I like this little LED lantern. You can adjust the amount of light you need. Even on the highest setting, it does not seem very bright, but if you are in total darkness, like a power outage, it is perfectly fine for
doing what you need to do. Yes, it could stand to be a little brighter.
The biggest problem I have with it is, the glass is clear, and there is nothing to filter the glare of the LED and reflector. It's very annoying. I solved the problem by cutting a 4 1/2 X 10'' strip of white tissue paper and wrapping it around the glass. Not only did this fix the glare, the tissue paper also acts as a "diffuser" and spreads the light evenly, and softly in every direction without effecting the overal brightness. It just made it softer, and more pleasant. The lamp does not get hot, so no worries. I have had the light on high all night, no problems.
So, with the tissue paper diffuser I give it a 4 star rating, without the diffuser, I would give it 2 stars, simply because the glare is so annoying. Coleman 8D Family Size LED Lantern
I just got this lantern. I'm testing it out using hi capacity NiMH rechargeables. Works very nicely. I've got 13 hours so far on high, and still going strong. I returned a 4D collapseable version. Biggest drawback on the 4D pack-away, besides its lower light output with its convoluted reflector system was that it flickered sometimes due to the sliding contacts inside used to turn it off automatically when collapsed. This model of course does not exhibit that problem.
Build quality of this model is pretty good. Battery holder is a little flimsy. Light output is nothing to really gripe about. It's good, but of course more is always better. Somewhere around 10 hours on high, and 20+ on low would still be acceptable and Low would then be as bright as this current model is on high. That would pretty much maximize this lantern using 8 D-cells, and would make it superior in light output and efficiency to any older flourescent models, and pretty much obsolete them altogether.
Coleman has just offered another new model above this one with 4 removeable panels that will run on their own. It has 24 conventional type LEDs, and looks solidly built out of a thermoplastic though not too water resitant looking design (could be wrong on that upon a closer inspection). It's selling now at Bass Pro Shop for $79, but I don't like the aesthetics of it. It's not very nice looking like a classic lantern.
I'd like to see this model beefed up just a little more on the output with a little more robust battery holder and an improved ring around the base for slippage and or more protection.
If Coleman wants to support "green" initiatives as an outdoors company, then for those of us who will use NiMHs, or the newest generation low self-leakage NiMHs, the battery holder and springs could be more robust for more frequent battery changes. (Coleman's rechargeable version of this lantern should be good for most not wanting separates, but the self contained model has lower light output, and lasts less time on a charge than going hi-cap D-cells in this one. Plus, when the cells go bad, I won't have to buy a new lantern, or pay as much as a new one for a custom replacement battery and/or service.) The plastic on this one's battery holder is fairly thin, and the springs are very thin. Feels delicate enough that one should use caution changing batteries, or it might crack and bend springs. It's a bit flimsy for my tastes with flexing so be careful.
I'd really like to see some rubber around the base or an integrated bead around the edge of the lip. The thin liped, hard plastic edge on the bottom seems like it might wind up getting some chunks broken out of it for some harder users, or from sitting it on the ground in rocky terrain rather than just picnic tables.
It appears that this lantern wins the beauty contest for sure, but that Coleman's new panelized lantern would probably win a durability test.
I wanted a lantern for use in our camper and specifically purchased this one because it is LED (low energy consumption, long lamp life) and because it has the night light feature. On the high setting, it seems to put out enough light. Even the night light setting is pretty bright, almost too bright for a small camper. I definitely agree with the other reviewers that you don't really want to stare directly at this lantern because of the glare.
The overall quality of the lantern is very good. Once you get the (8) D batteries in there, this is definitely not a lantern you would ever take on a camping trip where you are packing very far from the car. However, it is great for car camping and also much safer than candles as a backup light source in the event of a power outage.
I purchased this lantern in case of long power outages. I was concerned that it takes 8 D-cell batteries. What I discovered, however, is that those batteries keep this lantern going forever. It has several LED lights that draw very little power, and a center reflector that really seems to amplify the light. I keep the lantern handy at all times and have a spare supply of batteries for the "just in case." I doubt that I will ever get to the spare batteries before they start to lose power just sitting on the shelf.
The Coleman 8D Family Size LED Lantern is awesome! I use it in my cabin in the woods and it's a godsend. I have gas lamps, but they put out too much heat to use in summer. I absolutely love the Coleman. They have smaller sizes too, and I'm crazy about both of the smaller ones I have.
I purchased this lantern last summer to take camping. Prior to buying I researched many different lanterns comparing their lumin output, battery life & multiple light settings. This Coleman was my final choice & I have been more than happy with it. We used to have an old lantern that used two six volt batteries that didn't put out very much light,was very heavy & it was expensive when replacing the batteries. This lantern with it's three different light settings saves on your batteries & gives you more choices on the amount of light needed.
The main reason in buying this was to get away from using our old propane lantern inside our tent & RV because of the hot exterior & potential fire hazard. This is ideal because it eliminates both problems. We recently experienced two power outages in rain storms, we pulled out the lantern & it "saved the night".
I originaly purchased this lantern from Wal Mart & returned it after finding it on Amazon for less money, no state tax & no shipping fee. Both of my daughters & two of my frinds have purchased this lantern after seeing how well ours works. After our power outage I am considering buying a second lantern. - Lantern - Coleman - Emergency Light - Camping Lantern'
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