Re: [Paddlewise] LED Camp Lantern

On 8/17/07, Doug Lloyd <douglloyd_at_shaw.ca> wrote:
>
> Yeah, let us know how it works out. I looked around too for something
> wilderness/backcountry/kayak-tripping worthy earlier this week but came up
> empty handed.


Just back today from an overnighter at a very primitive beach camp at upper
Priest Lake in north Idaho (about 1.5 hours NE of Spokane). The setting was
beautiful and the kayak and canoe campers were absorbed easily by the
available beaches; the no-fire orders made it seem that there was no one
else around. If anyone is worried that paddling is moribund I can allay that
fear. Two weekends in a row at Priest Lake with more canoes and kayaks than
I've ever seen. Only one camp had a powerboat.

As to my new $42 lantern, perhaps it's my 60-year-old eyesight but I found
the Wal-Mart LED lantern somewhat difficult to see by for reading. Part of
the problem was finding a steady perch for the lantern behind my head so the
light would be cast on the book. I was in a tiny one-man tent and everything
I piled up to put the lantern on collapsed even though the lantern itself is
quite light. I reverted to the LED headband to read myself to sleep.

I still like the idea of a lantern and hope to find some kayak-transportable
stand that would help. The real plus for me is the hand-wind charging system
which means that batteries which so often fail would not doom reading myself
to sleep in camp.

So the search (for me) continues. I only wish that manufacturers of LED
devices could standardize on a light-measurement scheme (lumens, watts,
etc.) that would make it easier to compare them. The number of LEDs is quite
useless for comparison. This, of course, is hardly what the manufacturers
want.

I tried turning the sun on but I had misplaced my wand. :)


Craig Jungers
Royal City, WA
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