The 7 Best Camping Lantern Flashlights (Bought & Tested!)

Lantern Brightness

The first test looks at two things: the lumen output of each lantern, and how much lighting area it gives you.

All readings from a UNI-T UT383 lux meter 28.2 cm from the light source. ∞ = continuous dimming, anything between the dimmest and brightest settings.

• Continuous dimming: The Micro Charge, Micro Flash and Pika dim smoothly to almost nothing, and close to 0 lumens is fantastic as a nightlight that won’t blind you in the middle of the night.
• Reference: Over 1,000 lumens is enough to light up a small campsite.
• Red light: Only the LR70 has red modes (0 and 27 lumens), which is great in the middle of the night.
• Bottom of the table: The Leschi has just 2 levels, low and high, with nothing in between.

Torch 500: it shines in only one direction, so its lighting area is halved (607/2 = 304).

• Throw matters: The Torch has 50% more lumens than the LR70, but only about 20% more shine radius, so the Nitecore throws its light better.
• One-sided: The Torch’s other side is its solar panel, so nothing shines out the back.

• Goal Zero: All three Goal Zero lights are weak throwers for their lumen counts.

Flashlight Brightness

Every one of these lights is a flashlight too, so the second test is the same pair of measurements for the beam.

Ceiling bounce test: a rough estimate of lumen output, not an exact reading.

• For night hiking: At least 200-300 lumens is good, and the LR70 gives you an extra-bright 1,281-lumen option if you need a much stronger beam.
• Around camp only: Anything about 100 lumens and below doesn’t shine very far: campsite use, not hiking.

My cut-off is a 0-lumen meter reading; official specs measure to full-moon brightness, so they read much longer.

• Better thrower: The Torch isn’t as bright as the Leschi on paper (320 vs 517 lumens), but it still beams farther.

Run-Times

Full charge, then a stopwatch until each light dies, lantern and flashlight modes both.

Minimums are on the brightest mode, maximums on the dimmest; the bracketed number is that setting’s lumen output.

• Biggest battery: The LR70’s 10,000 mAh means weeks, even more than a month, of light on its 0-lumen modes.
• The small Micros: 2,600 mAh (and the Pika’s 1,800) gives average minimums but impressive maximums.
• Bright floor: The Torch’s 5,200 mAh is decent, but its dimmest settings are so bright that you only get 20 hours max.
• AA-powered: The LA10 and Leschi each run on 1 AA battery, so their run-times are the shortest here.

Lighting Features

The fourth test counts lighting features: colors, an SOS or emergency mode, and directional lighting.

• Red mode: The feature I most want, and only the LR70 has it: white plus red, with a red Beacon AND a red SOS mode.
• The rest: One white blinking or Beacon mode each; the Goal Zeros have none.
• Directional lighting: Unique to Goal Zero: light half the lantern and save 20-50% of the battery.

• Bottom of the table: The Torch 500 has no red mode, no SOS, and no directional lighting.

Ease of Use

Beyond lighting features: power sources, mobile charging, and the little conveniences.

• Two sources: The Torch 500 is the only light here that charges by USB or solar. A full solar charge took me more than a week of 10AM-4PM sun.

• Fast charge: The LR70 draws about 9V 0.5A, so it charges quickest despite having the biggest battery.
• Port types: USB-C charges most efficiently, then USB-A, then micro-USB.

1 charge ≈ 80% (15-95%) of my iPhone 12. Only the first four lights have a charging output. *1 standard AA Eneloop battery ≈ 1,900 mAh.

• Never stranded: The better lights don’t run themselves completely dead. The Torch’s 3% leftover still ran the flashlight on low for 48 minutes, and the LR70’s 8% gave a whopping 23 hours of dimmest lantern.
• Current: A 2.1A max charged my phone about 15% faster than 1.0A, and 3.0A about 30% faster than 2.1A.

LA10: the hook is for an included lanyard, not a lantern loop. LR70: memory works for the flashlight only.

• Almost everything: The LR70 has all of it except a magnetic base, which only the LA10 has.
• Hooks both ends: The Torch 500 hangs from the top or the bottom; more lights should do this.

Durability

Waterproofing against the official IP rating, a drop test, and the warranty.

• Passed the dunk: The Torch 500’s IP67 means 1m of submersion for 30 minutes. I tested exactly that, and it held up great.

• Failed the dunk: The LR70 carries the same IP67 rating, but mine died in the water and poured water out of its port the next day. It was fine in 10 minutes of powerful jets, so I rate it IP66.

• Slightly defective: After the water jets, the Micros’ battery indicator lights no longer turn off. Open USB ports are the likely culprit, so I rate them IPX5.
• The floor: Every light here took heavy rain fine.
• Drops: All of them survived drop-height tests; the Torch got slightly dinged (it’s heavy when it lands) but works perfectly.

• Warranty: The LA10’s 5 years is the outlier. The rest give you 1-2.

Portability

Last test: just the weight and packed size of each light.

Weights for the LA10 and Leschi include 1 AA battery.

• The outlier: Most of these are genuinely pocketable. Only the Torch 500 is significantly heavier and bulkier, and even that isn’t too bad.