Coleman 3AA MicroPacker LED Lantern
Coleman 3AA MicroPacker LED Lantern
Coleman 3AA MicroPacker LED Lantern Reviews
I bought 2 of these lanterns as opposed to the older cheaper yellow model. This has the newest generation of LED bulbs which is brighter than the older models -but the battery life is a lot shorter. It’s pretty compact and fairly well made. Light is very bright, especially close to lantern. The biggest complaint is that the light is very uneven and streaky. This may be due to the cone like reflector design. I use it in my tent and really need to play with positioning to avoid getting blasted with a streak of light in my eye. I may get some of the older yellow style lanterns to see if a lower level but more even distribution of light would be a better trade off for brighter level but very uneven distribution of light.
This is a great emergency area light, especially for those of us in hurricane country. It uses a cree LED so it’s very bright. The size is just perfect for carrying in your hand and operating the control switch. The initial activation produces the brightest light level. A second push takes it down a notch, and then a third push changes it to the strobe mode.
The brightest level will light up an entire room very well. The low setting will light up the room but it’s notably not as bright. Still more than adequate for navigating through it though. The strobe is very bright and runs at about 2Hz. It should be visible for miles in a dark countryside.
I particularly liked the sliding reflector on the back side. It changes the light emission from a full 360 to a more forward projection, making it more like a flashlight… but not quite. But it does indeed make it much more effective when sitting it on a mantle or hanging from a tree just to have the light project in the direction of the room or camp. In any case, you can control this just by sliding the reflector up or down into the hidden area in the base.
The three AA batteries fit into a round battery holder which is inserted back into the base from the bottom. The holder seems to be made well and contact springs have very adequate pressure. The interface contacts between the holder and the light are flat spring-loaded pads. Shaking the light quickly did not result in any flickering so I’ve determined that they connections are fairly solid/reliable.
All-in-all, it is a very good light at a great price. It fits in the hand well and is easy to use (and control) with one hand.
Leave a Reply