Any camping trip is not complete without a solid outdoor lantern. There are many types of camping lanterns available today. You can buy gas lanterns, LED lanterns, solar lanterns, and the list goes on. But which one is the best? Well, it’s not that simple. If you are looking for straight up power, gas lanterns are the best. But gas lanterns can also be dangerous. Solar lanterns are decent, but their light output is usually the weakest of the three.
Personally, I believe a LED camping lantern is a perfect balance. They can be quite powerful and aren’t as dangerous as gas lanterns. They are also very portable because you don’t have to worry about large gas canisters. Of all the LED lanterns I have tried, there is one that really stands out. In this article, I am going to review the Rayovac SE3DLN Sportsman Extreme 3D LED Lantern.
I know what you are thinking. Yes, I know it’s not one of my famous Coleman lanterns. Trust me, I am surprised as well. If you are familiar with this site, you will know that I am quite the Coleman fan, but I have to say that this little camping lantern from Rayovac beats out any other LED Coleman lantern I have tried. That in itself is very impressive, but let’s get down to the details.
Advantages
Since this lantern is quite small and compact, it can fit into the portable camping lantern category. It’s perfect for the hardcore hiker all the way down to the casual camping family. Don’t let its size fool you, however. This guy puts out 300 lumens of light. If you are unfamiliar with this measure, don’t worry. Let me put it this way, it is strong enough to light a pitch black room in a house with no problems. It should have no problem lighting up your tent or campsite.
Another good thing about this lantern is that it runs on 3 D-cell batteries. This is actually quite uncommon. Usually camping LED lanterns jump from using multiple AA batteries to 6 or 8 D-Cell batteries. Since this one runs on 3, you don’t have to carry around a ton of replacement batteries. Also, you don’t have to worry about the longevity of this lantern. It will run for about 72 hours on high and 150 hours on low. I have gone whole summers on two sets of batteries, so you should have no problems there.
If you are looking for a cheap camping lantern, then look no further. This thing is dirt cheap for its quality. Seriously, the manufacturers could double the price and I would still recommend buying it.
Disadvantages
Sadly, nothing is perfect and this camp lantern is no exception. Lucky for you, these disadvantages are quite minor.
First, the lantern has a constantly blinking light. This is designed to help you find it easier in emergencies. It will still blink constantly even if it is turned off. Rayovac says that this blinking does cause battery drain, so if you don’t plan on using it for a period of time, I would recommend taking the batteries out.
The second disadvantage also has something to do with the batteries. I have read quite a few reviews on this product and some people are saying that they have a hard time replacing the batteries due to a weirdly manufactured battery case. It seems that this problem doesn’t occur in every model and someone suggested it is caused by a loose pivot somewhere in the case. If you happen to receive a model with a loose pivot, changing the batteries may be a clumsy operation, but it by no means is enough to use as an excuse not to buy this lantern.
All in all, the Rayovac SE3DLN Sportsman Extreme 3D LED Lantern
is the best camping lantern I have come across so far. I would highly suggest that you pick one up. I guarantee you will not regret it.
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