Camping Lanterns and Flashlights for your Camping Trip
You need to consider camping lanterns and flashlights unless you want to crawl into your sleeping bag when the sun goes down.
As night falls in the wilderness, it can get a little dark! A lot of family camping sites will have some limited lighting around showers and rest rooms, but that's about it.
There are many considerations for you to make when you are selecting lighting for your campsite.
- How many flashlights do you need?
- What kind of lantern do you buy?
- Do you want to use propane, liquid fuel or battery powered?
Some of the choices are not as simple as you might want to make them. Each type has its positive and negative points for you to think about.
Camping Lanterns
There are 2 major types of camping lanterns.
- Gas (liquid and propane)
- Electric (battery)
Before you choose your lantern you should evaluate your needs.
- Gas lanterns will give you a brighter light and cast a wider radius of light
- You need to carry both fuel and extra mantles for the gas powered ones
- Gas lanterns are noisy where battery powered lanterns are silent
- Gas doesn't have too much problem in very cold weather and as an added bonus they will throw some heat your way
- If you have small children you will have to keep the gas lanterns out of reach
- You cannot bring a gas lantern into your tent at night.
On the other hand...
What level of safety do you need to have?
- Battery powered lanterns can hang inside your tent.
- Battery lanterns display a lot of light, they are safe and you can use rechargeable batteries (unless you are backpacking)
- If you choose electric you should always bring along an extra lantern bulb.
- Battery powered lights have improved a lot over the years
- You need to carry batteries for the electric ones
- You can adjust the level of the brightness for both types of lanterns
- Also there are LED lanterns that last for a long time (10 - 12 days) using four "D" size batteries.
- Compared to gas lanterns battery lanterns can be more durable but do not function well in very cold or freezing environments
If you decide to choose gas over electric you should be sure to use the same type of gas as you use for your stove. That way you are not carrying two different types of fuel.
There is no clear winner in this race. It is up to you to decide. My personal preferences are the gas type. I like the light they throw and the service I get. I use both fuel types and like them both.
Our family has a liquid fuel one that is over 30 years old now. It still works wonderfully. This type is still popular and is made and sold by manufactures like Coleman. It is less expensive to use than the propane type, but not a whole lot.
Make sure you carry spare mantles with you. After they are lit once they are brittle and do not take shock very well. I have had one set last me for several different outings and sometimes I have had to replace them every day. Good thing they are cheap!!
There are a few campsites that will not allow liquid fuel use now. This is because of a few very stupid adults that misused them and caused damage. If I find this restriction, I simply use the propane lantern and flashlights.
Our propane is quicker to set up and use.
It is about 15 or 20 years old now and it too provides great service. This is the one I pack last when coming into a campsite at night. I can light it up in just a few minutes, hang it up on a pole I have for it and provide a wide area of light to set the camp up with.
Safety
I teach every small kid that comes with us the dangers of the gas lanterns, especially the liquid fuel one.
It's mostly about the heat that comes from them.
I tend to place them up high for good lighting distribution and don't let them carry one around. This is not only from the potential burn issue, but dropping one or banging them into things will damage them.
Here is a checklist for backpacking.
Here is a checklist for base camping.
Flashlights
What type of flashlight should I buy?
It depends on what you are doing exactly.
At base camp style outings we always have at least one wide beam light. These are handy inside the tent.
They are great for walking around the campsite, to and from the rest room or trying to find that lost playing card (don't worry, not the one up your sleeve).
We also carry individual flashlights for inside our tents. This includes the children too. The smaller lights work well when you are trying to search through your bag with both hands and still hold on to that light with your armpit!
When backpacking you don't have the luxury of carrying so many things. I usually only bring the smaller hand held so I can cut down on the weight.
LED Lights
The latest in flashlights is one that uses a Light Emitting Diode (LED). Yes, this is the same LED that you find in all of your electronic gear at home. While they have been around for a while, only recently have they developed one that emits a white light.
There are a number of LED flashlights on the market today that are compact and light weight, but they still only have a moderately good beam.
Their advantage is in the operating life of the bulb (50,000 to 100,000 hours of operation) and very little power use. It is a real pain to try and change a bulb in the dark and it eliminates carrying spare batteries on a short trip.
I think they are great for backpacking but I am not crazy about other campsite uses. I am sure they will get better.
I always like to invest in flashlights that are waterproof and have adjustable beams. These come in all sizes from up to four "D" size batteries to "AAA" size.
The smaller ones are fine for inside a tent but for all around use the ones using two "AA" size do most of the work for me and fit into a pocket when not in use. They work well on backpacks too.
How many do you need?
No one likes to sit in the dark so it is better to be prepared by making sure that everyone has one of there own. Don't forget that you might want to keep a flashlight in key places like the car as a backup.
This can be a way to help teach responsibility to younger children by giving one to each of them. If they are sleeping in their own tent and need a little light, it might save you from getting up. Just something to think about.
Before you leave home check to make sure you have fresh batteries (also bring extras and also bulbs.)!
So good luck, choose well and have a great time after the sun goes down...