Lantern recommendations

[BobK]

For my boat camping trips with others along, I like to have a lantern. I've had a small "camping gaz" unit for 25 years and it has served me well. It has one mantle (finicky to get started - especially with a new mantle), but it puts out lots of light and is relatively quiet. Unfortunately I can't find the "GT 106" blue canisters anymore. I'd love to have a recommendation for a source for those old style canisters (all metal about 3.5" diameter and 2" high, that pierces the top and can't be removed once inserted. I also have a rarely used stove that uses CV 206 canisters, about 4" high).

Failing a source for the replacement canisters, it may be time to purchase a more current unit. I have a candle lantern for backpacking, and am very happy with my new LED headlamp.

I searched this forum and found a recommendation for a Primus unit which I have never seen. The few shops I looked at had small lantern "heads" with one mantle that screw on to propane canisters, and could either stand on the gas can, or be suspended. One was by Century, another be Coleman. There was also stove "heads" that use the same gas can. These look good for canoe camping and I was wondering if anyone could recommend these, and which brand was better.

I also saw larger 2 mantle units that fit the same gas cans. One had a pushbutton starter (no matched needed).

I'm open to battery powered units (in spite of their weight) as long as the light output is high, and one set (charge for rechargables) would last for about 10 hours.

I am not a car camper so size & packaging for trips is important.

Recommendations, including where to find the items appreciated. I live in the Albany/Saratoga area.

 

[jbrown]

Well, I have no idea what the "GT 106" canisters are, but I'll throw in my 2 pennies here (that's U.S. currency...)

On a fiew trips several years ago when I was still using my single burner propane stove for hiking, my cousin brought a Century Mighty-Lite Single Mantle Propane Lantern with him. This thing will throw out a ton of light for something the size of a normal light bulb. It doesn't weigh much itself, the main heft of the system is the canisters.

 

[Rick]

Bob, I think you'll like what you are going to hear.
Coleman bought out Camping Gaz and, as you are already aware, discontinued that model and those canisters.

If you call them 800# (try toll Free directory assistance for Coleman Corp 800-555-1212), they will provide an address and if you ship the old lantern, they will replace it (FOR FREE) with a new Camping Gaz lantern with auto ignition that uses the new blue canisters.

It is quite a nice lantern - I got my FREE replacement 2 years ago it is very small and portable. I keep it in the pantry now for when the power goes out.

Good luck
Rick

 

[snowshoe]

I have always liked my coleman white gas lantern. They last forever and you can easily get replacement parts. I forget the name of it but it is the one you can get at Walmart. I have had one since I was little and it still works great.

 

[charlos]

some friends of mine have the single mantle primus lantern which fits onto msr, primus, etc fuel cannisters.
its small size and sturdy plastic case is a plus.
its available at most of the outdoor stores in my area, Campmor, ems, etc, runs at about $ 40.

 

[imarchant]

some friends of mine have the single mantle primus lantern which fits onto msr, primus, etc fuel cannisters.
its small size and sturdy plastic case is a plus.
its available at most of the outdoor stores in my area, Campmor, ems, etc, runs at about $ 40.

I have this lantern also. The canisters are a Butane/propane mix. They are light compared to propane. Mine also has the built in ignitor. The down side is the lantern only works well when it is warm (about 40 degrees or above). The stoves that use this fuel work down to temperature a little lower. I think that the heat from the stove radiates down and helps warm the canister to keep the pressure up, this is not the case with the lantern. As a note, this is one of the first things I leave behind if I am trying to lighten my load.

 

[peak_bgr]

I have the Century lantern that screws into a propane canister, that also lights my stove. It works pretty well and without a campfire to light most of the way, lantern sales should have sky rocketed in the area.

 

[rtrimarc]

one more ??

I just purchased the Primus Micron lantern. 4.4oz, steel globe. I bought it online, and i am still waiting for it. Anyway, i bought it hoping it will fit the same fuel canister as my MSR Superfly. I have a few canoe trips and the N'ville/Placid trail trip coming up, and having 2 appliances that use the same fuel source seems to make sense.

Anyway, there was no indication on the net whether the Primus will use MSR fuel canister or not(i am hoping). I know the Superfly is fairly flexible as far as the canisters it will use.

Anyway, does anyone have the Micron and have they used it on MSR canisters? Will the superfly take a Primus canister?

Thanks all.

RVT

 

[imarchant]

Fuels

Primus, MSR, Campinggaz (new style) and Peak 1 Blended fuel all use the same threads on the canisters and are interchangeable. The difference is in the fuel blends. The engineer in me compelled me to do a comparison. Here are the blends. I also have more detailed information such as gross and net weights and calories/containter, heats of combustion, vapor pressure, etc.
PM or email me if you want me to send the spreadsheet.

FUEL NAME..........PROPANE....BUTANE.....ISOBUTANE
MSR ISOPRO............20%..............0%................80%
PRIMUS..................20%.............70%...............10%
COLEMAN PEAK 1.....30%.............70%.................0%
CAMPINGGAZ...........20%.............80%.................0%

 

[bobmak]

Here's something I just found you may want to check out. I haven't heard any reviews on this yet... has anyone had the opportunity to use one?

Brunton Liberty

 

[MichaelJ]

re: Brunton Liberty

I'll let you know what I think of it after this weekend. Guy at the store swore by them. Nice thing is no glass, and it goes right onto the same MSR iso cartridge that my stove uses.

 

[bob m]

Primus fuel/winter mix

The down side is the lantern only works well when it is warm (about 40 degrees or above). The stoves that use this fuel work down to temperature a little lower.

After a disasterous trip last November when I belatedly discovered the Primus/temperature problem I've started using the Primus "Winter Mix." It worked quite well at -5°F this past April.
bob m.

 

[BobK]

Leep it coming

Thanks for all the input. First of all, unlike what Rich had found, Coleman now wants $20 each to exchange the old Campingaz lantern (or stove) for newer ones, including switching from the Campingaz style to ones that use the "3250" cartridge. I am holding off on a decision as I have no rush (and 2 more old canisters for each device).

At Campmor, they told me all the gas cartridges are interchangable except the Campingaz, which has a slightly different valve/fitting. They had a large selection with different brands & sizes. While most will apparently fit other devices, one web site indicated that sub-par performance will result from an off-design fuel mix.

The Liberty looks neat (and reportedly bright with it's platinum screen vs. a mantle), but it's heavier than other mantle style units and about $100. The Primus looks like the best combo of price, performance & weight.

I'm definitely looking for a stove & lantern which use the same canister style. There are numerous canister sizes so even for multiday trips you can tailor your fuel. A small one as a backup wouldn't be too much to carry.

 

[KayakDan]

BobM,please tell me if I missed something. What's Primus winter mix. I use Primus fuel for camping year round. Is there a special winter fuel from Primus that I'm not aware of?

I recently bought MSR fuel when my EMS store ran out of Primus. I think it's more difficult to fire up with the piezo ignition than the Primus fuel,particularly when it's cool(below 55-60) Anybody else had the same result?

Those Brunton mantleless lamps look great. I hate dealing with the mantles on the Primus lamps. Looking forward to a field test result.

 

[imarchant]

BobM,please tell me if I missed something. What's Primus winter mix. I use Primus fuel for camping year round. Is there a special winter fuel from Primus that I'm not aware of?

I recently bought MSR fuel when my EMS store ran out of Primus. I think it's more difficult to fire up with the piezo ignition than the Primus fuel,particularly when it's cool(below 55-60) Anybody else had the same result?

I also have never heard of or seen the Primus "winter mix".

Interesting about the MSR fuel at lower temperatures, my analysis of the fuels predicts the MSR as the best performer at lower temperatures. I have not done any field testing. I have only used Peak 1 fuel. It is the cheapest. I believe the MSR is the most expensive.

 

[rtrimarc]

Primus received

I received my Primus yesterday, and it seems great. Yeah, the mantles are a pain, and you have to carry spares since they are so fragile, but 4.4 oz, fits the MSR canister(yet to test it but i will probably buy one of each brand of canister and test 1 each nite on my upcoming canoe trip when weight doesn't meant that much. Or maybe in my backyard.), and both the stove AND the lantern fit in the supplied sack, and both fit in my MSR Stowaway Pot.

This is going to be very convenient, I can't wait to play! Having them both use the same fuel is a treat. The stove and lantern, not including fuel are total less than 10 oz. Fuel(1 canister), stove, lantern and Stowaway pot are about 2 lbs.

 

[MichaelJ]

Brunton Liberty field test

So I used the Liberty up at Hancock Campground this past weekend. What I found was a mix of good and bad points. I should note that I used an MSR IsoPro canister, and that it's likely that different fuel blends will produce different results.

The lantern does work as advertised. It's quick to fire up and easy to adjust to a bright point of light. In the darkness, the light it provided was good enough to putter around the campsite or in the tent (pointing in through the doorway from outside, of course).

The drawbacks? It doesn't get too white; rather, it's a pale yellow. It was much more of an ambient light than a focused light. But I think the biggest issue I had with it is that it's a very bright point of light - there's no globe to diffuse it - and so when that spot was in my field of view, the natural eye reaction caused me see everything else as darker (ie, lose my night vision).

So it depends on what you're looking for. Because of the spot-of-light effect, even though it's bright enough to put on a table and use to read or play cards, that might be difficult if you can't orient yourself just right.

But if you're already carrying an appropriate gas canister, would like a little light around the camp or a lean-to shelter, don't want to try to carry a more fragile "traditional" design, and can afford the 10oz, this is a pretty decent gadget. It's well-made and looks like it will last pretty much forever.

 

[KayakDan]

MichaelJ,thanks for the report. I think I will give it a go for kayak camping,where the weight isn't an issue. It will be interesting to see how it burns with Primus vs MSR.
Besides...being a hopeless gear junkie(as is my wife!)...I gotta have it!