A comparison of four electric lanterns under $75

Gideon ParkerStaff - October 21, 2022

Gear

This is a quick review of four electric lanterns you might want to consider.

LuminAID PackLite Titan 2-in-1

Stats:

• 300 Lumens
• 4000mAh battery
• 12.5oz
• White and red light modes
• High, medium, low, very low, and SOS mode

Pros:

• The small solar panel actually does charge this lantern. While it is recommended to have dedicated lanterns, solar panels, and power banks, if you were hard set on only having one product and were going to use this in your home preps, the LuminAID PackLite Titan could be a good option.
• Provides room filling light in both white and red colors.
• This does feel like a premium item and isn’t a cheaply constructed product.
• Can charge android tablet, cell phone, or gaming console and power light at the same time.

Cons:

• Buttons are hard to see in the dark and difficult to press because they are not raised up very high.
• I don’t see many use cases for the very low and SOS settings.
• Not sure of how durable or rip resistant the plastic fabric is. If you throw this in a pack a sharp cook set or knife could slice it and while it still will diffuse the light, it might expose the electronics inside to moisture. Keep it wrapped in a shirt or bandanna to solve this.
• There was a strong plastic smell for the first three days of using it that smells like pool water wings that toddlers use.

Survival Frog Pocket Light 3.0

Stats:

• Unknown lumen
• 1200mAH battery
• 5.75oz
• 4 modes – high, low, SOS (strobe), and flashlight mode

Pros:

• Compact for storage and travel, large for use.
• Lightweight.
• Because of the diffusion material that the lantern uses, the normally harsh white light was actually very nice to read and work by for a long time. Great job Survival Frog from moving away from that crinkly plastic diffuser that many pop-up lanterns use, this fabric mesh is a much better solution.

Cons:

• Unknown how well the solar panel works because there is no battery life indicator, but guessing not very well.
• The SOS mode is more of a flashing strobe light that hurts your eyes.

Survival Frog QuadPod camping lantern

Stats:

• 700 lumens
• 2400 mAh battery
• 8.8oz
• 6 lighting settings

Pros:

• This really is a great camping lantern. The many settings and adjustable angles make it so you can light up any situation.
• Glow in the dark button and USB dust cover
• A very bright room filling light.

Cons:

• USB dust/water cover doesn’t stay in place very well
• Doesn’t seem like it would survive too many drops onto hard surfaces before cracking.
• The solar panels are so small that they don’t do anything. I left this lantern in the sun for three full days and it didn’t get any more charged during that time.
• The SOS mode is more of a flashing strobe light that hurts your eyes.

Streamlight Siege X

Stats:

• 300 lumens
• 2600 mAh battery
• 7.2oz
• White and red light modes
• 7 lighting modes

Pros:

• Durable and small
• Uses the popular, replaceable, and powerful 18650 battery.

Cons:

• Although the red light is a welcome feature, it is rather dim and not very useful.

Summary:

Best shelter in place at home lantern: luminAID Titan

Best collapsible and nicest looking light: Survival Frog Pocket Light

Best lantern for camping: Survival Frog QuadPod

Best bug out bag lantern: Streamlight Siege X

https://youtu.be/rrXykQQDv0E

Video review showing a close up of how the lanterns are constructed and function along with seeing the brightness levels and various settings. 

Stress testing

To simulate these lanterns being left out during a cold winter night, the lanterns were sprayed down with a hose for 30+ seconds and then left in the freezer over night. They all survived the rain and freeze test, but the two lanterns by Survival Frog did get water inside of their housings, so they aren’t very water tight and it may not be the best to leave you lanterns out when it rains.

https://youtu.be/7rjo3zZ0IvM

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“Best bug out bag lantern: Streamlight Siege X”

Currently the only light in my bug out bag is a headlamp. What are the advantages of adding a lantern?

 

Great question! These lanterns do take up some extra room and weight, although the Siege X is smaller than a can of soda, only weighs 7oz, and puts out great light for it’s size making it a nice additional light if you have the additional space, weight, and money. 

I would say that a lantern would be a more comfortable light source if you were bugging out to hotel or shelter that then lost it’s power and you could easily fill the whole room with light. Another benefit is that multiple people can huddle around that light and use it vs a headlamp is a very personal light source.

A neat product that works for Petzl headlamps is this carrying case that protects your headlamp but also acts as a diffuser turning it into a lantern.

 

Do you feel like that luminaid lantern would pop or wear out it’s ability to collapse overtime? That looks like a nice campsite lantern along with being able to use it indoors like you said, but not the most rugged for hiking with.

 

The twisting collapse/expand motion is actually very sturdy as long as the plug in the bottom is open. I’m sure it will wear down after thousands of twists, but shouldn’t be an issue for the occasional use. 

There isn’t much to pop with it, and the biggest thing I worry about is ripping the plastic on the top over the solar panel. Like I said in my review up above, I would wrap in a tshirt or place in a protective box when throwing it into a pack or storage.