illuminate me?lantern advise

[Man of Tanith]

Evening All,
Myself, Lisa shan and jake are off camping end of the month but we need to get some sort of lantern for the middle of night feed
ideally it will be reasonably priced, child safe and easy to operate
can anyone make any recommendations?
i have searched and googled but s the only experience i have with lanterns is either the uco candle lanterns or traditional scout paraffin lantern i am not sure what i am looking for
Thanks
Sam

 

[santaman2000]

When you say "childproof" just what age is the child? If you're talking about pre-school then I'd recommend a battery powered camping lantern www.amazon.com/Coleman-Rugged-Batte...nextag.com/COLEMAN/battery-lantern/brand-html

 

[beenn]

I have a wind up lantern from asda- about £5
its 4 led and you wind it for 1 minute and it gives off a good amount of light for 30

 

[Man of Tanith]

one child 8yrs old one child will be just under two months old when we plan to go
i should also add me proof when getting up at three am for middle of night feed

 

[rik_uk3]

A little gas lamp light easy, is bright, gives off a bit of heat and would do the job. If you have height in your tent you could hang it. Perhaps a head torch would be easier all round if your just moving around making a bottle feed or the wife is breast feeding.

 

[johnboy]

I agree with Richard et al..

Battery power is the way to go for hasstle free use... Black Diamond make a few good ones.

I personally wouldn't be messing around with anything liquid fueled in a tent with Kids around. Same with gas as a fuel. Both gas an liquid fuel are great for lanterns but not as convinent as a simple switch on LED lantern..

Cheers

John

 

[ged]

You can get the lanterns for peanuts. We have a few which ranged in price from a few pounds to about a tenner.

Here's an example, I haven't actually got one of these so it's not a recommendation but it uses AA batteries which is something worth thinking about:

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_19027.htm

My first choice for a torch will always be a LED head torch, but if I have room and the weight isn't a problem I'll usually throw in a couple of small hand torches, spare batteries, and one or two of the LED lanterns too. You don't necessarily want 200 lumens for scratting around in a tent looking for stuff.

Agreed flames, tents and children can be a troublesome combination, but at eight years they can be learning.

 

[Old Bones]

There's Alpkit's http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16376&category_id=253 Bulb II - £15. There are other other ones on the market very similar http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/index.cfm/product/silverpoint-expedition-100-lantern/fuseaction/products.detail/code/91210023. So basically the same thing, but half as bright, but a fiver more.

Wind up ones are for kids, they dont last they long. My windup head torch (£5 in the Blacks sale last year is basically fine if your stranded with the car (which is where mine is now), but it really is a bit sad compared with the Alpkit Gamma I got for £12.50. Since I've had to do my fair share of night feeds (and changing, which is something I could eventually do in near darkness and 2/3 asleep pretty much automatically), perhaps a little night light thing or the Bulb, and Gamma's with the little 0.5 w lights for you? Enough to see, but not enough to blind.

I must admit I would not let my kids (4 & 7) anywhere near gas or paraffin - they are dangerous enough for many adults!

 

[dave53]

aldi have a set of lanterns 2in a pack for £5.99 regards dave

 

[SimonM]

Get down to your local DIY chain store and have a look at the LED hanging lanturns they have. You can pick up a multi LED strip for under a tenner that runs on AA batteries.

Nothing to get hot and burn junior...

Simon

 

[Lurch]

Nothing to get hot and burn junior...

Burns build character.

 

[ged]

... at eight years they can be learning.

Burns build character.

I didn't quite mean...

 

[Dave]

Another Vote for the Alpkit Lantern. Great little bit of kit.

 

[keen-edge]

Get your self over to a home bargain store they have these at the moment for £1.99 they have a dimmer built in to nice and bright and packs into its self to

 

[mrs toilet digger]

you can get some good wind up led lanterns, easy to use and bright enough for feeds and changes!!!... and safe!x

 

[lab72]

These are good no conncetion etc

 

[Man of Tanith]

thanks guys we went to go outdoors yesterday and bought two battery powered ones
but at least i knew what i was looking for.
might of bought a couple of hurricane lamps at same time for when i get up the permission again too

 

[rik_uk3]

you can get some good wind up led lanterns, easy to use and bright enough for feeds and changes!!!... and safe!x

Unfortunaley they rarely live up to the hype, wind up are best kept as something in the boot of the car for emergencies.

 

[ateallthepies]

I can highly recommend one of these... http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/fenix/fenix-diffusers.html .

You will need an LED torch to go with it and I use my Fenix TK-11 and it blows all the LED lanterns out the water for brightness and is on par with my small gas light.

I use mine all the time at work and when camping and cant rave enough about it!

Steve.

 

[maddave]

There's Alpkit's http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16376&category_id=253 Bulb II - £15. There are other other ones on the market very similar http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/index.cfm/product/silverpoint-expedition-100-lantern/fuseaction/products.detail/code/91210023. So basically the same thing, but half as bright, but a fiver more.

Wind up ones are for kids, they dont last they long. My windup head torch (£5 in the Blacks sale last year is basically fine if your stranded with the car (which is where mine is now), but it really is a bit sad compared with the Alpkit Gamma I got for £12.50. Since I've had to do my fair share of night feeds (and changing, which is something I could eventually do in near darkness and 2/3 asleep pretty much automatically), perhaps a little night light thing or the Bulb, and Gamma's with the little 0.5 w lights for you? Enough to see, but not enough to blind.

I must admit I would not let my kids (4 & 7) anywhere near gas or paraffin - they are dangerous enough for many adults!

+1 for the Alpkit bulb. 2 brightness settings lasts quite a long time with decent batteries and has a very small green LED near the ON button that flashes once every five seconds or so when the lantern is off so you can find the switch in the dark... Top bit of kit and as tough as old boots.