Mega Brite LED camping lantern or flashlight?

[keithb]

Hello fellow campers. My goal is to eliminate the use of batteries while camping if at all possible. Has anyone on this site purchased the Mega Brite LED lantern or flashlight? The lantern has 3 LED's that look pretty bright when turned on. You simply turn a crank to charge the flashlight or lantern. I have seen these products being sold at Target. Any feedback would be most appreciated and since I am working on my list for Santa, time is of the essence. Thanks in advance for you help.

[T__]

Keith, I am also interested in your post here.. I now carry 3 small very bright mini flashlights (leave one in the bike,, one in the tent,, & one in my pocket at night for moving around the camp site)..

 

The battery life is very good on these as I can go weeks without battery replacement.. But the bulb life is very short if I manage to drop the flashlight (I usually do so that is why I carry extra lights)..

 

Sounds like an LED bulb(s) would be much less prone to dropping damage.. Just not sure on the brightness..

 

Be interesting on what people have tried & how they work as far as brightness goes..

 

Twisty

 

 

[waylap]

I have the flashight style. It initially worked well with very bright light BUT it seems that they are shipped fully charged. So you never know just how much cranking you'll have to do until it's completely drained.

After it did finally die even with intermittent cranking I sat down to charge it back up. I cranked for about 5 minutes and then got about 1 minute of use from it. Now it's in the kitchen drawer just in case society collapses and batteries are no longer available.

I switched back to battery power led in the meantime.

[keithb]

I hear ya Twisty. You sound like me. One on the bike, tent, around the house etc. A few years ago I tried the rechargeable batteries and they seem to die pretty quickly or they will not fully charge. However, I am still using them at this time. Basically I am just burnt out on charging, changing, and buying batteries and that whole gig. I seem to be camping more, maybe 12 times or more a year lately. I am looking for a fairly small flashlight and a very small lantern. As far as mantles go for lanterns I am done with that too. Hence the question regarding the LED lantern.

[Unhofliche_Gesundheit]

very nice little candle lanterns available as an alternate.

windproof, reliable. the flame is inclosed and they pack down small and light. pretty well wind proof. provide some heat in the tent. they are enclosed so safe in the event of tip over etc, no fuel to worry about but of course there is fire involved so need to take care - this would be a suplement not a replacement.

 

20$. made is usa. various styles. here are gear Notes for example " UCO Brass Candle Lantern "

 

Weight: 250g

 

For cheery, widespread campsite light, and a surprising amount of reviving heat, without batteries or noise, turn to the reliable candle lantern. For carrying, this compact lantern telescopes shut, complete with the candle inside. In camp it pulls open, then hangs from its chain and hook assembly.

 

* A unique spring-loaded candle tube keeps the flame height constant, while a small viewing window shows the remaining candle life.

* The UCO candle was developed with a specific wick size and wax formula to burn clean for about nine hours and to resist hot weather meltdown.

* Body is made of sturdy brass, globe is made of glass.

 

 

 

you'll have to search for a place to buy - my canadian source is http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp;jsessionid=FxYpJ9ZYnFs6sbBx8HZZWBYzJDDSTX2xZwL62rP4c1yBTWKHGJx2!-265678722?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441771499&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302697119&bmUID=1228773816871

 

[T__]

Keith, I quit using re-chargeable batteries a few year ago.. Especially in my camera.. The regular non rechargeable camera & flashlight batteries seem to go on forever then give some warning when they are about to die.. The rechargeable (well the ones I had anyhow) would not last nearly as long as the non rechargeable type then would just up & suddenly die with no warning..

 

Maybe with some of the super laptop computers coming in the future with fuel cells in them for power we can hope for fuel cell flashlights also.. Maybe something like 48 hours of use with a little squirt of butane..

 

I have looked at some of the cheaper LED type small lanterns at the camping stores & most just do not look bright enough to me..

 

Hopefully it will be easier than finding my coffee press.. Took me 2 years of searching & trying different ones to find the perfect small packable coffee press that made decent grit free coffee.. Now if BMW would only offer a built in coffee press I would be first inline to get one,, maybe little water boiler as another option..

 

Twisty

 

[Bud]

Keith, I quit using re-chargeable batteries a few year ago.. Especially in my camera.. The regular non rechargeable camera & flashlight batteries seem to go on forever then give some warning when they are about to die.. The rechargeable (well the ones I had anyhow) would not last nearly as long as the non rechargeable type then would just up & suddenly die with no warning..

 

Maybe with some of the super laptop computers coming in the future with fuel cells in them for power we can hope for fuel cell flashlights also.. Maybe something like 48 hours of use with a little squirt of butane..

 

I have looked at some of the cheaper LED type small lanterns at the camping stores & most just do not look bright enough to me..

 

Hopefully it will be easier than finding my coffee press.. Took me 2 years of searching & trying different ones to find the perfect small packable coffee press that made decent grit free coffee.. Now if BMW would only offer a built in coffee press I would be first inline to get one,, maybe little water boiler as another option..

 

Twisty

 

What coffee press did you find?

[baggerchris]

I now have 4 or 5 LED camping lanterns of various types. I found after all was said and done that I preferred my small Coleman backpacker white gasoline lantern and stove. I grew up with them and actually derive great pleasure from filling; pumping; lighting; and listening. (to the hiss) It allows me to remember all of the wonderful camping times I had with my Grandpa; Father and Brothers, and then later, my son Tanner. The led lights are just a little cold for my liking also. I am also a luddite in that I prefer the pot of water with coffee thrown into it method like my Grandpa used to make. (with or without egg shells)

[keithb]

Cameron

Thanks for the comments on the candle lantern. That sounds like a very good option. As a matter of fact we had some of those this weekend out in the desert that another guy brought. There was also the gas/mantle lantern there. No thanks. I am done with breaking mantles. Been there done that too much when I was in my teens.

 

Twisty

Yes the rechargeable batteries are getting old. Took a trip awhile back and the battery in the camera started flashing way to soon just like you said.

 

Please the comments and suggestions coming folks. I am sure all of us appreciate the dialog.

[Selden]

I have also had less than desirable results with crank-powered emergency lights. A few years ago I picked up at Walmart a small Coleman mini-fluorescent lantern that is about the size of a thickish flip phone, and uses a pair of AA cells. Don't know if it's still manufactured or not. While Googling for it, I found what may be its sucessor. Mine survived thousands of miles in the trunk of my Pacific Coast.

 

 

[Selden]

After poking around in cabinets, I found my light; I completely misremembered. It's an Energizer, and takes 4 AA batteries. And, as far as I can see, is no longer made, having been replaced by a much larger model that uses 4 D cells -- obviously much more light and battery life, but no longer pocketable.

[Charles Elms]

I've done a lot of camping over the past 20 years. Until recently, I always carried a 3 C-Cell Maglight. It could throw a beam 100 yards. I also had a 3 AA headlight. both were nice and were overkill for what I needed.

 

I now use a 1 AAA 3 led headlamp when camping and biking. It will give you enough light to cook, walk around camp or repair your bike in the dark. It can be switched to use only 1 led and save battery life. I've had this over a year and have the original battery in it. I've used it for about 7 night at camp so far.

 

I will never go back to a large high intensity flashlight unless I need a club.

 

With less light, your eyes adjusts rapidly.

[markgoodrich]

While not being much of a camper, I've been testing a solar-rechargeable multi-brightness, spot/area combo flashlight being marketed to off-grid communities through NGOs. It's called the BOGO light, i.e. Buy One, Give One, and in the two months I've been playing with it it's been reliable. Had some trouble at first because the instructions were unclear, but once I'd left it in the sun for a couple days to fully charge the three little AA li-ion batteries, it's been flawless. Will light a small room well enough to read by, is a more than adequate spot-type flashlight, even on the lowest of three settings, and is rainproof and drop-proof. It's designed, as I said, for third-world application, and is plenty rugged. My interest is in getting the things distributed to Latin American communities without electric power, but I bet you campers will love it. Be sure to get the "SL-2" model.

 

You won't get 8 hours out of it. On the high room-area setting, I typically get about two hours of light. Mind, that covers a large area; you would want to turn the level to low in a tent, I imagine, which would give you more time.

 

www.sunnightsolar.com

 

I have no connection to the company, other than as a customer and potential future bulk customer.

 

EDIT: I just checked the price, which has gone up considerably, but bear in mind you're buying two lights, one of which you will never see, but which will allow others to see.

[squints]

I have the one pictured in the link. I have taken it to Afghanistan twice and Iraq and had zero troubles. It comes with an AC adapter so you can recharge that way or from the handcrank it takes about 3 minutes for a full charge. The big plus is you can recharge all of your other gadgets also. Forgot to mention that it is alot brighter than pictured.

 

http://www.superiorpromos.com/viewProduct.html?id=6023&ca_id=14_14005

 

 

Rich

[bimmers]

here is the press http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod74360464&cmCat=search&searchType=MAIN&parentId=

 

a little pricey but for a xmas gift from the right person it may be right:)

 

 

[KDeline]

Maybe another option, I use this and really like it, works well.

www.sunnightsolar.com.

[Elliot]

I have had great luck with a coast brand led lantern that is battery powered, but since it is LED the batteries last forever, I have been on a week long camping trip and used it for hours and it still had plenty of battery life left when I got home. Here is a website that carries it: http://www.rei.com/product/760173 this is a great bright lamp that literally lasts for hours and hours.