The Family Camping Trip - Lighting Options

Here we are at another installment of my "family camping" series where we look at ways to take the family camping without taking out a second mortgage. Today we will be looking at lighting around the campsite.

Most people want a lantern or light source at a campsite so they purchase a propane lantern which, these days, tends to have an automatic starter and uses special mantels which costs $6-10 a pack. Or they purchase a super bright, battery powered fluorescent lamp.

The propane for these lanterns runs about $8 a bottle and, if you leave it running all night you will burn through a bottle a night plus what you are using for the propane stove, if you bought one. Many campers bring a large propane tank with a "tree" for the lantern that has bleed offs for different gas appliances. These tanks are not cheap to refill ($50-$80). Batteries, for the electric lanterns, are even more expensive and you go through them FAST.

That is why, since we have already gone over how to do away with the need for a propane stove, you can also do away with the propane lantern and, therefore have no need for propane at all.

Instead of a propane lantern simply purchase an old fashioned oil lantern. Yes, I am talking about the kind of lantern you might see in the old western movies. Believe it or not, these lanterns can still be purchased new, along with the fuel for them, at most hardware stores, and "big box," "mart" type stores. For one thing, they are excellent to have around for power outages. With modern, clean burning "pure" fuels they burn without smelly odors and, while you will want to ventilate an area where they are in use, they can be used inside without stinking up the house or leaving soot marks on walls and ceilings.

The lanterns can also burn citronella oil but this should only be used outdoors. Consequently citronella oil is excellent for camping since it does double duty as a light source and mosquito deterrent around your family's campsite. Do not take a citronella oil filled lantern into a tent!

For camping, they give off an adjustable white light which can be turned up quite bright or trimmed down quite low. They do not have the fragile ash mantles like a propane lantern and their wicks are cheap to replace (usually about 50 cent to $1 for a pack of five). Personally, I have had three of these lanterns for several years and never had to replace a wick, though I do keep a spare pack on hand.

The lanterns are usually quite a bit cheaper than propane lanterns, the cheap ones run $6-$8 and the named brand "Dietz" lanterns are in the $20 range. A bottle of fuel is about $6-7 and it lasts quite a bit longer than a bottle of propane as long as you are not burning the lantern full blast.

As with any piece of equipment, take care of your lanterns and they will take care of you. Wipe them down when you are done with them, clean the globes and purge the fuel tank for storage.

I even use my lanterns at home, around the holidays, to light the porch or line the walkway for an old fashioned look.

The best thing about these lanterns is their sturdiness. They will take more punishment than any propane lantern and still give good service. True, they may not be quite as bright but do you really need to light up the campground like an operating room? I doubt it and your camping neighbors will probably not love you for doing so either. Allow me to introduce to a new term, "light pollution!" Old fashioned lanterns provide ample light, for less money, and are more dependable. Plus they just look good and add a certain atmosphere to your campsite.

When you go to purchase a light for your campsite, be it a battery powered, super bright, fluorescent light, or a propane lantern, and you spot that $60 price tag, take a minute to go and look at the simple, unassuming oil lantern. Give "what you really need" a bit of thought before you shell out the big bucks.