Has anyone tried Internova lanterns?

Subterrestrial

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Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has had any experience with Internova lanterns? Amazon is not a good resource since literally everyone posting reviews for every single one of their products received one for the purposes of testing and review.

Just by looking at them, I can already tell you what I don't like about them: no frosting on the globe or seemingly any other type of diffusion, just raw LEDs pointing straight out. None the less, morbid curiosity behooves me to investigate. Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GIKGUAY/?tag=cpf0b6-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GK1E8B4/?tag=cpf0b6-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GGOFK6M/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Thanks!
 

Lynx_Arc

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Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has had any experience with Internova lanterns? Amazon is not a good resource since literally everyone posting reviews for every single one of their products received one for the purposes of testing and review.

Just by looking at them, I can already tell you what I don't like about them: no frosting on the globe or seemingly any other type of diffusion, just raw LEDs pointing straight out. None the less, morbid curiosity behooves me to investigate. Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GIKGUAY/?tag=cpf0b6-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GK1E8B4/?tag=cpf0b6-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GGOFK6M/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Thanks!

The LEDs look like COB and don't really need diffusion as they are already rather floody. As for the Amazon reviews I would take them with a grain of salt as most of them appear to be "given" the lanterns for free to review and there is a lack of negative reviews and comments from what I've seen. As much as I like COB LEDs, I'm still not completely sold on them due to the fact that they haven't been out there for that long and I haven't really seen anyone really test their longevity plus their efficiency. I have two cheap COB 3AAA "penlights" that are nice and bright but the flood pattern is sort of banded you notice it some on walls when you move it and there is yellowish streaks to the output.

I say if the technology is sound that others will make COB lanterns too. Personally I would rather have a CREE XML2 or XPL based lantern as I'm guessing they have considerably better lumens/watt efficiency especially on high and I sort of wonder how these COB arrays handle the long term heat without losing brightness quickly.
 

Subterrestrial

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Hey Lynx, thanks for the info on COB LEDs! AFAIK Internova is the only manufacturer using them in lanterns at the moment. I genuinely want to like the Yeti, if only because the hexagonal top and base remind me of a Japanese lantern.

I don't know.... I may have to pick one up to test and if I do I'll try to post a review. They are a bit pricey for that though....
 

Lynx_Arc

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Hey Lynx, thanks for the info on COB LEDs! AFAIK Internova is the only manufacturer using them in lanterns at the moment. I genuinely want to like the Yeti, if only because the hexagonal top and base remind me of a Japanese lantern.

I don't know.... I may have to pick one up to test and if I do I'll try to post a review. They are a bit pricey for that though....

Personally I'm working on modding an incan lantern to LED powered by 18650s as I've grown to hate alkaline batteries and dislike alkaline D cells because of the cost of them makes you not want to use what is powered by them as you end up paying 5-10 dollars each time the batteries die on you. I've grown used to rechargeable batteries using them encourages me to use devices powered by them as much as I want to.
 

Subterrestrial

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I'm working on distancing myself from alkaleaks as much as possible. I've found NiMH batteries work fine for my purposes and they definitely pay for themselves in short order.

Anyway, hopefully you can post some pics of your incan mod when it's finished!
 

Lynx_Arc

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I'm working on distancing myself from alkaleaks as much as possible. I've found NiMH batteries work fine for my purposes and they definitely pay for themselves in short order.

Anyway, hopefully you can post some pics of your incan mod when it's finished!
Probably be awhile as I'm currently unemployed so hobbies that require money are all on hold.
 

Subterrestrial

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Not sure who's actually make these for Inova, but apparently they're also making them for Mighty Power. They have a version of the lantern Inova sells as the Yeti (same housing, COB LEDs, etc) for half the price. Still rife with the usual "I received this item free or at a discount in exchange for an honest review" people. :shrug:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E6430CU/?tag=cpf0b6-20
 

Stereodude

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Not sure who's actually make these for Inova, but apparently they're also making them for Mighty Power. They have a version of the lantern Inova sells as the Yeti (same housing, COB LEDs, etc) for half the price. Still rife with the usual "I received this item free or at a discount in exchange for an honest review" people. :shrug:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E6430CU/?tag=cpf0b6-20
I bought a red Mighty Power. I'm planning to include it in my lantern shootout. Unfortunately, my Tenergy Centura D cells are on back order for a few weeks. :sigh:
 
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Stereodude

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I bought a red Mighty Power. I'm planning to include it in my lantern shootout. Unfortunately, my Tenergy Centura D cells are on back order for a few weeks. :sigh:
So the Mighty Power pulls about 4.5A at 6.0V on high. Of course Alkaleaks can't push that much current and hold 6.0V. At 5.0V which would be more like fresh NiMH cells it pulls ~3.4A. It's really bright. It has PWM dimming, but it's pretty high frequency. It's not constant current regulated.

Oh yeah, it ships with Zinc-Carbon Heavy Duty batteries. :shakehead
 

Subterrestrial

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I'm dying to know how crappy the compass is on top. I realize this type of compass isn't going to be super accurate to begin with (and it's usually not what you buy it for anyway), but they compass on top of my XtremeBright lantern is hilariously bad. Not even a ballpark reading, it just points where ever it wants.
 

Stereodude

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I'm dying to know how crappy the compass is on top. I realize this type of compass isn't going to be super accurate to begin with (and it's usually not what you buy it for anyway), but they compass on top of my XtremeBright lantern is hilariously bad. Not even a ballpark reading, it just points where ever it wants.
Well, the compass works. It points North. If you spin the lantern a bit to mess it up it swings back North.
 

Subterrestrial

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So I picked up the Internova Yeti 800 as a flash deal on Amazon back in December and only just got around to playing with it tonight. The first thing I noticed when installing batteries was that one of the battery terminals in the endcap was installed the wrong way. With the spring terminal pointed at the anode of one cell, that leaves the other just floating freely in it's tube. That's not going to work. I'd apparently just missed the return window, too. What I ended up doing was taking my pocket knife and shaving off the tops of the little tabs holding it down, removing and reinstalling it correctly. Works fine now and even stays in place, though I may have to glue it down in the future. Here's some quick thoughts on this lantern:

PROS

-COB emitters are bright but not very glarey.

-Great mode spacing. Four modes instead of the three you'd usually get from a lantern in this class. Low mode is actually low enough to be usable as a tent light. Even medium is not bad for when lower lighting levels are needed.

-Good reflector design.

-Overall the design and styling of the lantern is more impressive to me than most other lanterns.


CONS

-QC :fail:

-The hook in the base does not pivot from the center, so it hangs sort of cockeyed.

-It does have a sturdy bail which could be used for hanging right-side up, but I feel like it could benefit from hanging a hook on the top (as long as it's centered).


Still I am impressed, probably in part because I got it cheaply. I'm taking it camping next month which I suppose will be the real test.
 
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