Outdoor Lighting Lamps » Camping & Travel

Wind Up Torches

Rachel — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 12:16:19 +0000

The innovative design of a wind up torch means you can enjoy strong light while never running out of batteries. These marvellous devices are perfect for camping trips, holidays, or simply to keep around the home for use in emergencies. Operated by a simple wind up mechanism, or even squeezing in some cases, the resultant strong light will last for around thirty minutes before fading. Once the light has begun to die, all you need to do is wind the torch up again. Typically, a 30 second wind will give around 20 minutes of light, but you can rewind at any time.

Wind up torches come in lots of different designs, from functional, sturdy and traditional, to fun and funky designs suitable for kids. Most of the designs are small and very tough, which makes them ideal for outdoor use where they often need to fit into a coat pocket. The bulbs use the latest LED technology and give out an intense beam of light that is suitable for the darkest of places.

Because this type of torch runs entirely on renewable energy sources, they are the ultimate in environmentally friendly torch products. Instead of buying endless packets of batteries, only for the torch to lose power in the most annoying of circumstances, you can enjoy the confidence of knowing that no matter what happens, you will always have a light source that won’t run out.

For camping trips, a wind up lantern is a great solution for tents and awnings. Instead of using a traditional gas lantern, you can buy the wind up version instead. It normally takes around 10 minutes to fully charge the battery and this will give around 100 minutes of light, which is more than adequate for a couple of hours sitting around your tent in the evening. A further 1 minute of winding will give 25 minutes of light. Not only will this product save you money on gas, it will also keep the kids occupied, as they can be the designated wind up personnel.

A wind up head torch is also useful for outdoor activities as you can have light whilst keeping your hands free to do other jobs. Head torches offer plenty of angles for light positioning and the elastic headband can be adjusted for a comfortable fit no matter how big or small your head might be. Many head lights come with a bicycle clip to allow multifunctional use as a bike light.

A useful accessory that comes with some wind up LED torches is a cable that attaches the torch to a mobile phone. This enables you to power up your phone battery to provide enough charge for a telephone call. For as little as 1 minute of winding, you can enjoy as much as 8 minutes of talk time. This is very useful for holidays and camping trips when you might not have access to an electricity plug in point to charge your phone. For the ultimate in camping accessories, you can even purchase a wind up torch radio!

Outdoor Gas Lanterns

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:41:12 +0000

If you are going camping than you will need some kind of lighting fixture to illuminate your surrounding when it starts to get dark. Off course you will be all right if you bring a flashlight with you, but these will not give you the convenience of wind up lanterns or outdoor gas lanterns. A lantern will give you the extra light you need to play a game at night or drink a beer or wine while enjoying each others company. A wind up lantern will only produce a small amount of light which is enough to increase vision on a small area whereas outdoor gas lanterns will produce a much brighter light comparable to a 300 watt bulb.

An outdoor gas lantern is a small lightweight lighting fixture that uses propane gas to produce light. The flame has to be lit by a match and it is protected by it's hull against weather conditions like wind and rain. Outdoorsmen, campers and dwellers rely heavily on outdoor gas lighting because it is a good way to illuminate a small area around your camper or tent.

There are a lot of people that have doubts on using propane gas lanterns because they are afraid of the mixture of gas and fire. However, the models that are nowadays made are very safe to use and if you read the manual on how to mount the gas reservoir than they are very safe to use. Most lanterns will come with a hardcase which protects them during travel so they can't break.

If you use your gas lantern on a high setting (producing very bright light) it will keep burning for up to 6 hours. If you use it on a lower setting than you are able to use the lantern up to 14 hours before it needs a new propane gas reservoir. Newer models will almost always come with an automated lighting feature so you don't have to use matches to lit the lantern. Older models still require matches or a lighter to lit the flame.

If you are looking for quality than Coleman is the brand you should choose. They provide high quality gas lanterns for over 110 years and will probably keep doing that for quite some time. Coleman gas lanterns are known for their quality and durability and their efficiency. Coleman gas lanterns will burn longer than any other gas lantern and will also produce more light. The burning mechanism their gas lanterns use is considered much cleaner than their predecessors and they are still looking for new ways to increase their quality.

If you are looking for a high quality gas lantern than make sure you also buy a hardcase. This will protect the lantern and makes traveling much easier.

Coleman Premium Dual-Fuel Lantern
List Price: ~~$74.99~~
Sale Price: $54.26
You save: $20.73 (28%)
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Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Coleman Two-Mantle Adjustable Gas Lantern
List Price: ~~$69.99~~
Sale Price: $44.76
You save: $25.23 (36%)
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Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Coleman High-Pressure Propane Hose and Adapter
List Price: ~~$26.99~~
Sale Price: $14.99
You save: $12.00 (44%)
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Top 5 Best Rechargeable Camping Lantern (Reviews)

Sun, 23 May 2010 09:36:42 +0000

Coleman Retro Rechargeable Battery Powered Lantern (Family Size)
List Price: ~~$39.99~~
Sale Price: $26.19
You save: $13.80 (35%)
Eligible for free shipping!
Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days

Coleman LED Rechargeable Lantern
List Price: ~~$44.99~~
Sale Price: $37.26
You save: $7.73 (17%)
Eligible for free shipping!
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Freeplay Energy ML-1 Mini Lantern Self-Sufficient Rechargeable LED Lantern (Gray)
List Price: ~~$59.00~~
Sale Price: $39.95
You save: $19.05 (32%)
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K-Light Solar Lantern
Sale Price: $59.95
Eligible for free shipping!
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Rechargeable Camping Lantern

Sun, 23 May 2010 09:26:42 +0000

If you like to hike or go camping than you are probably using flashlights and camping lanterns pretty often because it is an easy type of lighting to take with you. But the problem with most flashlights and lanterns is that you need to take enough batteries with you because eventually they will stop working. Lights can accidentally go on when they are in your back pack and the batteries might be drained when you reached your destination. A rechargeable camping lantern does not have this problem because they are easily recharged by DC connector, the sun or winding them yourself.

The problem with DC connectors is that if you go hiking or camping, you won't find electricity near you all the time. It could work great if you are traveling by car but if you are by foot or bike than this will not work for you. Solar powered rechargeable lanterns might sound like a good idea, but you have to place the lantern in the sun at daytime and if you want your lantern not to get stolen than you have to stay close by.

This leaves us with wind up lantern, also known as a crank lantern. There are quite some advantages on using these types of lanterns.

1) They are safe to use: You don't have to carry around gas or oil and refuel them frequently because all it needs is you, giving it a few winds.

2)Weather Proof: rechargeable camping lanterns are made of simple but strong materials which makes them water and wind resistant. This can be vary convenient if you have to find your way during the rain.

3) Compact & Easy: Because they don't need a fueling system (like gas or oil) they are safe to bring along with you and you can just put them in your bag without worrying about it. They also weight very little and because they are not to big they will fit in any backpack.

4) User Friendly: You don't have to be a magician to make them work. Oil and gas lanterns might have some difficulties when you want to change the fuel but this is not the case with a rechargeable camping lantern. All you have to do is wind it up and push the button.

5) Economical: A regular rechargeable camping lamp will keep working for a couple of hours after you have winded it for 60 seconds. You don't have to buy expensive batteries anymore which saves you money!

How do they Work?

Most wind up lanterns will work with rechargeable Nimh batteries. You can both charge them by using a DC connector if electricity is nearby but you can also wind the lantern for 60 seconds which will keep them working for a couple of hours. They use LED lights instead of bulbs and LED lights are incredibly efficient. The light they emit will often not be as bright as conventional bulbs, but because more LED's are used the light they emit will be enough to illuminate your near area. Winding is very easy and you don't have to keep winding for hours to let them work.

Most lanterns will have different settings which you can use. A low (efficient) setting will emit a soft glowing light which is enough to light a small area. If you want more light than you can switch it to the high setting (less efficient). The difference is that your lantern will keep working much longer at the low setting than at the high setting.

What makes a good rechargeable camping lantern?

Choosing the best rechargeable camping lantern is not that difficult. Read some reviews about the lantern you like in order to see if they can do what you want. Main features you should look at are:

* The light they emit
* Size
* Extra ways to charge the batteries
* Durability
* Extra features

Good rechargeable camping lanterns should not cost you a lot of money. You can get solid good quality camping lanterns for less than $40.

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Wind Up Lantern

Fri, 21 May 2010 17:40:01 +0000

A wind up lantern is also called a crank lantern and it can be a lighting type that turns out to be very useful. Instead of needing a power source like gas, oil or batteries, you can wind it up manually. Wind up lanterns contain rechargeable batteries which will be charged when you wind up the lantern for a certain amount of time. In this way the batteries will lit the led lights that are inside of the lantern. These lanterns are very useful if you are camping but also to keep at your house when there is an interruption of electricity.

A good quality wind up led lantern does not have to cost very much and you will usually get a good one for $15 to $40 and the expensive ones will cost you around $80. If you are planning to purchase a wind up lantern than it is important to consider the following things.

Size does matter

Simply said, a larger lantern will produce more light when you compare it with a smaller one. Off course this also depends on the amount of LED's inside the lamp and the quality of the rechargeable batteries but in general these will be of higher quality in a larger lantern. So which one is suitable for what occasion? First keep in mind that a led wind up lantern will not produce the same amount of light compared to lights that use fuel or alkaline batteries. They emit enough light to see the surrounding around you but they don't illuminate an entire area.

The one you should buy will depends on where you are going to use it for. If you are planning to go hiking or backpacking than you don't want too bring too much stuff with you so you might decide for the compact version. If you are traveling with a caravan or car or even by plain than a larger lantern might be of good use. Although we are talking about large and small lanterns, even the larger ones are quite portable if you compare them to the fuel driven alternatives.

Power Modes

Wind up lanterns will have different power modes which you can use. Most lanterns will have a low light level and a bright light level. When a lantern is on the low level switch it will use less energy and it will work for a much longer period of time than when you have it on the bright light switch. More expensive crank lanterns will have more power modes and this flexibility can be of good use when you are traveling.

Alternative Charging Methods

Most crank lanterns do not solely rely on winding it up to charge the batteries, nowadays most lanterns also have additional ways to charge the batteries. it is important to investigate what methods you can use to charge it because you might not want to wind it up every evening. You should look if a DC charger can be used with your wind up lantern because it saves time when you can charge it in a usb drive or in your car. Some lanterns also have the ability to use alkaline batteries instead which will keep them running for quite some days. A newer way to charge your lantern is by solar power, some contain a solar collector which will charge the lantern over daytime when you don't need it. The disadvantage of this is that you have to stay close to it in order that it not gets stolen.

More features

Manufacturers will always come up with new features to make their product more desirable to the consumer although the feature itself might not be that useful itself. Some wind up camping lanterns contain a radio feature and some have a compass on top of them. However, with all the Iphones and Ipods this sounds like a feature that is not really necessary.

How to Compare and chose the Best Wind Up Lantern?

Don't get distracted by features you don't need and concentrate on what you want to use it for. Here are listed the 5 most popular wind up lanterns which you can find on Amazon today:

Wind 'N Go Portable Lantern/Radio
List Price: ~~$42.70~~

Battery Free 12 LED Crank Powered Lantern

Wind 'N Go Mini LED Lantern
List Price: ~~$22.99~~
Sale Price: $14.99
You save: $8.00 (35%)
Eligible for free shipping!
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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Garrity KP052 Rechargeable 20 LED Crank Lantern with AM/FM Radio
List Price: ~~$53.99~~

You see that quality does not have to cost you that much, all lanterns shown here are below $40 on 1 exception. In order to find the one you need you should keep the following things in mind

* Size
*Weight
*Amount of light it produces
*Power Modes
*Extra Features

Read some reviews about the product first in order to see if it fulfills your expectations and good luck traveling.

How to use a Wind Up Lantern:

Related Websites

Wind Up Lanterns : A crank lantern, also known as a wind up lantern, is quite a useful thing to have around.

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