Etekcity Portable Outdoor LED Camping Lantern Review

Camping lanterns are highly versatile for many reasons. First, they do not only have to be used while you are camping, as the name would suggest to the uninitiated. They have plenty of other applications which are equally useful when you are camping, let’s take a look at one of these applications before we get started with our review.

We will be looking at one of the more obvious applications which still involves the outdoors. While headlamps are largely considered the optimal lighting option for hikers, you will find that camping lanterns may make for a good alternative depending on the intensity of your chosen hiking trail.

While headlamps will keep your hands free and allow you to use handholds in hikes where there may be bouts of climbing involved, camping lanterns can be used on more developed hiking paths. On hiking paths where you can expect to be walking most of the time, you will find that you can easily use a camping lantern.

You may be wondering why you may prefer to use a camping lantern than a headlamp in the first place. One of the advantages of camping lanterns is that they give you the choice of whether you would prefer gas power or electric power. Some hikers may prefer to use a gas-powered camping lantern for the different light color than on LED headlamps.

A camping lantern also has the main advantage of projecting a wider field of light than a headlamp. Whereas most headlamps will only project light directly in front of you, a camping lantern will show you the entirety of your surroundings due to this wider lighting angle.

We will now look at one of the more important aspects to search for in a camping lantern, regardless of the application in which you intend to use it.

Brightness

As with any product which emits light, you will find that one of the most important aspects of a camping lantern is the brightness of the light which it emits. A camping lantern which puts out insufficient light will not even be worth the purchase, so you will want to ensure that the product you intend to buy is bright enough for your use.

Keep in mind that you will not want your camping lantern to be overly bright as this can end up straining your eyes in the darkness. An overly bright light will also have the negative effect of greatly diminishing your night vision for a longer period of time than a dimmer light, which will make it harder to see when the light is doused.

Some camping lanterns will also come equipped with adjustable brightness. This is usually controlled by a knob which will allow you to select the intensity of your light. On electric lanterns, it will directly control the flow of electricity to the LED lights.

On gas lanterns, however, the brightness control will adjust the flow of gas into the lantern. This means that a brighter setting will reduce the amount of time that your gas tank will last you. If you are running out of gas, you will usually want to give up some brightness so that your lantern will last longer.

The Product

Specifications:

• Features 30 LEDs which project light in all directions
• Made to military-grade specifications
• Collapsible design makes for a more portable product
• Features 12 hours worth of battery capacity
• Features folding handles for greater portability
• Comes included with a ten-year warranty
• Comes in a pack of four lanterns

Overview

If you want a lantern that is highly affordable, this model from Etekcity is the right choice. These lanterns come included in packs of four, with each lantern being about a quarter of the price of a comparable model.

Results

This lantern had quite a few features that managed to impress us. The very long battery life, when compared to other, similar products, was one of our favorite aspects. There are few things more annoying than having to swap out dead batteries in sheer darkness while camping or hiking.

The inclusion of twelve AA batteries with the pack of four lanterns was also a welcome addition, as most other manufacturers will not include batteries, forcing you to acquire them yourself. The folding handles functioned smoothly and allowed a choice of how to grip this lantern.

The ten-year warranty was also appreciated, as you can be sure that your product will work for a good deal of time without any manufacturer defects. The ability to collapse this lantern also means that it is one of the most portable models you will come across, fitting comfortably into your camping bags.

What Others Say

Other customers had a good deal to say about this model of camping lantern. Most were impressed by the light weight and the relatively bright lighting offered by the product. A lot of customers were also happy to see that these lanterns come included with batteries.

Regarding negatives, we saw quite a few complaints about the durability of these lanterns. Some customers had issues where their lantern suddenly died out while in use, and would not turn on even after the batteries were replaced. There were also complaints about the lack of weatherproofing.

Buying Advice

These are some of the most affordable camping lanterns that you will come across. They are sold in packs of four for about 80 dollars, but they are currently on sale for 75% off at around 20 dollars. This sale means that each lantern comes at the low price of five dollars, an unprecedented deal.

Conclusion

If you are looking for the most affordable model of camping lantern that you can come across, you will find few better options than this product from Etekcity. We hope that this review has helped you choose the best product for your needs. While it can be tough to find the best camping lantern, this is one of the better options.