I have been a long time believer in only using propane lanterns when car camping. Previous battery operated lanterns with florescent bulbs that I have tried have always lacked for sufficient light to eat by let alone cook or setup a tent with.
But, then I discovered the Coleman LED Quad Lantern and everything has changed. This is, by far, the best camping lantern I have ever used! Not only is it super bright, it is smaller and more convenient than a propane lantern - especially since I no longer need to tote around gas canisters.
But, this lantern is more than just a lantern; it provides for personal lighting needs as well. Each of the lantern's four light panels detach and work as rechargeable hand lamps for that rummage in the back of the truck for gear or the scramble to the bathroom site in the middle of the night. And, with a 1-1/2 hour charge time, that makes these light panels useful for reading in the tent, etc.
It is not only this lantern's overall design that make it great, but the attention to little things as well. For example, the rechargeable light panels are powered by AAA rechargeable batteries. Unlike other rechargeable light systems where the battery is sealed and inaccessible, if a battery eventually fails, it can be easily replaced with a matching, off-the-shelf rechargeable battery. The lantern as a whole is powered by D cell batteries.
No more propane, no more broken mantles, no more trying to light a propane lantern in the dark. The Coleman LED Quad Lantern is the lantern of the future that I bet all competitors will try to copy. Coleman LED Quad Lantern
I bought this for my father as a camping lantern, and he's been totting it around to family get-togethers, he likes it so much. We have NOT been camping yet, but we've tried it out in window-less rooms and I have to admit that it puts out quite the amount of light (which is a relief, since the lumen count is lower than the CFL Coleman lanterns), and it isn't too harsh to look at. There are diffusers over the LED's, so while they ARE bright, they aren't painful.
One interesting feature is the main base overrides the panel settings. Thus, if you have a panel turned on, plug it into the base, and turn the base off, the panel turns OFF. Then if you were to remove the panel from the base, the panel setting would kick in again, and it would flip on. Similarly, if you turn a panel off, and plug it into the base, it will use whatever setting the base has. This means that you can't turn off individual panels on the lantern BASE. However, this also means that you don't have to turn off the panels individually, so I guess that evens out.
As a previous reviewer said, the NiMh batteries in the panels will lose charge over time (NiMh hold charge for 3-6 months), which means there will be a slow but continuous drain on your D-cell batteries while in storage. If you are using this lantern for camping, simply remove the D-Cell batteries during storage and then load them back into the lantern when you are loading your car, SUV, RV, etc. By the time you reach the campsight, the panels will be charged.
You CAN replace the batteries in the panels, but ONLY put rechargeables in there! You might be tempted to throw in some alkalines in the event that the D-Cells drain (meaning, you used old D-cells in this, you aren't going to drain it in a weekend, even if you left it on all weekend), but don't do it. That's like throwing an alkaline in a battery charger (which causes it to overheat).
All in all, I haven't found any flaws yet. There is even a handle (you can see it in the picture) on the base unit so that you don't have to carry the lantern by the panels, though you'll find transporting without the batteries in it to be much more convenient. 8 D-Cells ARE a bit heavy.
Brightness:
When all four panels are attached to the base, the lantern puts out a great deal of light. It will illuminate a campsite with ease. The individual panels when detached put out an adequate amount of light. Great for a trek to the restroom or the back of the truck to fetch some gear.
Portability:
The 8D batteries in the base make the lantern a little heavy. But each panel when removed is extremely light, as they only contain a small rechargeable battery. There are plenty of handles at the top for easy toting.
Battery/power:
I've used my lantern several times and have been very pleased with the runtime of the battery. In addition, it seems to take a long time away from the base before the panels go dim.
Summary:
The lantern is expensive compared to other battery lanterns, but it is well worth the money. My family loves it!
I purchased the Coleman LED Quad Lantern primarily for use during power outages. (A timely purchase, as it subsequently turned out.) The quad configuration makes this lantern ideal for space illumination. The LEDs provide exceptionally bright and fairly uniform lighting. What really sets this lantern apart from competitive units are the four detachable LED panels. We used these panels for personal lighting during a recent trip to the mountains. Each panel provided superior general illumination as compared to the typical flashlight. We also own Coleman battery-powered fluorescent lanterns. This LED unit is no heavier (with batteries installed) and is a superior general light source.
I love this lantern, it's a little expensive but it's worth every penny. It lid up my camp site for 3 days straight with no problems. The lights are bright and durable, I drop this thing a few times and it kept working. The only negative is you can misplace an attachement easily.
I agree with the other great reviews about the design and but I feel the lantern has one fatal flaw. The plastic they used is cheap and brittle. If you try to pull one of the panels off without pushing the release button, the tab that holds the panel will break off and you will have a LED TRI Lantern + a lighted panel. This happened right when we took it out of the box. Granted, I know now you are supposed to push the button to release the panel, but keep in mind when you hold the lantern you are holding it by the panels, and with 8 D cells in the base it is only a matter of time before the tabs will break with normal use. The same cheap plastic is used at the base and I would bet a very minor drop would shatter the base. It is simply not durable enough as a camping lantern. - Emergency Light - Lantern - Camping Lantern - Camping'
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