Light for camping

 LED Lantern

   Light for camping is changing a lot in the past decades.   The big thing is LED technology.  In 90’s, we were still using a candle for a light in a tent.  We just spent some time in a tent to talk and drink some alcohol beverage in a tent when we did backpacking.   At that time, LED is not an option for light in camping.  We were using a legacy “light bulb”.  Since the power dissipation was not small and we had to carry a few sets of spare batteries for backpacking.  That is one of reason we used to use a candle in a tent.  It was longer life and was good enough for a small tent.  Now, LED power dissipation is much smaller and we usually does not have to carry any spare battery if we install a brand new batteries and the duration of backpacking is not so long.   Probably a small LED lantern would be a good option using in a tent nowadays.   On the other hand, in a past decade, I did not have many chances to go backpacking with other people.  Also, only overnight hiking I had done was Mt. Whitney and Mt. Shasta, I usually left very early for the summit attempt.  Therefore, I was not awake in a dark during backpacking in a decade.  So that I really did not need any extra light other than my head lamp.

   However, a family camping is different.  In many cases, parents usually want to talk and drink alcohol beverage after dinner.  It is one of purpose and fun thing during a family camping.   Most of people get used to be very light environment in their daily life.  Even if they are in camping, people tend to desire bright light.   Also, the social event happens not in a tent, it is usually happen around a camp fire or a picnic table at a camp site.  Then people tend to carry a nice gas lantern, a large LED lantern and etc.   I only have a small LED lantern and it usually does not work well if people have a large lantern.  So I only use it in our tent only.  Actually only time we use it is preparing sleeping.  So it would be very short time.

Gas Lantern

 Gas Lantern

   It is very bright and reasonably lower running cost, one gas canister would be plenty for a few nights.  Only concern is it is using fire, therefore the gear gets hot.  It needs cooling down before packing.   The mantle is very sensitive and it is easy to broken.  So it is probably necessary to prepare a few spare since once it is broken, it does not work anymore unless it is replaced.   Also, due to high temperature around the mantle, the cover is usually glass.  So it needs to handle carefully including packing.

LED Lantern

   The power dissipation is much lower than a legacy light-bulb.  Therefore, we might need many spare battery for camping.  It might be better to use re-chargeable battery with solar panel.   Then, people do not worry about the power during the camping.  We might be able to charge during daytime.   A good thing is this type is not getting hot.  Therefore, it is much easy to handle and place almost anywhere.  Also, it is much safer than the gas lantern especially with some little kids.  I might consider to buy one for a family camping.

LED Head lamp

 LED Head lamp

   This is very good comparing with the legacy light-bulb.   When I was using this for running before sunrise, I did not have to replace the battery for a few months.  This means, as long as people put a brand new battery, they do not have to carry spare battery in many cases.  Even if people using it for a light in a tent, it might be all right just a short backpacking.   When I used a legacy light-bulb head lamp, I need to have a spare battery.  Especially if we really using it in a dark, we might need to replace the batteries during walking.   That is a big improvement in a past decade.