Do you camp often? Have all the usual equipment that most of us campers would have? You know – tents, cooking gear, sleeping bags, camping lighting, hiking equipment, navigational aids ….and so on. Well I also go camping A LOT, and one of the most versatile items I use is the trusty old battery lantern. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not decrying the importance of other types of camping lamps (as you will see from some of
my other posts). It’s just that a good battery lantern can serve a multitude of uses ranging from safe tent lighting, to navigating around a dark campsite, to lighting a cooking/ meals area, to searching for firewood.
Also, generally speaking, it’s fairly easy to store spare batteries for your battery lantern and batteries are easily found, even in a small, remote general store somewhere in the back lots.
What should you be using your battery lantern for?
Now that could be a tough question because (as I’ve mentioned before) your camping lighting requirements will depend entirely on your own camping activities. For the most part a battery operated lamp will be useful for the general day-to-day camping situations, but you may have activities planned where a battery lantern may or may not be useful. For example you may be planning a very lengthy camping trip where it may not be as practical to carry around a large number of back-up batteries. On the other hand if you need a safe, instant light source for inside your tent, then a battery lantern is perfect. It’s also worth noting that many other camping lights use different camping fuels which can cause an odor, run noisily or burn hot. (Not so safe with kids around)
Where I find the battery lantern to be of most use is as a part of my overall camping lighting setup. I can use liquid and gas fueled lamps, along with solar powered lamps (perfect as a back-up lighting source) and I make good use out of my battery lantern or lanterns where I want an instant and safe light source. Note also that there are a huge number of battery lanterns on the market, for all price ranges, and offering a variety of features and build quality. Sometimes the cheapest is not the worst, while the most expensive battery lantern is not necessarily the best. It’s all about your particular requirements. More on this later.