Gear Aid FLUX Rechargeable LED Light and Power Station

Editor’s Pick: Best Overall Portable Lighting System

There’s no better match for vehicle-supported, paddle-in or sled-in adventures than the Gear Aid FLUX. The 20,800 mAh battery encased in a durable shell fuels area lighting as well as specialty lighting to shoot photos, repair vehicles and gear and create a field hospital in the case of emergency. Priced at about $150, this is more a tool of the adventure trade than a casual lighting device, even though there’s no reason not to barbecue under its warm glow.

Tester Comments: “Stunning. Not only with 640 lumens of pure, reliable illumination but also with mounting options designed for every imaginable scenario. Apart from lacking a full-immersion waterproof rating, this is the serious adventurer’s ticket to after-dark dominance. Every dollar is worth it and there’s no substitute for the (optional) Claw RAM Mount.”

Black Diamond Moji Charging Station

Winner: Best Recreational Lantern

Stop shopping and start lighting the way with this stunner from Black Diamond Equipment. Despite the pure modern lines of the light, a serious 5200 mAh lithium-ion heart fuels plenty of recharging and generous runtimes at up to 205 lumens max output. If there’s one LED lantern that’s a guaranteed winner for gift-giving – even to less-adventurous friends and relatives – this is the one.

Tester Comment: “Joy, pure joy, I’m not kidding. Here’s a light to use everywhere including at home, state park and on major road trips. Black Diamond thought of everything with a light and device charging station that doesn’t sacrifice a clean, polished finished for in-the-wild capability."

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Goal Zero Lighthouse Mini USB Rechargeable Lantern

Winner: Best Campground-to-Backcountry Lantern

Between two-sided lighting options and plenty of ways to fill up with power, the Goal Zero Lighthouse 250 offers a total package to frequent outdoor travelers as well as backyard recreationalists. While the top crank system adds weight and some (minor) bulk, the ability to stay out longer in the absence of USB recharging adds piece of mind to weekend, road-trip and paddle-in adventurers.

Tester Comments: “Some LED lanterns are nice additions to the kit. This one has become an essential tool for small and large groups alike. Take some headlamps along to give each camper greater freedom, but put this one on the table or hang it from a tree branch to add a sense of hospitality and safety to any gathering during most any season of the year.”

Buying Options

Black Diamond Apollo Lantern

The Black Diamond Apollo Lantern turns a proven design platform into ready lighting both for tandem travels as well as groups up to six. Small and light enough for shared use on backpacking trips, the LED lantern makes the most of common, AA batteries in cases where rechargeables are difficult to find or maintain. Output to 200 lumens is easily managed with the thumb switch as the lighting level is adjusted up and down. And stays locked in when Apollo is turned off and back on again.

Tester Comments: “The 200 lumens max output from Apollo pushes well out from the light to solidly illuminate a 22’-diameter campsite. We liked it as a combination group and individual lantern that moved from the dining area into our tent for reading and card playing once the others wandered back to their tents. If there’s a need for night security, dropping the lantern down to about 30-40 lumens is enough to keep campers from tripping over tent guy lines, firewood and cook pots.”

Brunton Lightwave Amp Lantern

The Lightwave Amp system is one of Brunton’s most ambitious, consumer-facing products in the company’s history, one that drew Active Junky testers like moths to the flame (or campers to the LED glow, at least). A large part of the magnetism comes from the pumping projection of sound from the lantern’s tripod base. Combined with 700 lumens of truly useful illumination, the LED lantern lands in campsite or at a festival ready to transform the group’s experiment, pulse by pulse.

Tester Comments: “We had to include this one. No wonder, as nearly every outdoor tech device contains a hybrid combo of elements such as speaker, charging station, beer opener or dog waterer. This one’s no exception, and has functions attached to it that are more Sharper Image than backwoods beacon. With all that’s going on, Brunton manages to extract worthwhile performance and avoid pure spectacle (although the total light and sound effect is impressive).”

Coleman Conquer Spin 550L Rechargeable LED Lantern

This is the one we’ve been hoping Coleman Company would bring to the marketplace. Meaning, a bright-shining, long-running LED lantern that’s fully rechargeable at home and on the road. While the venerable cook system and lighting brand continues to experiment with technologies and power systems, this camp lantern stands out as ready for prime-time today. 

Tester Comments: “Coleman did the right thing with this model, one we like for frequent and heavy-duty use. The cabin is where it shines brightly, knowing we’ve got to plan for regular recharging as max runtime at 550 lumens is about four hours. The low, 50 lumen level is ideal to leave on late into the night for campers navigating the cabin or campsite after everyone’s tucked in.”

Buying Options

Coleman QuadPro 800L LED Lantern

At a little over $100, this Coleman lantern equips the entire camp with efficient lighting. With four, clip-off light panels housed in the base unit, the Coleman QuadPro 800L LED Lantern is more about flexibility than a streamlined look or lightweight camp lantern to take on the trail. Active Junky sees a place for this one in the kit when going backcountry is not the objective. 

Tester Comment: “I ended up being the hero with this one. While my buddies had only seen Coleman’s propane and gas lanterns, the QuadPro 800L gave them a new appreciation for this Old School standby brand. Handing out the four LED panels gave everyone a chance to experiment with in-tent lighting – and magnetically attach them during early and late rod prep for trout fishing.”

Princeton Tec Helix Backcountry Rechargeable

Princeton Tec is ready to become a new favorite with their eyes focused on the future. With the on-board swipe controls, adjusting Helix is more like flying a spaceship than fumbling with a camping lantern with few features and little innovation. For Active Junky testers, the ability to attach the LED lantern in nearly any position compensated for the limited beam distance of the well-diffused, 150 lumens max output camp lamp itself. According to testers, this one is definitely cleared for take-off.

Tester Comment: “The collapsible diffuser is simply one component of a well-conceived alternative to traditional camp, pack and travel lanterns. I favored being able to repeatedly press the center of the swipe area to tune the illumination level. Also, a huge fan of the red light to preserve night vision when taking Helix out for a North Star-guided ‘stroll’ at 2am.”