The Happy Camper: Three Top Camp Lanterns

Kevin Callan

March 21, 2022

Venture Solar Water Bottle Lantern

Remember that old camping hack where you strap your head lamp to a jug of water to make a make-shift lantern? Well, now you can simply use the new, and much lighter, SOL (Survive Outdoors Longer) Solar Water Bottle Lantern.

The lid of the BPA-FREE  700 mL water bottle contains a lithium-ion battery and LED light. Three lighting modes, ranging from 20-100 lumens, gives you up to 10 hours of lighting up the campsite or tent. There’s even a durable handle attached to the cap so you can light up the trail heading to the outhouse.

The water bottle lantern ($29.99) can be recharged with an integrated USB cord (which takes two hours) or by the solar panel on the top of the cap (25 hours). The bottle itself is dishwasher safe.

SOL Floating Lantern with Power Bank

I’ve packed this lantern on many past canoe trips. Not only is it a strong light, with four modes ranging from 20-520 lumens, it’s totally waterproof. No worries if you forget it on the picnic table during an evening downpour. I also make sure it’s packed in my paddling ditch kit due to its flash mode. It can last up to 155 hours.

The lantern ($79.99) also has a power bank to charge electronics, weighs in at only 10 ounces and has an anti-shatter globe. There’s also a smaller, and cheaper ($34.99), model SOL Floating Lantern 4AAA that has 20-240 lumens.

LuminAID Solar Lantern

This solar lantern, which appeared on the TV show Shark Tank, was originally created to help humanitarians across the world to provide light after natural disasters. It didn’t take long for campers to catch on to the product as well. It’s lightweight (less than five ounces), inflates to a square 12 x 12 x 12 cm, collapsible for storage, waterproof, and floats ($39.00). Its brightness is at 75 lumens and stays charged for 24 hours.

There’s also their larger 2-in-1 Power Lantern that has 150 lumens, which lasts 50 hours and can charge your phone.

More from The Happy Camper:

READ MORE: Adventure, British Columbia, British Columbia Trails, Hiking, Manitoba, Nunavut Trails, Wildlife

Kevin Callan

Kevin Callan is the author of 15 books, including the best-selling The Happy Camper and his incredibly popular series of paddling guides. He's a notable public speaker and frequent guest on radio and television. Kevin is also a regular contributor, blogger and columnist for explore Magazine and has won several National Magazine Awards. He was made Patron Paddler for Paddle Canada and has recently won several filmmaking awards.

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