Two warm/NW lanterns - available in USA

Phaserburn

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Mar 30, 2003
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Yes, I was surprised to find that there were two lanterns that advertise either a warm or neutral white tint easily available in the US. So... of course I bought them both!

Mr. Beams Lantern MB480


http://www.mrbeams.com/products/lantern/mb480-mr-beams-portable-led-lantern-with-usb-charger.html

Bushnell Rubicon Lantern A350L

http://www.bushnell.com/all-products/outdoor-technology/rubicon-lighting/a350l-lantern

I just received them, so a few quick impressions:

Mr. Beams - the brand name threw me off as hokey, but I have tried some of their motion sensor led wireless lights and found them to be good value. So, I figured why not, as they get good reviews, and lots of them, on Amazon. I got the white one (it comes in green as well). It advertised a NW emitter, and low and behold, it does indeed have one (actually, a cluster of three). The tint is very, very nice. It does have just a touch of glare, but not bad at all. The outer globe is clear, and the inner cone over the leds is frosted. It's a bit bigger than a Remington/clones. Only has max and low outputs, which is fine by me, although med would be nice. It also has a working usb charge port, so you can charge phones etc. Claims are that 4 alk D's will charge an iphone etc approx. 4 times. That's a nice feature. Build quality is on par with Remingtons, but a small touch under Streamlight Siege. UI is max, low (20 lumens), off. $28.75 delivered via Amazon Prime. Two for 52, a good deal.

Bushnell - This lantern is also 4D, and a bit larger than the mr beams, but smaller than Coleman offerings, so a size 'tweener. Build quality is decent, similar to most others out there. The tint is warm white (not neutral), and it's a really nice warm at that. No sickly looking tint here. The outer globe is clear, and the inner led tube is frosted. No glare. UI is max, med, low, off. But wait, there's more! This lantern has two unique tricks up it's sleeve. #1: a ring of red leds with an independent control button for night vision enthusiasts; works well, and looks slick. #2: There is a control ring around the lantern that, when turned, changes the direction of the led light engine (P60ish looking in size, w/ reflector) from shining directly up into the frosted tube to directly out the side behind a plastic window. This turns the lantern into a flashlight, with a pretty good floody warm tinted beam (which also has the max, med, low levels). The Bushnell has a very rugged styling that looks good, befitting the name Rubicon (would go well with your jeep Wrangler). It also has a smaller 4AA sibling. I didn't get than one (yet), as I'm not sure it can stand on it's own without using folding tripod legs. A bit pricier at $41.
 
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Poppy

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Phaserburn,
Thanks for posting these.

I like the concept of that Bushnell, with the added flexibility of a directed lighting option.

I have a 12 year old Energizer incandescent 2D Wide-Beam flashlight, that I soldered in a Cree XB-D emitter. it gives a idk 160 degree wide beam in a somewhat oval shape. Not too much light is lost to the sky. The reflector is smooth in some places, and orange peel in others, so that the beam is somewhat uniform, but it doesn't throw very far. I believe that in some situations, it may be better than a 360 degree lantern. I wonder if Brushnell would have done better to use a more oddly shaped reflector, than the typical P60 style. :whistle: just wondering.
 

martinaee

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I can't see the Mr. Beam, but the Bushnell one is pretty cool.

Poppy you're right. I don't know why that lantern/flashlight concept hasn't really been done (at least with led tech) much if at all. Being able to switch from 360 degree lighting to more directional lighting would be amazing. Some of the small emitters can easily do 300-400 lumens so that would be perfect. Maybe a single xp-g2 or a neutral Nichia like in my G2X with a really small reflector. I don't care if the lanterns are a little bigger. It would be amazing to incorporate several things in one like that, but still have them all function really well. Especially with 3-4 D cells that could easily be done.
 
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angerdan

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Can you pleas post some comparison images of the two together and maybe a incandescent light bulb?
 
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LEDAdd1ct

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For some reason, everything looks really strange on CPF this morning. The text is no longer neatly boxed and it is much harder to follow each party's post.

EDIT: Everything is okay now. :)

* * *

PhaserBurn, would you be willing to please provide current measurements for the Bushnell Rubicon?

I would truly appreciate it.
 
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liteningbug

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Jun 26, 2014
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Bushnell is claiming 2500 hours on ultra-low for that lantern--just how few lumens do they have it set at?!

(Of course, they don't list any lumen rating but their max.)
 
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