BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Review (Bought & Tested!)

This is my BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Lantern review. It was such an interesting lantern, so I put it through many different tests and experiments, all of which you’ll find below in this post.

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Quick Summary

Overall, I found the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 to be incredibly feature-rich, especially if you like the multicolor mode and the fireworks mode. (I love those so much!) It’s also high quality, detail-oriented, but sadly, a little expensive for my liking.

RELATED: Best Rechargeable LED Lanterns

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Check out the BioLite AlpenGlow 500:

1. In the Box

I bought my AlpenGlow from REI Co-Op, though it’s available over at Amazon in this link here as well. Here’s what it looks like brand new:

And here’s what I got out of the box:

• The BioLite AlpenGlow 500 (not charged out of the box)

• Warranty info + user guide

• Charging cable

2. Micro-USB Input

At the back of the AlpenGlow, there are 2 flaps – 1 is a micro-USB input and the other is the USB-A output.

To charge the AlpenGlow, use the provided charging cable, and insert it into the micro-USB input. It takes mine about 5 hours for a full charge.

Note: When charging, only the cool and warm white modes will be available, the others will not.

3. USB Output

The other flap contains the USB output, which is used to charge phones and other devices. Here were my results when I charged my iPhone 12:

• Capacity: 6,400mAh

• Day 1: 80% charge (19%-99%), 2.25 hours

• Day 2: 61% charge (31%-92%), 1.75 hours

• Leftover Battery: 6 hours on dim white

Overall, that’s almost 2 full charges, plus some leftover light.

4. Single Button and Shake Control

To control the different light modes of the AlpenGlow, we have a:

• Single button at the top

• Shake control when you shake it from up to down (not left to right) (thanks to the built-in accelerometer)

5. Lighting Modes

Here are all the different lighting modes of the AlpenGlow 500:

Short Press (Button)	Long Press (Button)	Shake Control	Long Press after Shake Control
Cool light	Brightness adjustment	Directional lighting	Brightness adjustment
Warm light	Brightness adjustment	Candle flicker	Brightness adjustment
Single color	Color adjustment (manual)	Single-color automatic cycling	Cycling speed adjustment
Multicolor	Color adjustment (manual)	Multicolor automatic cycling	Cycling speed adjustment

One last mode: When you’re in the multicolor cycling mode, when you shake it again, it will give you a fireworks mode. This is a cool party mode. You can adjust the speed of the fireworks by pressing and holding the top button as well.

Note: The fireworks mode is available only in the AlpenGlow 500 and not the AlpenGlow 250.)

On top of that, the AlpenGlow also has:

• Memory setting: It’ll remember the last mode you had on.

• Low power mode: Only the dimmest cool or warm white mode will be available, and only for an hour.

• Lock mode: Press and hold top button for 8 seconds. The lantern will flash twice, and then go off, meaning it’s locked. To unlock it, press and hold for another 8 seconds.

6. Battery Life / Run Times

How long do each of these light modes last? What is the battery life like? Here are my test results:

• Brightest cool white (full lantern): 5.25 hours

• Dimmest cool white (full lantern): 148.5 hours

• Dimmest cool white (half lantern): 203 hours

7. Battery Indicator Lights

The AlpenGlow lantern also has battery indicator lights at the bottom, so it’s pretty easy to tell how much battery you have left at any one time.

Here’s roughly what the battery lights indicated when I ran my dimmest run-time test:

• 4 lights: 100%

• 3 lights: 62%

• 2 lights: 48%

• 1 light: 27%

• 0 lights: 0%

8. Lumen Output

I used a lux meter to test the brightness of the BioLite AlpenGlow 500, and here are my results compared to the marketed specs:

• Brightest White: 690 lumens (Marketed: 500 lumens)

• Dimmest White: 7 lumens

• Brightest Warm: 640 lumens

• Dimmest Warm: 5 lumens (Marketed: 5 lumens)

9. Shine Distance

I used the same lux meter to test the shine distance on the brightest setting as well, and found that it came in at about 10.8 feet or 3.3 meters.

That’s about the size of a 24-person tent, which is very impressive.

The frosting of the lantern is really high quality, which helps to diffuse the light outwards and spread it out nicely.

10. Hook

There’s a metal hook at the bottom of the AlpenGlow lantern, which is useful for hanging at the top of your tent for top-down light.

11. IPX Rating

The BioLite AlpenGlow lantern has an IPX4 rating, which means that it can withstand splashing water and is splashproof, but cannot be submerged in water.

I tested it out in 30 minutes of heavy rain, drenched the entire lantern from head to toe to see it can withstand rain, and it’s still working great after.

I found that water seeped in to the sides of the ports, cos the seal on the ports weren’t tight enough. I see why it can’t be submerged or put through too much heavy rain.

12. Drop Testing

I also drop-tested my AlpenGlow multiple times from hand height, and it’s held up.

13. Portability

The AlpenGlow 500 comes in at 14.5 ounces, or 412 grams.

It measures about 3.6 x 3.6 x 5.4 inches, which is about 9.1 x 9.1 x 13.7 centimeters.

14. Pros, Cons, Recommendations

Pro 1: Large battery capacity

The AlpenGlow 500 has one of the biggest internal batteries of any rechargeable lantern I have, giving it a fantastic power bank feature. It comes in at 6,400 mAh, and I could charge my phone fully almost twice.

Pro 2: Impressive shine radius

On top of that, the frosted globe on this AlpenGlow was so high quality, that it gave me a very impressive shine radius that can light up even a 24-person tent on the brightest mode.

Pro 3: Warm and cool lights

I also really love that there’s not just a functional cool light, a very cozy night-time warm white light too.

So many of my other lanterns come with only one light color, so that’s either a cool light, a warm light, or somewhere in between. There usually isn’t an option to go from cool, to warm color, or vice versa.

Thankfully, my AlpenGlow 500 has the best of both worlds. And of course, it beats all my other lanterns in the colorful modes as well, with every color of the rainbow, and more, and even a super neat fireworks mode. You’re literally spoiled for choice here.

Note: One bad thing here is that it takes 30-60 minutes to learn how to use lanterns like this. But I still typically prefer this to easy-to-use lanterns. For example, check out my review on the Coleman Rugged 400 Rechargeable Lantern – super easy to use, but so lacking in features that I never actually use it.

Pro 4: Accurate run-times

The run-times on this AlpenGlow are also very accurate, and very decent as well, with all the info you need summarized in this table:

Brightness	Official Specs	My Testing	Leftover Power
Brightest Cool White (Full)	5 hours	5.25 hours	6 hours on dimmest
Dimmest Cool White (Half)	200 hours	203 hours	None
Dimmest Cool White (Full)	Not specified	148.5 hours	None

Pro 5: Completely adjustable brightness

I also love that I have complete control over the lumen output, going all the way from just a mere 7-lumens, to a whopping 690-lumens, and I can stop anywhere in between.

I would have liked to be able to control the brightness in the different color modes as well, but you can’t do that.

Con 1: 1-year warranty

The warranty period is only 1-year, which isn’t very generous, but there is lifetime support.

The support team was great, and got back to me within just one working day when I had issues with my AlpenGlow 500. (We fixed this in the end.)

Con 2: No SOS, strobe, or pulses

Despite all the cool color modes, there isn’t like an emergency strobe or pulse light that you can use to call for help.

Overall Recommendation of the AlpenGlow Rechargeable Lantern

Because of that, this is no survival lantern that you should use for venturing into the wild.

The BioLite AlpenGlow lanterns are more of fun, party lanterns that you can bring along on car camping trips at established campsites.

And for myself, because of all the light modes and lighting options, I’ve actually been using it at home, and every single day at that, cos I love the colorful modes so much, which made this versatile lantern such a worthwhile purchase.

15. Bonus – MUST Read!

If you want to find out how the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 compares to 11 other rechargeable tent lights, check out this blog post right here for all the info you may need.

Otherwise, check out the BioLite AlpenGlow 500: