When you are outdoors, it doesn’t mean that you have to go sleeping as soon as the sun goes down.
A practical camping lantern gives you plenty of options for enjoying or exploring nature even in the dark.
I made a selection of the eight best lanterns for camping you that can significantly improve your outdoor experience.
Check the list and find more tips for buying an LED camping lantern below!
Vont LED Camping Lantern
This Vont lantern has a collapsible design, which makes it easy to pack and use outdoors.
When you increase the lantern, you also improve the light intensity.
Collapsing dims the brightness, so the Vont lantern allows you to customize the light intensity.
It features 30 LEDs, but the lantern is compact and illuminates a limited space.
Pros
- Strong construction
- Collapsible
- Waterproof
- Illuminates 360 degrees around
- Easy to pack
Cons
- Only covers small area
Dylan's TakeThis Vont lantern has military-grade construction and low energy consumption.
It is also water-resistant, so you can use it in all weather conditions.
Coleman Twin LED Lantern
If you want something to illuminate a wide area, you might like this Coleman LED lantern.
When you use it at the highest setting, you can expect it to illuminate the area up to 32 feet.
The lowest setting covers 19 feet.
The lantern is also easy to use and offers great durability.
If you use it on a high setting all the time, you can expect a run time of 85 hours.
When you use it on a low setting, you will get 299 hours of runtime.
The Coleman lantern is water-resistant, too.
Pros
- Can be used during rainy nights
- Covers wide area
- Long battery runtime
- Long-lasting
Cons
- Heavy
- Expensive batteries
Dylan's TakeThe 8 D-cells batteries for this lantern are expensive and heavy.
However, if you want a powerful lantern, you will hardly find anything better than the Coleman lantern.
Supernova LED Camping Lantern
The Supernova lantern is the perfect choice for campers, hikers, fishermen, and anyone else who wants to use it at home.
The LED lantern uses three D-cell batteries and offers bright light.
You can easily hook the lantern on top of your tent or your porch when the power goes out.
The lantern is also quite affordable, lightweight, and water-resistant.
Pros
- Long battery runtime – 6 days on low setting
- Water-resistant
- Includes lifetime warranty
Cons
- Changing batteries is complicated
Dylan's TakeThe Supernova lantern offers great value for the money.
LEDs are durable and offer astonishing 100.000 hours of use before you have to change them.
LE Portable LED Camping Lantern
This LE lantern offers 1000 lumens bright light.
It has four modes to ensure you can customize the light intensity, and you can adjust it easily by pressing the switch.
The lantern illuminates the area at 360 degrees angle and comes with stripe panel housing to ensure even light distribution.
It has an IPX4 rating, so it is safe against splashing water.
The lantern is easy to hook or place wherever you want.
Pros
- Suitable for use in all weather conditions
- Lightweight
- Covers wide area
- Offers bright light
Cons
- Green LED light is blinking continuously
Dylan's TakeOverall, the LE lantern is practical and versatile.
Because of the four modes and bright light, you can use it at home and on camping, too.
UST 30-Day Duro LED Lantern
The UST Duro LED light has an excellent run time of 30 days when used on low mode.
On a high setting, the lantern can run up to 22 hours.
It offers 700 lumens and comes with four modes – high, medium, SOS, and low.
SOS mode lasts for 15 days and is handy during emergencies.
The recessed hook on the base of the lantern makes it easy to hand it.
The lantern includes an ABS plastic case to improve weather resistance and protects the lantern from shocks and different outer impacts.
Pros
- Excellent runtime
- Versatile use
- Sturdy protective case
- Easy to pack
Cons
- Can be challenging to replace batteries
Dylan's TakeThe UST Duro LED lantern is a quality lantern created with outdoor adventurers in mind.
It has everything a camping lantern needs to have, and I highly recommend it for the following camping season.
Streamlight 44931 Siege Lantern
This Streamlight camping lantern uses C4 LED technology to improve resistance to impacts and shocks and make the lantern more durable.
The lantern also uses durable polycarbonate lenses and offers five modes – SOS, red, low, medium, and high mode.
It uses alkaline batteries and has a convenient battery level indicator that informs you when the time to replace the batteries is.
The Streamlight lantern illuminates a wide area and comes with a globe cover.
My only complaint about this lantern is that it isn’t water-resistant.
Pros
- Strong construction
- Even light distribution to a wide area
- Quality lenses
Cons
- Isn’t waterproof
Dylan's TakeIf you plan to camp in a dry and hot area, you can use this Streamlight lantern.
It offers great illumination and can last a long time.
Rayovac Sportsman LED Lantern
Rayovac is a reliable and trusted brand making lanterns, batteries, and similar items.
This camping lantern is small but has a strong construction.
It offers three operation modes – high, low, strobe and is easy to hang inside the room or tent.
The lantern also comes with a removable top globe.
The finder beacon blinks even when the lantern is off, which is helpful if you accidentally lose the lantern while camping.
Pros
- Includes lifetime warranty
- Excellent battery runtime
- Easy to hang
- Strong rubber and ABS construction
- Blinking lights makes it easy to find
Cons
- Expensive
- Might be too bright
Dylan's TakeThe Rayovac lantern is a quality lantern with simple features and reliable operation.
It is great for campers or as a spare lantern to you at home during a power outage.
AYL StarLight 330 Camping Lantern
The AYL lantern is practical during outdoor adventures, emergencies, power outages, etc.
The output of 600 lumens is enough for most applications, and the LEDs are durable with 100.000 hours of use.
The lantern has quality construction which makes it shockproof and water-resistant.
It offers three modes – high, low, and a flashing strobe.
The lantern is easy to hang and use.
Pros
- Durable
- Excellent battery runtime
- Compact and lightweight
- Shockproof
- Optimal light
Cons
- Switching between the modes is complex
Dylan's TakeOverall, the AYL lantern is reliable and durable.
It is also budget-friendly and easy to use.
Buying Guide
If you are looking for the best camping lantern, you are probably aware that your lantern needs to perform well in all conditions.
Therefore, the best lanterns are adaptive and adjustable, but finding the best one might not be as easy as it seems.
Here is a simple guide that can help you pick the one that matches your need.
Things to Consider before Buying a Camping LED Lantern
Let’s take a closer look at the camping LED lantern aspects that will determine which lantern is a fit for you.
Brightness
The first things to consider are your needs and preferences.
How much light do you need?
The safest bet is to pick the lantern with an adjustable light because these flexible lanterns are versatile.
For example, if you want to illuminate the outdoor area while you hang out with your friends, an LED lantern with 200 lumens will be enough.
Everything with more lumens can be too bright if there is no option to dim the light.
Budget
Camping lanterns aren’t expensive.
In most cases, the batteries or gas are what costs more than the lantern itself.
If you get a battery-operated camping lantern, make sure that the batteries have good runtime so you don’t have to change them every day.
These are also more convenient to use and carry than gas-operated lanterns for camping.
The Weather
Before you buy a camping lantern, make sure to think about the weather.
Even if the weather forecast states there would be no rain during your camping trip, you should still get a weather-resistant model.
These are versatile and durable.
The IPX-4 rating stands for water-resistant models, while the IPX-8 rating can be found on lanterns that can safely be submerged in water.
Safety
LED lanterns are among the safest camping gear.
There is no risk of scalding or causing fires.
Gas lanterns can be very hot or even cause fire, so they are not the best choice for camping with children.
LED VS Gas VS Candle
The type of camping lantern you should get depends on your preferences and needs.
LED lanterns are the most versatile and easiest to use.
They are bright, easy to customize, durable, and budget-friendly.
Most of the LED lanterns are lightweight and easy to pack.
Therefore, an LED lantern might be the best option for a variety of campers and hikers.
Luckily, the market offer is excellent and there are plenty of great LED camping lanterns available.
Why Choose Camping Lantern?
Camping is one of the most popular outdoor activities around the world.
It is great for bonding with your family members, making memories, exploring nature, and having fun.
To be able to fully enjoy your camping trip, make sure you have everything you need.
That includes tents, backpacks, boots, camping lanterns, etc.
A camping lantern is essential for camping nights, and a must-have if you get lost in the dark.
You can carry it with you, hang it inside or outside the tent, or keep it on the ground.
Camping lanterns are usually battery-operated, but some work on kerosene or propane.
Kerosene lanterns are cheap to run, but noisy and give out a lot of heat.
Therefore, you can only use them outside the tent.
Propane lanterns provide bright light but aren’t that practical.
To use a propane lantern while camping, you have to bring propane canisters.
One propane canister gives you around 14 hours of light.
Battery-powered camping lanterns are convenient and simple to use.
Still, you need to have extra batteries in hand.
Rechargeable batteries might be the best solution in terms of costs and availability.
Conclusion
How did you enjoy my selection of the best LED camping lanterns?
Did you found something you like?
Don’t forget to check the expenses for replacement batteries, to get a full picture of the costs of camping lanterns.
LED camping lanterns are an essential piece of camping gear, and can significantly improve your outdoor experience.
All you have to do is pick the right one.
Best Overall Choice
Vont LED Camping Lantern
We're a team of professional travelers, on-the-go freelancers, web producers, writers and editors. Our mission is to pick the best travel gear by analyzing customer opinions and writing our own findings to help you find the right products for you. Please share our posts to help us grow. Read more...
