Coleman Camping Lanterns : Halogen and LED Lantern Models, Which One Performs Better?

Coleman tents, air mattresses and other types of camping gear have been a staple among campers for many years. As a camper, I own a variety of Coleman outdoor products and accessories including Coleman folding chairs, tent accessories, halogen and LED lanterns. When purchasing a Coleman lantern, I wanted to have a reliable source of lighting that was sufficient to light my way to the restroom facilities. My first purchase was a Coleman halogen lantern.

This lantern was approximately $10 and is easily found at most retail stores' camping and outdoor departments. The large-sized lantern (a smaller size is also available) required 4 "D" batteries, a costly investment should you do lots of camping. When the batteries are added, the formerly-lightweight lantern's weight triples in size, making it a bit cumbersome at times. While extremely bright, the halogen light bulb does heat up fairly quickly, making the lantern a poor choice for overnight lighting. However, if you are concerned about safety, the Coleman halogen lantern does not disappoint, making this a safe choice for commuting to and from comfort stations.

My next purchase was a Coleman crank lantern. Living in Florida , Coleman crank lanterns are a must, especially during hurricane seasons. A great safety item, there are even some crank lanterns on the market that have radios built into them, allowing users to receive weather updates and crank-powered lighting during power outages. My Coleman lantern contained 12 LED's and was crank powered with no radio.

Understanding no batteries were involved, the Coleman LED lantern powered-up amazingly fast, after about 30 seconds of fast cranking. The lantern does make a loud noise while cranking and does take a long time to build-up a full charge. After it is fully cranked, or at least after cranking for 3 minutes straight, the light begins to diminish after 10 minutes of use, making Coleman crank lanterns a lot of effort for short-term results. On the plus side, there were no batteries to purchase and it did give my forearms a workout, so that was good.

Reliability-wise, the Coleman LED lantern is not a favorite of mine. LED's are more energy-efficient and are supposedly brighter than halogen light bulbs; however, even with 12 LED's in the lantern, my Coleman halogen lantern was significantly brighter than the LED version. In fact, the light did not provide me with sufficient light to walk to the comfort station without worry of tripping over sticks and stumps.

Another pitfall is long-term use. While the Coleman halogen lantern's bulb becomes very hot quickly, the LED camping lantern (crank version) is a poor choice in that it must constantly be cranked. This means sleeping with the lantern on is out-of-the-question, and reading a book, undisturbed, is difficult.

Overall, if faced with a personal choice, I would buy both and alternate them. Since there is not a better product out yet, that I have come across, I would use the Coleman halogen camping lantern for comfort station and other nighttime walking use, while using LED lanterns primarily for indoor tenting use.