Re: [Paddlewise] LED Camp Lantern

> 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.

The problem lies more with wholesalers, like Walmart procurement office
located you know where, importing no-name products, rather in manufacturers.
Though, with hundreds of thousands of manufacturers existing now in China
this is manufcturers' problem too (nobody knows exactly - how many, this
statistics is same unreliable as their quality control with these barely
known companies).  The Brunton LED lantern that I mentioned is made in China
too - this is where all big corporations are moving their manufacturing now,
unfortunately, - but at least this is some brand.

As a rule of thumb, 1 or 2 WT of total consumed power in LED should be
enough for reading under directional light, like headlamp.  With LED
lanterns it's hard to tell, as lanterns are not directional and therefore
require MUCH MORE light output to provide enough light in specific sector
where you need it for reading, and LED bulbs ARE directional, and therefore
aren't suitable for a good lantern, so this is a no-win situation, resulting
in having LED number in a decent lantern at least 6 and 8.  My impression is
that 4 * 1  Watt LED is the minimum power that can be used for reading in
lantern layout  provided it has an ADEQUATE REFLECTOR - which many even
reputable LED models don't always have, not to mention no-name products.

I don't think that reliability of AA batteries is a concern.  Again,
reliable and more expensive brands of rechargeable AA is the solution,
although not 100% fail-proof one, and a pack of 4 alcaline AA will make it
almost 100% fail-proof.  There is really not much need in hand-wind system
unless in a VERY long wilderness trip where you just can't carry enough
batteries, and/or for some reason need to use a radio and lantern a lot (the
latter scenario is more plausible during power outages at home, than in
wilderness).
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