9xadStore

Last updated 6/11/2016

Listen up boys and girls. If you want some scientific details backing up your purchase, keep reading. If you prefer to just waste your money, you can stop reading my review now.

Background:

I love to camp, so I've acquired many light-emitting devices, more than you probably will in your lifetime. Discouraged at some of the false promises of some products, I decided to purchase a light meter (DrMeter Digital Illuminance/Light Meter LX1330B, bought here on Amazon. Item: B005A0ETXY

This device measures the lux, (which is the amount of light that shines on a square meter of surface area). Lumens on the other hand is the total amount of light emitted by an object (a lantern in this case). Don’t let the technical marketing jargon confuse you. Lumens is not important. Lux is. It doesn't matter how many lumens a product claims. All that matters is how much light lux that actually reaches an object. The higher the lux, the brighter things appear to be. For example, if you have a super bright light source rated at 10,000 lumens, but it shines like a ball in all directions, against the surrounding objects, it won't be as bright as something that is rated at 1,000 lumens but shines in only one direction such as a narrowly focused flashlight or laser, simply because all the light photons are pointed toward a common direction.

Missed it? Lux is important, not lumens. Only pay attention to lumens to get a general sense of how bright something MIGHT be. This is more of a marketing technique.

Test scenarios:

In a completely dark room, lanterns (using Tenergy D rechargeable batteries), were placed exactly 3 feet from the light meter detector. Depending on the difference in lux measured, I might move the detector up or down to see what the brightness differences are, horizontally up and down. The light meter then displayed exactly how much lux was measured. The lux numbers by themselves are pointless. However, by comparing the lux value of different products, we get 100% scientific proof (and not some random reviewer’s opinion) of lantern brightness (lux) compared with other lanterns, regardless of the sometimes outrageous lumen claims companies make.

So bottom line, just because a company claims their product is 500 lumens doesn’t automatically mean it’s brighter than another product that’s rated at 300 lumens. That’s exactly like saying a car with 400 horse power doesn’t necessarily outrace a car with 350 horse power. It depends on how well or how poorly a product was designed. I've listed the items I've tested below, with brightest to least bright from top to bottom.

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LiteXpress LXL907078B Camp 71
Item B00XYBO2YM
Measured light: 120-200 lux

Pros: This is simply the brightest of everything I’ve tested. In fact it’s so bright that if you looked directly at the LEDs, you may go temporarily blind. The light is very warm and natural, the most of any lantern I’ve ever seen. Photographers will know exactly what I’m referring to. The Ultimate Solar Lantern below used to hold the title as the brightest battery operated lantern in the world (that I’ve tested), but this lantern now holds that title. Everything about this screams quality. German-made, duh!. You can turn the knob to adjust brightest. Uses only 4 D sized batteries. The warranty is a whopping 5 years!

Cons: A little spendy. Also, this may not be a con for some of you, but the light appears brightest horizontally towards the sky. Although this is somewhat true for most lanterns, it’s more evident with this specific lantern, probably due to the amount of sheer light it produces. Note that the measured lux showing a range will mean it’s bright at a higher angle than a lower angel for all other products, unless otherwise noted. On a related note, I have another LiteXpress lantern which I can hang upside down. If this one could do that, it wouldn’t be a problem for me. But this one cannot. I have to use some ropes to tie this lantern in a certain way to flip the lantern upside down so I get the most light on the ground where we walk at night when camping.

Other thoughts: Depending on the horizontal position of the measuring device, this lantern can range from 120 lumens (when the measuring device is slightly lower on the horizon compared to the product) to over 200 lumens (when the measuring device is slightly higher on the horizon). In other words if you were to hang this lantern up on a tree in the woods, the bottom area on the ground where you are walking will receive less light than the area above in the trees. I chose this lantern over the Coleman CPX6 because the Coleman lantern clearly states at high setting it only runs 5 hours. This lantern claims 10 hours. During my camping trips of having it turned on 2-3 hours per night for 3 nights at the highest setting, I can confirm this claim is accurate. If you simply want the best and brightest that money can as of June, 2016, without having to resort to propane and having your own horrid stories of propane lanterns falling down, cracking, flames shooting out etc., this is the lantern for you. It is flippn’ bright. I’d compare the brightness to be on par with bright propane lanterns my friends sometimes bring to camp.

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LE® 500lm Outdoor LED Lantern
Item B015ZFKLNK
Measured light: 85-125 lux

Pros: Extremely bright for its small footprint (about the size of a small green propane tank). I’m impressed with how much lux it produces with its small size. Very well constructed and rugged as well. You can hang this upside down (but I haven’t used that feature yet).

Cons: 1 year warranty instead of 3 or 5 is all I can think of.

Other thoughts: Lumens range from 85 lumens to over 125 lumens (depending on horizontal position relative to this lantern). It uses only 3 D sized batteries. I was reluctant to purchase these and was going to go with LiteXpress models, however, at $16 on sale (a steal when Amazon Tracktor shows $40+ is the regular price), I bought 3 and do NOT have buyer’s remorse.

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Solar Lantern Ultimate
Item B00I53R7P0
Measured light: 104 lux

Pros: Exremely bright. Has an internally sealed lead battery, which means you don’t have to purchase extra batteries!!!

Cons: The USB charging capability is a little tricky to get to work.

Other thoughts: This lantern held (my) world record for the brightest light for battery powered lanterns for quite a number of years until recent challengers arrived. I originally purchased this product from an unknown online company called World Green Products. I am glad they have their products on Amazon now. Unlike typical lanterns that shine 360 degrees, this lantern only shines about slightly less than 180 degrees. In other words, you can point the light source to a direction of your choice, without blinding you in the process. This can be a pro or a con, depending on what kind of light source you need. It comes with a 3 watt solar panel (included with the lantern purchase) to charge the internally included sealed lead acid battery. It charges even when the sun is blocked behind clouds and the solar panel is inside my house, about 1 foot from the sliding door. It can take 12+ hours to charge, but this thing lasts for a minimum of 5+ camping nights, depending on use. I generally turn it on around 7 or 8 PM all the way to 11 PM. This product seems super well made. I even dropped it from a 4 feet height once and I saw no signs of damage. It also has an AC adapter to charge via a regular wall outlet too.

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Coleman 8D Classic Lantern
Item B0009PUQ5A
Measured light: 57 lux

Pros: Decently bright.

Cons: Older technology so it’s large and uses 8 D batteries. The florescent bulb will also die and dim sooner than newer LED technologies.

Other thoughts: This lantern takes about 2 mins for the light intensity to increase to maximum. This was my main lantern for many years. Alas, newer technology is here.

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LiteXpress LXL906106RC Led Lantern Light Camp 203RC
Item B005MMNSLE
Light measured: 54 lux

Pros: As with my other LiteXpress product, this item screams quality. Has a remote control. Decently bright with the 300 lumen claim. You can take the bulb cover off and the LED bulb will shine without hindrance, giving you a little more brightness. You can also hang it upside down, which gives you even more brightness. 5 year warranty from this German company!

Cons: Remote control is sort of big, but some people may not see that as a con (so they don’t lose it). I just used the included clips to clip it to the lantern. Uses 6 D batteries, but still less than the 8 required by the Coleman one noted below. But because it uses 6 D batteries, it is larger than some of the newer lanterns which use only 3 D batteries.

Other thoughts: I only purchased this for the remote control. I used to have a Coleman 8D Square Pack-Away Lantern with Remote Control, but my batteries leaked acid into it  Make sure to turn the blue LED towards the tent so the remote will work.

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GE Enbrighten 360 Bright White Lantern, 500 Lumens
Item B00LIC3ZCO
Light measured: 42 lux

Pros: Nothing.

Cons: Large, exactly like older technology. This is the stuff you expected to see 5-10 years ago. GE is late to the game it seems. Uses 8 whopping D batteries. Not very bright at all compared to the 500 lumens claim. The claim is more appropriate at roughly around 250 lumens. The material protecting the bulb appears to be slightly tinted dark, thus preventing light from reaching the outside world. That would explain why the performance was so poor. The engineers who designed this or the clowns who approved this needs to be fired. Horrible decision. The light is also this darker colored light due to this tint. Not very pleasing as another reviewer noted.

Other thoughts: I bought three of these on sale from Costco for $19.99. Even though I could have made a few bucks selling these to poor saps, I quickly returned them after I realized how poor at producing light they were.

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Solar Lantern Perfect
Item B00I53DVIM
Light measured: 21 lux

Pros: Lead sealed internal battery. No extra batteries required!

Cons: Not as bright as newer contenders.

Other thoughts: Comes with the same 3 watt solar panel as the Solar Lantern Ultimate and also using a seal lead acid battery. It has an AC adapter to charge via a regular wall outlet too. This product seems very well made.

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Camp Chef Summit Solar Lantern
Item B008M9SHLU
Light measured: 13.1 lux

Pros: Comes with some batteries. No extra batteries required. Has a built in solar panel at the top.
Cons: These batteries are lower grade so may require a replacement at some point.

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Coleman Twin High Power LED Lantern
Item B001O3F5Y8
Light measured: 11.3 lux

Pros: None

Cons: Large, older technology, dim, and poor handle designs that will break.

Other thoughts: I'm disappointed to say I lured by the promise of 580 whopping lumens, which Coleman at the time claimed was the brightest in the world. WOW!!! Right? NOT!!! These lanterns have been the worst ones I've owned. EVER. The handles broke, on both of them. I take VERY GOOD care of my stuff. The light on one started dimming and eventually I tossed it out. Even before the LEDs started to die out, the light output was slightly less (measured by my eyeballs, without equipment) than the Coleman 8D Batteries Lantern - Red - Model 5329. Final tests confirm it to be much less. I'm sure it has to do with the LEDs dying out too. But even then, this item is NOT WORTH my time or money. I have the high powered version of this lantern. 580 lumens?

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Solar Powered Camping Lantern and Cell Phone Charger. 4 watt brightness. 10" of Height.
Item B003CSKJV2
Light measured: 11.1 lux

Pros: Comes with some batteries. No extra batteries required. Has a built in solar panel at the top.

Cons: These batteries are lower grade so may require a replacement at some point.

Other thoughts: - This item is basically the same manufacturer as the Camp Chef Summit Solar Lantern. However, it has an included little cord to convert from DC(?) to USB. Kinda annoying to keep with the lantern in my opinion.

See pictures for comparison of sizes. I included a green propane tank in one of the newer pictures to reference lantern sizes.

Average brightness, not going to make it feel like the sun is out but you can play cards at night and that is really all I needed it to do. I was skeptical about the solar charging but that actually worked really well. On a full charge, I ran this light for about an hour and over night charged my cell from almost dead to about 70% before the battery gave out. Not the most scientific experiment but close enough, not too bad considering when you take the bottom off it is a small 2 cell batteries. The following day it was good and sunny and I left it out to charge up and it took a good enough charge that if I were not charging my cell you could probably keep this thing alive for light just off solar charging. I plan on picking up a replacement battery and wiring that in along side the current battery and add some MAH and see if I can lengthen the battery life.

I bought my lantern about 3 years ago. It worked great. After having success with all three power sources, I stored it away for emergencies. I took it out after six months of storage and decided to charge it through the solar panel. It wouldn't charge. I tried using fresh batteries. It didn't work. I then resorted to plugging it into the outlet. It worked. I got it for emergencies, such as loss of power. If the only way it will work is by accessing the power grid, it defeats the purpose of having it.
I took good care of it and always returned it to the box it came in when not in use. I had high hopes for this lantern but it has failed miserably. Now I'm back looking for another solar lantern.

This lantern is simply gorgeous. It has inbuilt compass and female usb cord adapter. I charged it up and cranked it to full power and it lasted for five hours. That is impressive for a solar powered led lantern.

It charges up quickly via the Ac cord but takes about six hours to attain full charge via the solar panel. I just place it by the window. It is quite bright for an led lamp. The included one page manual is useless. Note that there is no charge level indicator.

I bought this lamp for my parents in africa. I sent it in unaccompanied luggage and it miraculously arrived intact. My parents are excited because it not only provides them with light ( now they do not need to use a kerosene lamp) but also charges their phones- they live in an area without electricity. It is also light in weight and charges well during the day providing light for more than five hours. I hope to find out more about the lamp as they use it more. As a result of the lamp being light in weight they can bring it along to charge wherever they are working on their farm to avoid it being stolen if left at home to charge. I bought a second one and will be sending it to them soon.

The product is of good quality, it has rechargeable batteries, at the maximum luminous power, they last for three hours. The intensity of the lights is adjustable, at maximum intensity the illumination is acceptable. It also has a compass in the top cover and USB port to charge other devices. The only drawback is that although it has a led, this does not indicate the remaining battery charge, so you can not know how much is left or how much is charged.

Like this product. Wish it had a storage area for the ac cord, otherwise am happy with this product. Will meet my emerge edge should the electricity go out this fall during storms.

shuts off unexpectedly and won't come back on until it has a complete charge.