Candle lanterns vs LED's

[Toddy]

Recent reviews of Uco and Bushlight candle lanterns brought this to mind, and I wondered if I were alone in my opinion on this or not.

I have an Uco candle lantern, and three brass Chinese knock-offs that were popular across the forums over ten years ago. These are all 'self adjusting' lanterns, not the tealight one which also has issues.

To be perfectly honest, I don't use them.
They get hot, which is fine in a canvas tent, or hanging outside, but not really all that safe inside a modern tent/bivvi.

They also, without fail, even with care, end up messy. I do have one of the tealight ones, and that's not so bad, but it pools molten wax and again, any movement and it's a mess.
They hang, they get bumped, they spill/splash. The glass chimney gets smeared and sooty.

The worst ones are when the force of the spring shoves the semi-soft candle hard up against the framework and it slowly pushes off ribbons of wax....which melt and end up down in among the spring mechanism.

I like 'natural', I truly appreciate 'real', and I do understand the liking for a natural light, but but tbh I give up on these.
Modern LED lights make life easy and they last so long now that the battery issue is no longer a concern. They come in shades of white/yellow too to suit the ambience.
My LED ones cost me under a fiver and the batteries are rechargeable. My solar powered ones don't even need to be plugged in to charge.

The candles for the lanterns are better hard. That means either adding stearin or using something like tallow. Most modern candles are made from paraffin wax and that is too soft. The candles meant for the lanterns are comparatively expensive but this is why.

I am minded of the addage,
"My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night, but oh my foes and ah my friends, it gives a lovely light".
Mostly I just want to see easily without fuss, without fretting over heat, molten wax, or trying to replace candles in the dark.

Each to their own.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I use both. I tend to use my candle lantern when cooking or sitting around the camp fire, but under the tarp when reading or getting ready to sleep, I prefer my led light.

 

[Brizzlebush]

Me too.

I tend to use my candle as a marker for where I'm set up, and pottering before bed.
I have my candle lantern hanging from a short length of chain to avoid any tarp/cordage burns.
It can't light up enough for reading in a hammock that's for sure, so it's a combo of head torch and lantern for me.

A candle lantern takes the edge off the chill in a tent too, but I need to have it at a similar height to my eyes to read with it.
Sometimes I use a bigger led lantern.
Sometimes only headtorch. It depends on when, where, mood, weather and with whom I guess.

I could use something else to mark my location in the dark, but I love seeing my candle lantern from a distance as I walk back to bed. It makes me smile every time.

I do have a habit of making my life more complicated than it really needs to be though!

 

[Kadushu]

My tealights are too wide for my UCO tealight lantern. I thought all tealights would be a standard size. Aside from that I find it a bit fiddly and I'm convinced I'll drop the glass one day. It's ok but for £18 it seemed a bit pricey.

My favourite lamp is branded LE with 2 metal hooks and 2 magnets which all come in handy. Nice warm, diffuse light.

 

[stonepark]

For the Bushlite, Jubla Stearin candles are economical at £6 for 20 but you do have to cut them down to fit. Each candle thereafter gives about 6hrs to 6.5 hrs.

Best UCO candles are again best homemade from 100% stearin 2kg for £13 or about 50g per candle made up, so 40 candles for £15 (not including mould but including wick) or 38p each.

Got plenty of LED's as well but can't beat flame for ambiance.

 

[Wayne]

I predominately use LED lights these days. The one exception is when I’m on a remote wilderness trip. Then I also pack a candle light. Generally I’m carrying minimal personal kit so heating my tent a few degrees before sleep is a real boon.
in proper cold electronics tends to struggle. So a back to basics solution works for me.

 

[Tiley]

I posted on the recent Bushlite thread and made it reasonably clear that I have not been impressed with their offering. Mechanical issues aside, the thing that narks me is the inordinate weight of the thing - Bushlite it is not!

I like my UCO lantern and particularly either the citronella or beeswax candles that are available. The former helps to deter the bugs and the latter burns for a very long time.

Like a number of others, my UCO acts as my 'landing light' when in the woods, guiding me back to tarp and hammock. Once there and comfortably installed, I will read by the light of my headtorch. If in a tent, I do like the ambient light thrown out by the candle lantern but have to exercise an added degree of care to ensure that neither flame nor the hot bits get close to the nylon fabric. As in the hammock, reading is done by headtorch.

So, ultimately, I like and use both; even the combined weight - in itself, not much and significantly less than the misnamed Bushlite - is worth it to my mind.