Having good lighting with you on a camping trip is essential. Camping lanterns are the best for keeping your campsite lit up. I normally keep mine on the middle of the table or hanging from a tree nearby.
It depends how bad the bugs are. Bugs can be attracted to light in darkness, however I have found that the whiter the light, the less it will attract them.
Whenever I retire for the night I just carry it with me to the tent a hang it from the roof. This is a great place for it because if I wake during the night I know that I just have to reach up to turn on the lantern.
There are a ton of different lanterns out there and to be honest, most of them are pretty good but I have picked out three of the best that will suit your needs and budget below.
What should you look for in a Camping lantern
- Brightness – Brightness is measured in lumens. 1 lumen is equal to 12.57 candles, so for every 100 lumens you will get nearly 8 candle power. This might not sound like much this is actually pretty bright. Just for referance, a 40 watt bulb will have abut 450 lumens.
- Battery Life – There is no point having a bright light if it isn’t going to last. Thanks to LEDs, lights can now last for days before they run out of battery. Make sure you get an LED lantern.
- Battery Type – Some lanterns are rechargeable only. This is good if you’re on short camps but I would advise against them for longer camps. The reason is that you may not be about to recharge it anywhere. Having disposable batteries means you will be able to get them easily if needed or take extras. You could also use rechargeable replacement batteries if you wanted.
- Shock Proof – It is inevitable that your lantern will take a few knocks. It’s just part of camping. Make sure your lantern is shockproof. LEDs are also good for this reason. The old bulbs used to blow easily.
- Waterproof – If you camp often enough then you will get rained on. Don’t get left in the dark. The last thing you need is to be running around in the dark trying keep things dry.
- Low setting – It can be nice to leave the lantern on low in the tent when if you are camping with your kids.
The best three camping lanterns
Fenix flashlight CL30R
If you have a little extra cash and you want the best of the best then the Fenix flashlight CL30R camping lantern is it. My brother in law got one of these and when I heard how much he spent on it I thought he was crazy. However, after seeing it in action I can totally see why he bought it.
It has a max of 650 lumen. This is enough to light up a large campsite. It also has 5 different levels so you will be able to turn it down to suit your needs. It also doubles as a power bank via a usb port. It comes with 3 lithium ion batteries which can be replaced with AA disposable batteries if needed.
It also has a cool feature that I never seen before which is a cold-resistant battery case. When batteries get cold they can lose their charge faster than normal so this is a handy feature if you intent of camping in cold conditions. It is small but probably too big for backpacking. It is also made from quality materials. Click here for more information and to get the latest prices on Amazon.
Etekcity Portable
For my budget option I recommend the Etekcity Portable LED Camping Lantern. It is a great light for the price and it would have been my favorite only for the battery life, which isn’t bad at about 10 hrs on new batteries. It is a collapsible lantern which will save you a bit of room if you want to take it backpacking. I couldn’t see how many lumens it has but it is very bright at the highest level. There are 4 levels in total.
It has a neat little feature that I think is really cool. It comes with a fire starter flint and a small compartment for tinder or small items that you need to keep dry. Click here for more information and to get the latest prices on Amazon.
AYL Starlight 330
My favourite is the AYL Starlight 330. It has everything I need and it is very cheap. It is a little more expensive than the Etekcity Lantern but not much and it suits my needs better.
Why did I choose the AYL Starlight 330?
The AYL Starlight 330 offers 300 Lumen which is more than enough for what I need. The other lanterns here are actually brighter at their highest setting but I don’t think you need that extra light. I prefer to not worry that it will run out of battery and be left in the dark. That is the biggest reason I chose the AYL Starlight 330.
I have been on week-long camps with my family and I would leave the light on overnight in case my kids woke. It never showed any sign of fading during the whole week.
I have accidentally left it out in the rain while being off on a hike and it worked afterwards, even when it was still wet.
With most lanterns you can hang it up high so the light spreads farther around your campsite. However, because of the body or the lid of the lantern there is nearly alway a dark spot directly under where you hang the lantern. The AYL Starlight 330 avoids this by having the hanger on the bottom of the lantern and having a removable lid. It can be hung upside down with no lid to obstruct the light below.
It uses three D batteries which can be found in every town so if you do eventually run out of light then you can find replacements easily. I use a lot of these batteries on other equipment so I invested in a rechargeable set like these.
As I said already, there are brighter lights available but this one really suits my style of camping. Click here for more information and to check the latest prices on Amazon