tent light

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
yes I use a small light in my Shangri la but this is a much bigger space and I want good light. I'm tempted by the gas canister lamp.

That LED light floods my old Vango Juno 500 tipi tent without problem but the beauty of a gas lantern is light and heat (but higher running costs) in colder weather.

As a real fan of pressurised stoves and lanterns I must admit that LED/Cree lighting has to be one of the best inventions to hit the camping scene in many a year IMHO :( For what they cost just try one, if nothing else they would be handy in a power cut... still won't stop me using Coleman/paraffin/gas lanterns though;)
 
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Old Bones

Settler
Oct 14, 2009
745
72
East Anglia
These are the best family camping lights you can get....they look cheap and nasty ( they are cheap) but they are amazing lights. You can hang them, tie them or use the magnets on the back to hold them and they are bright enough to light up an entire camp area (I used one at a bushcraft meet and had to turn it off as it was too bright for bushy ambiance lol).

They used to be available from Poundland, but I havn't seen one recently. They are not bad, but I think the idea of having more than one light for a large tent is a good one. There are fewer shadows, its easier to move around, etc. And since your tent is fairly large, you don't need to worry about bulk - some some sort of lantern or two makes sense. Personally, paraffin and my kids probably wouldn't mix, so I'd go for something like these : http://www.millets.co.uk/equipment/103165-vango-12-led-lantern-black.html (Millets keep emailing me with Sale items). Cheap enough to buy two (and I havn't seen anything similar cheaper), hangable, AA batteries, and a folding carry handle. Even remote controlled!

If you order online you can get free delivery to a local store in the Blacks/Millets group.

Its aslo worth seeing if the have anything similar in Aldi - they had a camping special purchase a while back, and they might have something in their clearence section.
 

ateallthepies

Native
Aug 11, 2011
1,558
0
hertfordshire
If going electric I'm a fan of the slip on wands that go on led torches to convert into a lantern. Depending on your torch modes you get great all round light like a regular house pendant and bulb. You can actually fashion a lantern wand for any torch out of a piece of white paper, roll into a cone and fit over torch, works a treat in a pinch!

If using fuel I love a pressure lamp hissing away plus the heat is a bonus.
 
Jul 30, 2012
3,570
225
westmidlands
As a real fan of pressurised stoves and lanterns I must admit that LED/Cree lighting has to be one of the best inventions to hit the camping scene in many a year IMHO

True. Cree have just released a 220 lumen per watt led and have a 300 in the pipeline. For the ammount of light coupled with lithium ion you get, they are seriously a step up. You would have to carry a lot in old money even in paraffin for what has come along in just the last 5 years.


Edit.

http://www.cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases/2014/March/300LPW-LED-barrier

The link above is for the lab stuff. Five years ago you would be happy if you had even 50 lumen per watt off the shelf. Plus lithium is about 4 times better for batteries, ten or twenty times the power in 5 years!
 
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Jul 30, 2012
3,570
225
westmidlands
How about this, saw it on cotswolds

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/ring-3-led-tent-light-91310007?id_colour=180

I have the predecessor to this: http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/silverpoint-starlight-lantern-91210039?id_colour=117

Great lantern and bright enough to light up a huge space while still taking cheap batteries.

Got to say, this lantern (60 lumens a watt) would have been good two years ago , but they came out with the xpg 100 lumen a watt(what I have), and last year this year released the xpl in lanterns at150 a watt, this year's is 200 a watt, expect to see it in lanterns and torches next year.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,120
68
Florida
I'm puzzled why they make tent lanterns the wrong way up. When yo have a reservoir of liquid fuel and a flame, that puts limitations on what can be done and the simplest solution is to put the fuel at the bottom. When you have electric lights then it seems daft to produce a lamp that looks like a liquid fuel lantern with the batteries in a big lump at the bottom blocking the light especially given the shape of most tent roofs that will just accentuate that problem if you hang the lamp up. It's almost impossible to find a better designed lamp though.

I like this one:
61a5HlGATDL._SL1500_.jpg



You can just see the metal hanger running inside the plastic one. The two can be separated so that they act as legs if you want to set it down and pointed to one side (the legs would be along the side obviously) If you want to hang it facing down, just swing the legs/handles 180 degrees from what's shown in the pic. As is, you can set it down on any flat surface.

The beam itself focuses from area illumination to a more focused beam that can be aimed.

Takes 4 regular D cell batteries.

Under $10 on Amazon

.
 
Jul 30, 2012
3,570
225
westmidlands
I like this one:
61a5HlGATDL._SL1500_.jpg



You can just see the metal hanger running inside the plastic one. The two can be separated so that they act as legs if you want to set it down and pointed to one side (the legs would be along the side obviously) If you want to hang it facing down, just swing the legs/handles 180 degrees from what's shown in the pic. As is, you can set it down on any flat surface.

The beam itself focuses from area illumination to a more focused beam that can be aimed.

Takes 4 regular D cell batteries.

Under $10 on Amazon

.

That one of riks has no base on it cranmere, but you'll be best served by a downward light like santaman. Only thing about riks is if you run leds below 50mah is they are not as efficient, and given that there are more than a few of them, it's unlikely that they are performing optimally.
 

Morph

Member
Aug 19, 2009
35
3
Out Back
I'm puzzled why they make tent lanterns the wrong way up. When yo have a reservoir of liquid fuel and a flame, that puts limitations on what can be done and the simplest solution is to put the fuel at the bottom. When you have electric lights then it seems daft to produce a lamp that looks like a liquid fuel lantern with the batteries in a big lump at the bottom blocking the light especially given the shape of most tent roofs that will just accentuate that problem if you hang the lamp up. It's almost impossible to find a better designed lamp though.

This doesn't answer the OP's question (not powerful enough), so apologies in advance.....

Cranmere - i would seriously recommend these to you, to overcome traditional lantern shape limitations. I originally picked one up several years ago in France - used it loads at home as well as when camping - and have since bought a couple more. Cheap as chips, mine have not failed despite getting wet. With the hook/mantle screwed to the top of the lantern, it works in traditional fashion. If you want to cast light downwards, hanging in a tent for example, twist the top off and screw it onto the bottom of the lantern. Et voila - as our continental cousins would have it !!
Oh and it also has a red led mode to preserve night vision should you need that ;)
 

janso

Full Member
Dec 31, 2012
611
5
Penwith, Cornwall
Check out the newish lanterns from Alpkit; just ordered a new AA one to complement the AAA. Can't speak highly enough about the triple a for use last week on a 5 day Exped in Snowdonia. Excellent weight, flexibility for standing or hanging, brightness and functionality. Bloody good price as well


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!
 

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