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Gear Review: Energizer's Solar Folding Lantern & Hard Case Professional Area Light

Two Energizer products that light up camp (and your social habits) in unique ways.

by: Joe Flowers & Will Rochfort

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#1: Energizer Solar Folding Lantern
By Joe Flowers
A renewable electric lantern that has great battery life and a nightlight to keep the boogeyman away.

The idea of a solar-powered flashlight used to be a joke among many gear aficionados. Since then, there have been many advances in solar and LED technology. This Energizer lantern uses a hybrid of rechargeable solar cells and 3-D cell batteries to give a reliable source of light over extended periods of time. Granted, the batteries aren’t ultralight, but for canoe, car camping, and even caving, this light proved itself to be a winner.

The Solar Folding Lantern is definitely the most powerful battery powered lantern I have used (note: but it’s still not a match for a propane mantel lantern). On a four-day car camping trip on the New River in Virginia it provided plenty of light to cook with, read by, and futz around camp with. While caving, I clearly had a diameter of 10 feet of really usable light.

The Solar 9 LED lantern has a five-position switch on its durable plastic body (I dropped it three times, on accident, with no dents or scratches), allowing you to alternate between battery and solar power and to switch between lantern and nightlight functions.

The solar power mode charges in approximately 5 hours, and has a 2 hour 30 minute life span. After charging the device on the roof of my car for an entire day I got three hours of solid light. (The charging panel can be moved up and down to get the max angles from the sun.) Using the 3-D batteries, the lantern lasts over 165 hours.

The lantern measures 7-1/2 inches high by 3-1/2 inches thick, and at 4 inches—further making it not for the ultralighters among us. There are 4 white LEDs in each tube, for a total of 8 white LEDS. They are tough and last long, so Energizer doesn’t offer replacements at this time. There is also a small amber LED in the middle, the nightlight. The lighting fixture flips up all the way for 360 degree coverage or folds down for 180 degree coverage in one direction. The battery case has a mirror cover that reflects the LED light in this feature. Top if off with a movable handle on top, and you have a great hybrid package.

The Specs:
Price: $42.99
Weight: 2 lbs. 13 oz.
energizer.com



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