Brunton Polaris LED Lantern (Silver)

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Customer Reviews

small lamp...bright light

What I expected was something the size of an old camping lantern. What I received was the size of a can of soda that put out lots of clear light. This is a positive step forward in your collection of camping gear.

Great for Camping or Emergencies

I decided to purchase the Brunton Polaris Lantern because it looked mysteriously similar to a Gerber Lantern that I love. The price of the Gerber however was $20 higher than the Brunton and I am happy to say that they are almost identical! The Gerber model features a camo-body instead of the gray Brunton body but other than that, they are basically the same. The output of the Brunton Polaris in low makes for a nice night light while the high mode can light up a small bedroom brightly and easily. The color of the light is also more "normal" and not too White or blue as with other LED lanterns. The output is also very nicely diffused with no rings, lines or shadows. This light, like the Gerber model is a great compact lantern with good output and size (it's not the lightest LED lantern out there as it runs on C batteries but I'd much rather have 3-C's than other lanterns that take 4-D's). If you need a small lantern for camping, fishing, or just to have as emergency lights around the home, this is a great find.

Great lantern to take to a backpacking / car camping trip

I must admit - I am a bit of a lantern and flashlight addict - I have one too many in my collection at home, though I've had just one instance of power failure in the last 10 years.

That said, every flashlight / lantern has its purpose. And in spite of the other reviewers thinking this one did not hit the mark, I think it did so just fine - with flying colors, no less!

Now, this is not a propane lantern. If you are traveling, you know the pro's and con's. Nothing like being 'all set' on the light part before you reach your destination. I've been on several car camping trips where we've reached the destination only to find something in the way of getting light after dark - those French CampinGaz systems are really tough to get fuel for, the wicks are equally tough to find, and the regular propane ones require finding out a local camping supply store in a strange place when I'd rather be opening a bottle of wine and pitching tent. I don't risk traveling with fuel on road trips, as I don't really pay much attention to hazmat warnings on bridges and tunnels and ferries. Flights, of course, entirely rule out carrying fuel from home.

Given those hard-learned lessons, I've shifted to portable LED lanterns for a while. LED is, well, an obvious choice, as otherwise you are talking about a couple of hours of burn time.

Within the LED space, there's a wide array of options that are now available. This one fits a certain set of requirements - now its up to you to see if they are the same as yours.

1. This is bright white LED. There are come with warm white colors, this is not one of them. If you are particular about the color of light, you should know.

2. This is not as much light as the full-size D-battery powered GE CFL lamp lanterns. Those pretty much resemble a propane light, but are not easy to carry, specially if you have a small car or need to take a flight. This is super portable, and the convenience more than makes up for the small trade off in light output.

3. Yes, this is portable, but not to "ultralight backpacking" standards. There are other lanterns - powered by AA and AAA cells - that are meant to be ultralight. I like the fact that this snugly fits the "middle ground" - way more portable than full size 4xD cell lanterns, while offering a lot more burn time than the measly AA and AAA powered ones.

4. 3 watts is a lot of light! Chances are you'll use this in full power once you've seen the bright setting, and that's a good thing. Enough to light up a small campground, like the standard ones in car camping sites.

5. Nice clip to hang it in the tent, or elsewhere. Another plus over propane lanterns, no harm in letting these burn inside the tent!

So, there. Not the smallest of the lot, not the brightest of the lot (well, among the brightest in the LED space), but a good balance in everything.

And, if I may say, a much better build quality than those cheap knock-offs some "deal" websites have to offer. But then this is a Brunton, so that's a given.

When you are out camping, a lantern should be the last thing on your mind -should be as easy as throw it in the bag and expect it to work. This works great.

Not what I expected

Yes... it let's off a good amount of light. No, it's not very different than typical "white" LED light. And did I mention how small it is?

Decent on bright setting, but shortens battery life

This light is indeed COMPACT in size. It would be great for backpacking. However,I bought it for a friend and gave it to him at work, where we tested it, so I can't truthfully say how it compares to my "larger" battery lanterns. But at the BRIGHT (full power) setting, it nicely lit-up a 'confined' area (his darkened office). But no battery lantern will ever come close to lighting an outdoors campground like a propane mantle lantern. And, the bright setting will undoubtedly shorten the advertised battery life. Conclusion: if you really need 'compactness/light weight' for backpacking etc., and you only expect to illuminate a confined/limited area, this light is a good choice. (Be certain to get this 3 Watt version, as there are similar models with lesser light output.)