX4 to IPX8).

It is quite possible to make such a lighting device yourself. It will fully meet all your requirements. But the aesthetic component of such a lantern will most often suffer greatly.

In order to ensure high-quality and uninterrupted lighting in the required area, it is necessary to select a model that is suitable for the relevant parameters.

Types of Camping Lanterns

LED camping lanterns differ in many ways. Mainly:

  • Lantern shape– can be of the most varied forms. These are small rectangular or round models, in the form of a kerosene lamp and other shapes.
  • Type of light provided– direct or diffuse.
  • Number and brightness of LEDs.
  • Type of power source.

There are varieties of simple lamps for tents or awnings that can be folded out, thereby increasing the lighting area.

Currently, very miniature LED camping lanterns are being produced. At the same time, they are quite powerful and have a long operating time. Such light sources are convenient for illuminating a small area of ​​a tent or awning, or for spot lighting over a pot or table.

You can find models of camping lanterns with a variety of additional functions. For example, a combination of a lighting fixture and a radio, a fan. Some lanterns additionally have the ability to install insect repellent, which is a very convenient feature in nature.

Additional features in a camping lantern are completely optional, but can be useful and convenient.

Camping lantern body

The main body part of camping lanterns is made of:

  • Impact-resistant ABS plastic;
  • Aluminum;
  • Of stainless steel.

The impact-resistant plastic case is able to withstand falls from low heights. Most often, this is quite enough for a flashlight of this type. If an LED camping lantern is intended for use in harsh and extreme conditions, then it is better to purchase models with a metal body.

The aluminum case is much more durable and reliable than the plastic one. However, it is not much heavier. It is also desirable that the case be as waterproof as possible.

The outer surface of metal cases is usually subjected to a decorative coating in the form of anodizing. This shell protects the metal from oxidation and increases its resistance to abrasion. But when the flashlight body is struck, chips may form on the anodized surface.

Advantages of LEDs as a light source for a camping lantern

The light source in LED lighting devices is LEDs. Inexpensive models can be equipped with low-quality diodes, which are not only ineffective, but also harmful to vision (they operate mainly in the blue spectrum of light radiation).

There are often cheap models of camping lanterns with a large number of these LEDs: they are very bright, but provide poor illumination. In addition, the more light sources in the lighting device, the shorter the battery life.

High-quality LEDs, in combination with other components of the flashlight's optical system, provide good illumination and do not pose a danger to human health. The spectrum of their radiation is very close to natural.

Advice! If you can choose the color temperature of the LEDs in a camping lantern, it is better to give preference to light sources with soft warm yellow or daylight. They will illuminate the surrounding space more naturally.

LEDs produced using modern technologies have many advantages over other light sources for flashlights:

  • LEDs are significantly more efficient than conventional incandescent bulbs. When operating from the same batteries, the LEDs will shine much longer.
  • The design of LEDs is much more reliable and they are more difficult to damage.
  • The small size of the light source allows you to reduce the size of the flashlight while maintaining its efficiency.
  • The service life of LEDs is more than 50 thousand hours with constant operation.
  • LEDs can be dimmed over a fairly wide range.
  • Due to the low heat generation during operation, LED flashlights have significantly lower requirements for body heat transfer.

At the same time, LED light sources are very sensitive to overheating. If the maximum current allowed for a given model is exceeded, they very quickly lose their qualities and fail.

Depending on the model, the lights can be equipped with one or more LEDs. They are able to work separately, as well as all together. Most models of camping lanterns are capable of operating in several modes necessary in camping conditions.

The most common:

  • Full power mode – the LED camping lantern can work for a minimum time.
  • Average
  • Short
  • Emergency lighting – maximum operating time.
  • Strobe mode.

Some flashlight models have diffused or directional light modes. In the first case, the lighting device provides soft illumination of the surrounding space, in the second option - bright illumination of the space under the lamp.

Some flashlight models use an LED strip as a light source.

Optics for camping lanterns

The main requirement for the light of camping lanterns is the ability to uniformly illuminate a large area. For this reason, they are most often equipped with textured reflectors, which provide a large and uniform light spot, and ordinary glass. Lenses are rarely installed on such lantern models, since there is no requirement for a clear or variable focus of light in front of a camping lantern.

If the lighting device has direct light, without a reflector, then it is often equipped with frosted glass for a more even distribution of the light flux.

For lighting inside tents and gazebos, the simplest models of lanterns are suitable.

Power supplies for camping lanterns

The most common batteries for camping lanterns are regular AAA or AA batteries or rechargeable batteries. The choice of one option or another should be made depending on the frequency of use of the lighting device.

Rare outings into nature, using a camping lantern as emergency lighting at the dacha - in this case it would be better to use simple batteries. If the source of autonomous lighting is used intensively, hiking trips last a long time, then it is much more profitable to install rechargeable batteries.

Having a one-time energy reserve slightly less than that of batteries, batteries can be recharged many times.

The batteries in camping lanterns are either built-in and charged without removal from the device, or replaceable. Some flashlight models have a low battery indicator, which is quite convenient for tracking the time before recharging.

Rechargeable LED camping lights can be charged from:

  • Stationary network 220 V;
  • Car cigarette lighter 12 V;
  • Solar batteries;
  • Dynamos.

The batteries in the flashlight can be recharged using built-in solar panels. This is quite convenient on hikes, where charging is a big problem. In addition, the flashlight can be recharged from an external power source (Power Bank) or a computer via a USB port.

There are special mobile solar panels on sale. You can also connect camping rechargeable LED lights to them. Another fairly simple way to charge the batteries of a camping lantern is a special built-in dynamo. However, these types of energy production are still ineffective.

Some models of self-charging lighting devices are themselves capable of charging small electronic devices: mobile phones, cameras, GPS navigators. More powerful devices, such as tablets, can run on them as if they were mains powered.

But the most suitable ways to charge the batteries of a camping lantern are chargers that operate via a stationary network or from a car battery.

Methods for attaching camping lanterns

In order for a camping lantern to effectively perform its lighting function, it must be fixed conveniently and securely.

The following types of fastenings are mainly used:

  • Suspended - on a cord or carabiner.
  • In the form of a clip for attaching to a belt, clothing, equipment, pocket in a tent or awning.
  • Magnetic holders allow you to fix the flashlight on metal surfaces.

There are models of powerful lanterns that are installed on the ground. They usually have a lighting angle of 360 degrees, which is very convenient for illuminating the camp area. This is especially true in situations where it is not possible to light a fire.

The main conditions for any method of attaching a camping lantern are reliability and safety. It’s good if the flashlight has a built-in beacon that allows you to determine its location when it’s off. In this case, it will be easier to find the device, and it will be more difficult to trip or hit it.

Camping lantern operation control

The main requirements for controlling the operation of a camping lantern are:

  • Simplicity– you should not choose “sophisticated” models, the management of which is easy to get confused. This is especially true for extreme situations on a hike.
  • Convenience– this is important when traveling. If to control a hanging lantern you have to remove it every time and then hang it back, it will be at least inconvenient.
  • Reliability– all control elements must be sufficiently protected from external adverse influences. Otherwise, they can fail at the most inopportune moment, and a person’s life and health can often depend on the work of the flashlight.

Basically, all LED camping lights are controlled by:

  • Buttons;
  • Levers;
  • Remote control.

Changing different operating modes is usually done by alternating button presses.

An LED rechargeable camping lantern, if chosen correctly, can greatly facilitate a camping trip. It will create the necessary comfort and convenience, and increase the safety of being outdoors at night.

A good camping lantern will effectively illuminate the area and will work for a fairly long time. The price of high-quality LED products cannot be low, but they will quickly justify the cost of purchase. You can learn more about this group of lighting devices from the video in this article.

And everything would have been fine, only he didn’t shine at all. Those. it shone, of course, but so weakly that there was only enough light to illuminate the lantern itself. It was necessary to do something about it and now, after several years, his hands came to him. Below the cut are details of the improvements.


The original design uses several LED strips

Power supply consists of 4 form factor D batteries (in Russian - 373 elements)

So, let's start finalizing the design: we disassemble the lantern, take out all the giblets.

Instead of standard LED strips, we wind an LED strip consisting of 5050 LEDs. We managed to wind exactly 1 meter. Actually, I didn’t have any more...

The tape is powered by 12 volts. As a result, a step-up voltage converter is needed. After rummaging through the feeds, I finally found what I needed - LM2577 DC-DC Adjustable Step-up Power Converter. I once bought it on E-bay "in reserve". Price $2.46 per piece.

Just in case, they installed a radiator on the mikruha. The radiator is a piece of cleverly cut cooler from an ancient Pentium-like processor

A plug was installed on top of the lantern design, so that the space would not be wasted, we decided to additionally install a Cree Q5 LED there. On the radiator, of course.

A small reflector was built into the cover of the plug

Now let's move on to nutrition. Somehow the soul did not initially lie with D-elements, so instead of D-cells it was decided to use 18650 lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are somewhat longer in size, but the stroke of the contact springs of the battery compartment turned out to be quite large, which allowed them there without any problems install.

In order for the batteries to fit normally and not hang out in the battery pack, bushings with an outer diameter similar to D-shells were machined

The battery connection circuit had to be changed to parallel-series; this required slightly re-soldering the battery pack

The changes also affected the back cover of the battery pack: you need to solder the jumper strip

Next, we proceed to setting up the circuit. During the testing process, the original power button burned out, unable to withstand the current. I had to cut down the normal toggle switch. The output voltage of the converter was set to 11.5 V, while the current consumption of the LED strip was 0.9 A. Current consumption at the converter input (from the batteries): 1.45 A at an input voltage of 7.5 V.

We proceed to the final assembly of the structure. Loading the torpedo tube

Complete structure

Solemn moment. Let's light it up...it's on fire! The LEDs in the strip emit warm yellow light.

Photos, of course, do not fully convey the brightness of the glow. But I can say that it turned out quite well, quite brightly. Just right for a flashlight like this.

I'm testing the second mode - I light a single cree q5 LED at the top of the flashlight. He put the lantern on the floor and shone it on the chandelier. Stretch ceiling - glossy. The result was fairly uniform illumination of the entire room, of course, not as bright as in the main operating mode, but nevertheless I am pleased with the result.

That's all. Sending rays of goodness

One of the few things that I held in my hands before ordering in China. I first saw this flashlight in Sportmaster. I liked the fact that it can work under any circumstances, as it receives energy from the sun and muscle strength. I didn’t like the price - 219 hryvnia (almost $28 at that time). Therefore, when I saw this lantern for almost half the price in the Chinese online store chinabuye.com, I ordered it as a response to domestic traders.

Now about the lantern itself...

The camping lantern came in a white cardboard box without any markings. There were also no instructions or other accompanying papers.


On the lantern itself there was proudly displayed the name “Cockpit” and something else written in hieroglyphs. The body of the flashlight is made of matte plastic, pleasant to the touch. The lighting block is made of a combination of transparent and reflective plastic.

For carrying or attaching the flashlight, there is a folding handle at the top.

Lantern dimensions – 18.4 cm (24 cm with raised handle) x 6 cm x 6 cm.


As an energy source, the lantern can use a hand-held dynamo with a folding handle (in the photo it is unfolded) or a small solar battery on the lantern cover. On the side (marked with an arrow in the photo below) there is a power socket, the purpose of which I decided to clarify later by disassembling the flashlight.


Solar battery.


The wire channel coming from the solar battery is shielded with a reflector. Lighting is provided by six LEDs.


The flashlight can shine with either three or six LEDs at the same time. Switching modes is carried out by alternately pressing the power button: turned on - 3 diodes, turned off and turned on again - 6, etc.

Below are examples of how the flashlight works and how much of this can be conveyed using a digital point-and-shoot camera.

6 LEDs:


3 LEDs:


After a minute of manually charging the flashlight, six LEDs light up for 5-6 minutes, after which 3 of them go out and, obviously, due to the peculiarities of the circuit, the economical mode becomes unavailable - i.e. press the power button once - nothing lights up (obviously there is not enough voltage), press it a second time (turn off this mode), press it a third time - only three LEDs light up (in the mode where six should light up).

The weight of the flashlight is 240 g, the store description states 290 g. The conclusion is that something was done with the battery.


To find out the capacity of the built-in battery and the purpose of the external power socket, I decided to disassemble the flashlight, fortunately it was not difficult - the body is held together with only four bolts. That's what came out of it:


The Chinese, as always, were greedy. As you can see, the capacity and type of battery are quite funny - Ni-Mh 3.6 V / 80 mAh. The battery components are similar in form factor to LR44 batteries.

The elements on the board are soldered only on one side:


Q1 – power output from the solar battery, BT-1 – output from the battery, J1 – output to the external power socket. The output voltage is 3.7 V, i.e. if theoretically you use a set of adapters like this:


then at a critical moment you can try to charge a mobile phone using a hand-held dynamo, or vice versa - a flashlight battery using a mobile phone.

To summarize, we can say that in fact the main purpose of this lantern is to illuminate the space around you. Those. you can hang it in a tent, put it on a table and the darkness around you will part. The flashlight is not very suitable for illuminating the path, although it will indicate your location.

Like all Chinese devices, this flashlight is not without its drawbacks, the most obvious of which is a weak battery. But you can change the battery or make some additional additions, if you wish. The main thing is that there is a base for this - a successful lantern that uses natural energy sources for power - sunlight and muscle power, which allows it to function in conditions of complete isolation from civilization. That’s actually why I called this lantern a survivalist’s lantern. Although a real survivalist's flashlight would certainly benefit from a more durable casing.

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In the last decade, with the beginning of the accelerated development of the automotive industry in our country, and the emergence of the opportunity for almost anyone to purchase a car, automobile tourism began to develop rapidly. Autotourists, traveling throughout the country, stop to rest in campsites and roadside hotels specially equipped for them, relaxing in comfortable conditions. But sometimes you have to spend the night, as they say, where night fell, for example, in a tent on the shore of a lake or river. Yes, and some campsites sometimes provide only a guarded place to stop and relax, and you have to spend the night just like on the lake shore - in a tent. Well, that’s okay, that’s what tourism is for.

A rechargeable flashlight becomes an indispensable assistant in the evening and at night, spent in a tent or under a canopy. With , you can have dinner together at the same table, talk about tomorrow, prepare equipment, refuel the car, children can play ball or other games, and so on. But not only should the lighting be good, it should also be enough for the entire evening. What should a lantern be like? Let's consider the basic requirements for such flashlights, and note some advantages and disadvantages of flashlights from individual companies.

Among the variety of rechargeable flashlights, there are flashlights for hunting and fishing, pocket or hand-held, head-mounted, underwater, under-barrel, powerful search or tactical, as well as camping flashlights. The name of the last type of lanterns speaks for itself, namely, that they are designed to illuminate the place where you stop and spend the night.

Camping lanterns differ from all other lanterns in both design and lighting characteristics.

Camping Lantern Design

The appearance of camping lanterns can be very different. Some lantern models are made in the style of a kerosene lamp, others are in the form of a regular ceiling or wall lamp, which is a hemisphere or rectangle.

Since almost all camping lanterns use LEDs as a light source, the design of some lamps generally resembles either a tablet or a donut.

I believe that a lantern should resemble the lantern that we are accustomed to in the usual sense of the word, and I do not like various unusual forms of lanterns. Such miracle lanterns are produced by handicraft Chinese companies and are sold in our country under various trademarks, such as “Navigator”, “Cosmos”, “Era”, “Bright Ray”. I have nothing against these brands, many of the products they sell have good characteristics and quality, but in this case I can say that the flashlights they sell are complete nonsense. We will also touch on the disadvantages of such lanterns when we analyze the lighting characteristics of camping lanterns.

I also consider unsuccessful models of camping lanterns to be those lanterns whose design combines the functions of camping and . It gets even funnier when they try to make a powerful flashlight out of them; an example of such a flashlight is shown below. Some Chinese "shops" even manage to fit a radio into the lantern.

In general, I am against such disgrace. Just as there are no universal cars that can pass over rough terrain and drive at high speed on the highway, there are no universal flashlights.

Therefore, my choice, from a design point of view, is an LED camping lantern similar to a kerosene lamp without any additions. If such a lantern, when choosing, does not fit the other criteria of my assessment, then I leave myself as an alternative choice, a lantern in the form of a hemisphere or a rectangular shape.

Optical system

The optical system of camping lanterns can be divided into two main types: direct and reflected light. Direct light is used in inexpensive flashlights, where cheap, outdated “super-bright” LEDs with a “bluish” emission spectrum in the region of 6400 K, poorly perceived by the human eye, are used as a light source. To increase visibility, manufacturers increase the number of such LEDs to very large values: 24, 42, 48, 64 pieces and so on. But no matter how much you install them, it won’t make things brighter around you. There is only enough light to, for example, see the faces of the interlocutors at the table, and if you move further away, you can already trip over something.

The bluish color of the LED glow is to blame for everything. The fact is that the human eye is most sensitive to sunlight. And therefore, in sunlight, people see surrounding objects very clearly. Anyone who lives in private houses and runs a household knows that when you enter the owner’s building, which is located in the courtyard in the wall or roof of which there is a through gap to the street, the sunlight penetrating through this gap illuminates the entire room quite well. Without turning on the lamp, you can easily find the item you came for.

In sunlight, the predominant emission spectrum is green.

When illuminated by a halogen incandescent lamp, the emission spectrum is shifted to the red zone.

The first super-bright LEDs emitted light in the blue spectrum.

Therefore, no matter how you increase the number of LEDs used to illuminate the flashlight, a person will not be able to see any better. But the power consumption of electrical energy will increase, and the operating time of the flashlight will correspondingly decrease. In addition, super-bright blue LEDs, which are in the direct line of sight of human eyes, cause a very strong glare effect. Once, by looking at the flashlight and taking your eyes away from it, you can “walk away” from exposure to bright light for about five minutes. The way out of this situation is to use diffuse filters made of opal or milk glass. But such filters further block the already insufficient light.

In the last 3-4 years, LED manufacturers have improved their light characteristics and achieved almost complete coincidence of the emitted light spectrum with sunlight. Now the color temperature of LED light is 4800 - 5200 K. One of the leaders in the production of such LEDs is the American company "CREE".

Currently, in the production of lamps, spotlights and lanterns, it has become sufficient to use one or several such LEDs to create a luminous flux similar to the luminous flux created by a dozen or several dozen LEDs of the previous generation.

Manufacturers of rechargeable lanterns have jumped on this wave and have come up with many new camping lantern designs at the moment. For example, the Fenix ​​company has created a small but very bright Fenix ​​CL20 camping lantern. The weight of the flashlight is only 103 grams, and the maximum size is 79 mm. With such a modest size, the flashlight produces a luminous flux of up to 165 lumens. Since the lantern illuminates the surrounding area with direct light, it is equipped with milky diffusing glass. The luminous range of the flashlight is 10 m. Operating time in turbo mode (at 165 lumens) is 2 hours 23 minutes. The flashlight runs on 2 AA batteries.

The portable LED rechargeable flashlight is very small and can even fit in a pocket and is therefore suitable for hiking. The lantern has rather modest luminous flux characteristics and is only suitable for good illumination of the interior of the tent with natural light. In terms of price/quality ratio, the cost of the flashlight is significantly overestimated - 2680 rubles.

If we talk about lanterns in the form of a kerosene lamp, then they began to look more natural. One to four powerful LEDs began to be installed at the location of the wick of a real kerosene lamp. To disperse the light emanating from the LED in all directions, a cone-shaped mirror is installed in the upper part of the lampshade, simulating lamp glass. But recently, various manufacturers have begun to move away from the cone shape and are giving this mirror various complex shapes that improve the quality and uniformity of scattering.

On almost all lantern designs, the lampshade is made removable. With the canopy removed, the lantern is hung “upside down” by the hook located on the bottom of the lantern and used as usual.

Based on all the considerations, I believe that it would be wise to opt for lanterns equipped exclusively with modern LEDs that emit naturally white light, close to sunlight.

Camping Lantern Power Sources

The power sources for camping lanterns are standard batteries and rechargeable batteries such as AAA, AA, CR123, 18650, D, as well as built-in batteries. If everything is clear with standard batteries, you took out the used ones and installed new ones, then you need to understand in more detail the charging of the batteries.

Charging flashlights with built-in batteries is carried out directly in the flashlight from an alternating voltage network of 220 V or from DC voltage sources, 12 V and 5 V. The voltage value depends on the specific model.

The availability of an alternating voltage network of 220 V is not always the case in camping conditions. The ability to charge batteries from a constant supply voltage of 5 V means that the battery can be charged, for example, from a laptop or computer, which are also unlikely to be on a hike. Therefore, in my opinion, it would be logical to choose a flashlight that can be charged from the car’s on-board network (cigarette lighter) 12 V.

Sometimes the design of the charger allows the use of both AC and DC voltages.

There are models of flashlights, for example, the same “Navigator” (model NPT-CA09) which additionally have a solar battery and a manual dynamo for charging. Having collected all the information about the effectiveness of these devices, I can assure you that they are absolutely useless in operation.

A solar battery, given its area, can create a current that can only power a microcalculator. It will charge the battery for a week, subject to sunny weather. Although no, if you look at the capacity of the battery installed in this flashlight (1200 mAh, 3.6 V), then you can agree that it will be charged in two days. For information, one little finger battery, type AAA, has a capacity of 1000 mAh, at 1.5 V, that is, two batteries, type AAA, are practically installed in the flashlight. Let's calculate how long it will take for this battery to discharge. 3.6 V × 1.2 A = 4.32 W. This means that the battery can produce 4.32 W of electrical power within an hour. The flashlight contains 12 LEDs with an estimated power of 0.5 W. The total power of all LEDs is 12 × 0.5 W = 6 W. So, the time that the flashlight will work is 4.32 / 6 = 0.72 hours = 43.2 minutes. Charge for two days, only to be left in the dark 43 minutes later? The same can be said about a dynamo. In short, it's just ridiculous, money down the drain.

The conclusion suggests itself is that it would be better if the flashlight had removable batteries installed.

Waterproof

Well, we’ve reached the last evaluation criterion when choosing a camping lantern. The moisture resistance of all flashlights, be it a hand-held, search, or headlamp, is a very important parameter, since different situations occur during their operation. It is hand-held and can slip out of your hands and fall into the water; the headband can become wet when a person is in the rain. A camping lantern is no exception. Most often, of course, a rechargeable LED camping flashlight gets caught in the sudden rain. Raindrops fall both vertically and at some angle. Therefore, the bulk of the flashlights produced are produced with a degree of protection against rain (IPX4 - IPX6).

But there are models that can withstand short-term immersion in water (protection level IPX7). And it doesn’t have to be expensive flashlights. An example of an inexpensive waterproof flashlight is the Energizer LED tourist flashlight, the estimated cost of which is 1000 rubles.

My choice

Having searched for a suitable flashlight for myself, I settled on this one: “Streamlight Siege”.

Brief characteristics of the flashlight:

  • Manufacturer - American company "Streamlight";
  • Model - "Siege";
  • Light source - 4 white Cree XB-D LEDs, 1 red LED;
  • Color temperature - 5200 K (cool white), red;
  • Optics - matte cap with reverse conical reflector, removable;
  • Power supply: three D-type batteries; corresponding batteries can be installed instead;
  • Modes/brightness - 340, 175, 33 lm white light, 10 lm and SOS red light;
  • Turning on and changing modes - alternating presses on one control button;
  • Operating time - 30/70/295 hours (at maximum/medium/minimum brightness);
  • Weight and dimensions - 185 × 90 mm, 430 grams empty.

On the eBay website, this flashlight can be purchased for approximately 2000 rubles, plus shipping 1200 rubles. In one of the Russian online stores, the cost of such a lantern was 4,400 rubles, the lantern was in stock.

Watch a short video review of this flashlight.