Our top camping lanterns double as multi-purpose tools with power chargers and emergency modes — and can even make every campsite a party.
Rena Behar is a freelance journalist and editor focusing on tech, travel, and gender. She has contributed to Travel + Leisure, TripSavvy, and more. Adjustable Rechargeable Headlamp
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A good campfire has a lot going for it, but sometimes firelight simply isn’t practical or allowed. The best camping lanterns won’t just come in handy when you’re in a fire ban area: They can help you prepare dinner, play cards, or just sit around chatting and basking in the glow no matter where you’ve set up camp.
The best camping lanterns have multiple modes so you can choose how much illumination you need and a host of charging styles for powering up in the woods. You can also find features like the ability to charge smaller devices or send SOS signals. We’ve got options for all styles, whether you’re looking for car camping accessories, string lights, or something solar powered.
This attractive lantern comes with multiple modes and a hefty battery.
Changing between the many modes can be a bit tricky, and you’ll need a source of electricity to recharge.
The BioLite AlpenGlow might be the most popular camping lantern on the internet, and it's easy to see why once you start checking out its stats. The AlpenGlow can light up in nine different modes, including dimmable cool and warm white, candle flicker, and even multicolor party and firework modes. You can easily crank it up to do your camp chores and then switch into color-cycling or candle mode when you’re relaxing. It can go from 5 to 500 lumens, with a battery life of up to 200 hours on low. The rechargeable 6,400mAh battery is charged via a micro USB input cable and can also put out power to charge your other devices or connect to BioLite’s campsite lights with its included USB-A output. It takes a bit on the longer side for the AlpenGlow to fully charge, but it's still manageable. We also appreciate its smooth aesthetics, which are stylish enough that you may even want to use it around the house when you aren’t camping.
Price at time of publish: $80
The Details: 500 lumens | 3.4 ounces | Rechargeable lithium ion battery (USB) | 5 to 200 hours battery life | IPX4
This lantern has three charging styles, four light options, and a powerful battery.
It’s on the heavier side.
If you’re less into colorful light modes and more into high function, the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 may be your best camping lantern, and it was a strong contender for our top spot. There are two separate sides, so you can get full 360-degree illumination or more minimal lighting when you need it. And there are multiple options for charging this lantern: via USB, solar panel, or even hand crank in an emergency (you’ll get about 10 minutes of light per 1 minute of cranking). Its battery life can go from two and a half hours with both sides lit at high power up to 320 hours with just one side lit on low power (five with one side on high, or 180 with both sides on low). That hefty 5,200 mAh battery also has a USB output, so you can use it to charge your other devices during camping trips, and it can prop itself up on collapsible legs or hang from a built-in handle.
Price at time of publish: $70
The Details: 600 lumens | 17.6 ounces | Rechargeable lithium-ion battery (USB, solar, or hand crank) | 2.5 to 320 hours
This lantern is light, durable, and multipurpose.
It can’t operate at below-freezing temperatures.
If you’re hitting the heavier trails, bring the Luci Base Light with you. A max of 360 lumens should illuminate nearly anything you need, while the battery life of up to 50 hours on the low setting should keep you going through most hiking trips. When that runs out, you can charge it via solar panel or USB, and if you’ve got some extra power, a USB output lets you charge your phone or other devices. There are low, medium, high, and flashing modes available. It's also durable enough to keep up on the trail, capable of withstanding 150 pounds of pressure, and you can hang it (or attach it to your backpack) via an adjustable base strap or fixed top strap. Though you should have plenty of space for it, since it can deflate down to just 1 inch thick.
Price at time of publish: $60
The Details: 360 | 10.1 ounces | Rechargeable lithium ion battery (USB or solar) | 5 to 50 hours | IP67
This adorable lantern packs plenty of power into its small package.
It can be difficult to get it to lock onto a specific color, and you have to purchase batteries (or a rechargeable battery pack) separately.
Black Diamond is best known for its head lamps, and their stationary lantern lives up to the brand’s reputation. The Moji gives you solid or strobing white light, a full colored spectrum, and campfire lightning mode for a gentle glow. There are four magnets for attaching it to surfaces, as well as flip-up hooks on the back that allow you to prop it up on a table or hang in your tent. Power it up with three AAA batteries, or you can purchase a rechargeable 1,500 mAh battery separately that charges via micro USB.
Price at time of publish: $45
The Details: 200 lumens | 2.8 ounces | Rechargeable lithium ion battery or AAA batteries (both sold separately) | 5 to 100 hours | IPX4
These warm white lights have four modes and two charging styles.
They aren’t super bright, so better for ambiance than tasks.
There isn’t a test out there that these string lights haven’t aced. With 10 bulbs on an 18-foot cable, they can light up your back porch or picnic table well into the night, providing up to 20 hours of warm white light if kept on low (up to five hours on high or 11 on medium). You can recharge them via the solar panel on the base, which takes about 16 hours, or by plugging in the USB, which will power up in four hours. Switch between high, medium, and low depending on how bright you need them to be, or switch to the LED flashlight in the base if you need a more concentrated beam for a minute. And if you’re feeling more like you want these for party mode, there’s also a color version available that can switch between violet, turquoise, green, orange, pink, and white.
Price at time of publish: $45
The Details: 100 lumens total | 11.3 ounces | Rechargeable lithium ion battery (USB or solar) | Up to 20 hours | IPX4
This solar lantern is super packable plus has five brightness modes and charging capabilities.
It may have some issues with device charging.
Solar-powered and squishable? Yes, please. LuminAID’s petite 6x6 square PackLite collapses down to just 1 inch tall when it’s not in use, but it doesn’t sacrifice power for that portability. The 2,000 mAh battery will recharge in about 12 to 14 hours of direct sunlight or 1 to 2 hours via the included USB cable; when it’s juiced up, it can also charge your phone via USB output, boosting your battery 75 percent to 100 percent in two to four hours. You also get five brightness levels, and up to 50 hours of battery life on the lowest setting. Its high IP67 rating means it can be submerged in water up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. We prefer it hung up by the adjustable strap, which can also link multiple lanterns together.
Price at time of publish: $50
The Details: 150 lumens | 8.6 ounces | Rechargeable lithium ion battery (USB or solar) | 3 to 50 hours | IP67
This lantern comes with an impressive spread of lighting modes and plenty of other well-thought-out touches plus a super high lumen level.
It’s not solar rechargeable; you’ll need to plug it into a USB power source.
If you don’t want to blow out your night vision (or your neighbors’) or are hiking around looking for nocturnal wildlife, you want a red light. And the Ledlenser ML6 excels both as a regular camping lantern and as a red one. It actually has a variety of modes, including dimmable, boost (for a short hit of maximum power), blink, strobe (which can be used for self-defense), pulse, and SOS (which emits pulses that spell out SOS in Morse code). When it’s not lit, its fluorescent accents still help make it easier to spot, and a transport lock feature makes sure it won’t accidentally switch on in your bag. Hang it up with either a rubber hook or built-in magnet, or prop it up with the removable stand, and you can also use it to charge your devices with USB output.
Price at time of publish: $90
The Details: 750 lumens | 9.9 ounces | Rechargeable lithium ion battery (USB) | 4 to 240 hours | IP54
This is super light and doesn’t sacrifice its lantern abilities.
It isn’t very bright.
If you need an extra-small camping lantern, the pocketable Lighthouse is the way to go. It can switch between four lights or two lights in lantern mode or switch into flashlight mode for a more direct beam. Unlike traditional flashlights, though, it charges via either solar panel or USB in about three and a half hours. Even better, it can also charge your phone via a USB 5V output. If you don’t need an output capability, the Lighthouse Micro Flash offers all of the other benefits of the Micro Charge at a slightly lower price. Stand it up, hold it in your hand, or hang it by the metal loop.
Price at time of publish: $30
The Details: 120 lumens | 3.07 ounces | Rechargeable lithium ion battery (USB or solar) | 7 to 170 hours | IPX6
Not only can this run for up to nearly two months if you need it to, it will stay solid the whole time.
When it’s loaded with batteries, it’s heavy.
If you need something that can stay super bright for months, your best choice is the 60-Day Duro, which lives up to its name with a battery life that can reach up to those 60 days on low mode. You can also switch to a flashing SOS mode, medium, or high modes, with high mode still getting an impressively high 41 hours of runtime. Once you’ve loaded it with its six D batteries, it weighs in at around 3.1 pounds, which is definitely on the high end, so you’re not going to want to be toting this around. But it can take a beating, thanks to its impact-resistant rubberized plastic housing and a lifetime-guaranteed LED light. Hang it by the integrated hook, or take off the removable globe to turn it into a forward area light.
Price at time of publish: $73
The Details: 1,200 lumens | 49.6 ounces | D batteries | 41 hours to 60 days | Water resistance: IPX4
Burn Coleman fuel or regular gasoline in this adjustable, sturdy lantern.
There’s no InstaStart on this model, so you’ll need to light it yourself using matches.
Feeling old school? Coleman’s Powerhouse lantern lets you use either Coleman Liquid Fuel (which lasts longer than propane) or unleaded gasoline to light up your campsite. Strike a match, and the dual mantle design will cast its light up to more than 70 feet. You can adjust the brightness level with the control knob, then set it on the base on a table or hang it from the handle for up to 5 hours of burn time on high or 20 on low on a full tank. There’s no disassembly needed, which is a bonus for campsite cleanup, though it does weigh in at a hefty 4.65 pounds.
Price at time of publish: $104
The Details: 800 | 74.4 ounces | Coleman Liquid Fuel or unleaded gasoline | 5 to 20 hours of battery life | Not water-resistant
This adorable globe lantern still has three lighting modes, including a candle flicker.
There is some initial setup involved.
If you just want a petite light to keep next to your sleeping bag, go for the charming Mini Hozuki. Note that we really do mean “mini” here; this is just about 2 by 2 inches in diameter and height. But it still throws off a cozy 60 lumens and has three lightning modes so you can adjust its brightness levels without disturbing any nearby sleeping companions. The magnetic loop easily attaches to hanging spots or even to a belt loop. There are also some bonus colors currently available as part of Snow Peak’s Festival collection. If you want something a little larger and brighter with a similar vibe, go for the hanging Hozuki.
Price at time of publish: $73
The Details: 60 | 1.9 ounces | AAA batteries | 60 to 180 hours
Whether you’re car camping or through-hiking, it’s better to have a lantern that’s easy to bring with you. Lighter weights and smaller sizes are generally preferable.
Lanterns have one main goal: providing light. Most of them stick to this purpose, but it’s getting more and more common to see features like colored light options (these are mostly a novelty, but red light specifically is useful for preserving your night vision and not disturbing your neighbors) and USB output to charge other devices. If your lantern is solar-powered, note whether it has a solar panel built-in or you’ll need to attach it to one separately.
Camping lanterns aren’t designed to be carried around once you’ve gotten to your campsite. You want to be able to set your lantern somewhere and simply enjoy it. This may mean looking for a lantern that can stand on its own, or one that you can hang off of something else, like a pole or your tent, depending on your camping style and the rest of your equipment.
IP ratings, also known as Ingress Protection ratings, are defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission and usually written as “IP” followed by two numbers. The first number represents protection level against solid particles (dust or dirt, for example); the second number is protection against water. An X in either spot means there’s insufficient data to assign a rating, likely because the item hasn’t been tested in that area. You probably want at least a 4 in water resistance so you don’t lose your lantern to a rainstorm, but unless you’re planning a boating trip, probably don’t need to worry about submersion.
You never want to be fully reliant on just one item. While we don’t expect any of these to fail, it’s essential to be prepared with backup options. Even if you aren’t carrying a whole second lantern, a good flashlight or headlamp should still be part of your gear kit.
Probably not as many as you think you do. According to REI, you should be fine with around 100 lumens if you’re just creating ambiance or looking at things close to the lantern. If you need to get your entire campsite bright enough to, say, pitch a tent, you’ll need closer to 200-300.
The best gear is the kind you’re going to use. If you choose a camping lantern that’s too heavy or frustrating to use, you won’t pack it, so why bother? Keeping that in mind, we recommend a lighter camping lantern with a rechargeable battery, ideally one that can be charged via both solar and USB. At this stage in technology, unless you’re really getting into the backcountry, there’s no need to carry heavy gas tanks with you. A rechargeable lantern can be plugged back in every time you’re at home to make sure you start each trip at 100 percent (rather than carrying backup batteries), though if you’re prone to forgetting to charge things, alkaline batteries might be better for you. Lithium batteries also maintain their charge better in the cold.
For this story, Rena Behar relied on her many years working as a gear reviewer and researcher at various publications to sort through a slew of tests and reviews.
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