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See the 16 tests

1. In the box
2. Handle
3. Hand crank
4. Charging cable
5. Charging time
6. Adjustable light & knob
7. Lumen output
8. Run times
9. Shine radius
10. Light quality
11. Emergency lighting
12. Battery life indicator
13. Charging out
14. Fold down legs
15. Durability
16. Portability
17. Pros, cons, recommendations
18. Bonus – MUST read!

In the Box

I bought my Lighthouse 600 about 2 years ago. The box holds just the lantern and a user guide.

It arrives in demo mode. To wake it, turn the hand crank three times quickly, enough for the blue battery indicator to light up.

Handle

A thin, removable wire handle lets me hang this lantern almost anywhere.

Hand Crank

There’s a dynamo hand crank at the top, and it turns either way.

• Claimed output 1 min of cranking = 10 min of light on lowat 120 rounds per minute

Mine didn’t work at all, though — no amount of cranking produced any power. I’m waiting on a replacement so I can re-test it.

Charging Cable

The pre-attached cable loops around the lantern and measures just under 9 inches — a little short for such a big lantern.

Charging Time

Plug the pre-attached cable into any USB port or socket.

• Full charge 6.5 hrs

Adjustable Light & Knob

Turn the knob left for the front half of the lantern, right for the full lantern. All the instructions are printed on the lantern itself.

The knob turns almost 180 degrees either way, which makes the brightness easy to control.

Lumen Output

Goal Zero claims 600 lumens max, hence the name. My lux meter measured otherwise:

• Maximum brightness (full lantern) 985 lumensmarketed 600 lumens
• Minimum brightness (half lantern) 2 lumens

Run Times

• Brightest mode (full lantern) 3 hrs
• Brightest mode (half lantern) 5.5 hrs
• Dimmest mode (full lantern) Under 200 hrs
• Dimmest mode (half lantern) 355 hrs

Shine Radius

On the brightest setting the shine radius came in at a whopping 13.3 feet in every direction — enough to light a tent for almost 30 people, which is basically a small campsite.

Light Quality

• Color temperature 3,200 Kelvinon the warmer side

I love warm light, but the globe isn’t frosted enough and it felt too glaring at times on the brighter settings.

Emergency Lighting

Press the red triangle button on the bottom and the top of the lantern starts blinking. It isn’t the most attention-grabbing from far away, but it’s better than nothing.

Battery Life Indicator

The battery indicator sits just above the emergency button. I found it accurate in most tests, except the dimmest-setting run-time test.

Charging Out

The regulated USB port charges small devices like phones. Here’s what I got with my iPhone:

• Capacity 5,200 mAh
• Output 5V 1.5A
• Day 1 82% charge in 2.25 hrs
• Day 2 42% charge in 1 hr
• Total 124% charge
• Leftover light None

Fold Down Legs

The fold-down legs give you two things — you can prop the lantern up for more spread, and balance it on a slope.

Durability

The Lighthouse 600 has no IPX rating, because the pre-attached USB cable and port are fully exposed to the elements.

I dropped it from hand height and nothing broke, not even the outer hard-plastic globe — a pleasant surprise given the weight. Goal Zero gives a 2-year warranty.

Portability

• Weight 19.75 oz
• Packed size 4.75 x 4.25 x 6.25 in

Pros, Cons, Recommendations

Now, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600?

Very feature-rich

This is my only Goal Zero lantern with a hand crank, my only one with red emergency lights, and one of the few with collapsible legs — stable ones at that.

Great light adjustment

It runs from a mere 2 lumens, which works as a nightlight, all the way to almost 1,000 lumens. The knob’s near-180-degree travel makes that whole range easy to dial in.

Super bright

The highest output came in at 985 lumens, not the marketed 600.

Note The next brightest lanterns I own don’t come close — the Ledlenser ML6 (720 lumens) and the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 (690 lumens).

Unless you’re lighting a campsite you don’t need that much, but it’s genuinely useful in an emergency.

Directional lighting

Lighting only half the lantern is an ingenious way to conserve battery, especially on high power — it nearly doubles the run time.

Incredible shine radius

Of all my rechargeable lanterns this one has the largest shine area, and it can light up any size tent you’d use for car camping.

Hand crank not working

Mine simply didn’t work, which really disappointed me — it’s the unique feature I most wanted to test.

Hand crank not the most efficient

You have to spin it at 120 rounds per minute, and I’m not very strong, so I can’t keep it up. A couple of minutes in and I’m tired. Stocking up on external batteries is far easier.

Heavy and bigger

At 19.75 oz it’s a heavy lantern, and my biggest by packed size.

Not waterproof

No IPX rating. Put it through rain and water gets in — and won’t get back out.

Expensive

It’s on the pricier side. I paid about $70 for mine back in 2023.

Can be more frosted

A smaller con: the inner globe could be more frosted so it isn’t so glaring.

Bonus – MUST Read!

Every figure above is from my own testing — measured by hand, bought with my own money.