There are many portable lanterns out there in the market, from butane gas, unleaded petrol and battery operated. All of them have a similar problem ...how are we going to replenish when the supply runs out and long can your supply last??? From my earlier post on "Power up" it seems that the battery operated lantern is the right choice. Couple with a battery bank and solar panel, you will have unlimited supply so long there is a "Sun".
Last year I saw this Black Diamond Apollo lantern and immediately I felt in love with it, it is compact, light weight and non-glaring. It uses 4 AA batteries...WOW!!! What can I say, it has a 3-watt LED and it really brightens the dark. So an option for the AA batts, I decided to go GREEN.. rechargeable batteries "Sanyo Eneloop batteries. Black Diamond does have an option for rechargeable batt but it needs AC supply and that is useless for my outdoor use. There is a battery indicator that tells you the battery level.The BD lantern is able to dim at many levels. The construction of the lantern feels solid. You can either extract the legs or fold it up and hang it somewhere. The only thing I wish in the package is a sack bag. You definitely need a sack bag otherwise your nice frosted plastic glass will be damaged in due time. The lantern cost almost USD50.00. For the price I paid.... I am really happy.
Recently Black Diamond has launched another smaller version lantern, the "Orbit" that uses 4 AAA batt. Weighs only 83gm and is cheaper. I am not sure how bright and how long the battery last. Really hope to get my hands and try of this unit.
Can this be Black Diamond's secret "Apollo 13"??!!! Huston we have a problem!!!
Resource - http://www.bdel.com/gear/apollo.php
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