LED Lantern Lumen Guide: 12 Lanterns Compared by Runtime3 Picks by Use

A lumen guide for LED lanterns: 60 to 250 for the table or inside the tent, 430 to 1400 for the whole site. For the table, Goal Zero's Lighthouse Micro Flash (150 lumens, 68g); for the whole site, GENTOS's EX-350H (1400 lumens, 680g); and inside the tent, Black Diamond's Moji R+ (100 hours at 10 lumens on low, 78g). I chose among 12, converting to brightness × runtime.

Read lumens and runtime as a set: with almost the same battery, a 4.9x difference

GENTOS's EX-350H is 1400 lumens for about 7 hours. Coleman's Rechargeable LED Lantern 800 is about 800 lumens for about 2.5 hours. The battery capacities differ by only 1.14x (5,000 ÷ 4,400mAh), yet brightness × time is 9,800 and 2,000, a 4.9x gap.

Why? The answer is in how runtime is measured. According to GENTOS's official blog, runtime under the American standard ANSI FL1 Standard is the time until it falls to 10% of the initial brightness.

In other words, “1400 lumens, 7 hours” holds true even if it has dropped to 140 lumens after 7 hours.

How I chose

When you spend half the year in a tent, a lantern is a tool you light every night. So I do not look at the biggest number on the box. I look at the “hours at that brightness” column, and counted whether it covers the 4 to 5 hours from dinner to bed.

Next I split the lumen guide into three places: on the table (sub), the whole site (main) and inside the tent. I converted brightness × time to per 1Wh of battery to spot numbers that are too big.

Quick table of 12 LED lanterns: lumens and runtime

Scroll the table sideways →

Converted to lumens × runtime per 1Wh of battery, one is far too big

Multiply brightness by runtime and divide by battery capacity (Wh). This puts lanterns of different sizes on the same footing. I left out four whose capacity is not on the official page. That leaves eight.

Seven of the 8 line up at 109 to 191, and only the EX-350H is 530. I read it as the multiplication not counting the brightness as it falls. Recalculating at the same 191 as the ML6 gives 18.5 × 191 ÷ 7 = about 505, so my guide is that the average over 7 hours is around 500 lumens.

This is a calculation between official numbers. I did not measure the light, so I did not use differences of 10 to 20% to decide rank.

Waterproof rating

IPX4 is the rating for withstanding water splashed from all directions for 10 minutes. The EX-350H is 2m waterproof to IP68. If you leave it hanging outside on a rainy night, this difference matters. A lantern's IP and a tent's waterproof rating are different yardsticks (how to read tent waterproof ratings).

On the table (sub): my pick is the Goal Zero Lighthouse Micro Flash

The deciding point is 68g. It is the lightest of the 12, and among the four of 100g or less with capacity written, it has the largest battery. This part is a weak point. The official page has no runtime per brightness, and that 7 hours is the number at 150 lumens is my assumption. No waterproof rating is written. The recommended operating temperature range is 0 to 40°C (in winter, the gas side also has temperature conditions).

For waterproof, a different one. If you want to confirm the waterproof rating in numbers, Black Diamond's Moji R+ (IPX4). Ledlenser's ML4 is IP66 and also lights on a single AA battery. The weak point is time. 150 lumens lasts only 2.5 hours.

To keep cost down, LOGOS's Carrot Lantern. Its brightness is written two ways, an “LED bulb value” of 200 and a “LOGOS standard value” of 130, and even dividing by the smaller one it is JPY 22.8 per lumen (2,970 ÷ 130). That is the lowest of the four of 100g or less.

Whole site (main): my pick is the GENTOS EX-350H

The deciding point is waterproofing. Among rechargeables that last 4 hours or more at 500 lumens or above, it has the highest waterproof rating. It also suits multi-night trips, because it lights on three D alkaline batteries. Two weak points too. The 1400 lumens is the number at the start on white, high, and the price is the highest of the 12.

For multi-night use on batteries, Coleman's Quad Multi Panel Lantern Plus. About 800 lumens for about 20 hours on eight D alkaline batteries, a product of 16,000, the largest of the 12. The weight is about 1.2kg. The official page says USB only supplies power while connected.

For people who want 500 lumens and lighter, Ledlenser's ML6 White, at about 40% of the EX-350H's weight. The difference is about 400g.

Inside the tent: my pick is the Black Diamond Moji R+

The deciding point is how long low lasts. The official page says low drops to 10 lumens and lasts 100 hours at that brightness. At 5 hours a night, that is 20 nights (100 ÷ 5). A double hook and magnet are built in, and you can hang it as is on the loop in the tent ceiling.

Two weak points. The waterproof rating is IPX4, on the low side of the 12, and the battery is built in so you cannot use dry batteries. People who want to cut weight also look at the tent's weight (the 12 solo tent weight comparison).

There is also a way to spend less. If you choose by price, Coleman's Hanging E-Light. 30 lumens on low for about 40 hours, about 130g.

Who is it for?

It suits people who want to carry the main light for the whole site separately from the light for the table or inside the tent. The main EX-350H is 1400 lumens for about 7 hours. The Lighthouse Micro Flash for the table and the Moji R+ for inside the tent fit.

For a solo camper who already has a headlamp and a small lantern, only one for the whole site is what to add. For a quiet time with warm light, there are 500-lumen-class ones at less than half the weight. If you like the light of a flame, there is also gas or oil lanterns.

FAQ

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Ads & images: Rakuten Ichiba

Goal Zero Lighthouse Micro FlashLOGOS Carrot LanternGENTOS EX-350HColeman Quad Multi Panel Lantern PlusBlack Diamond Moji R+

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