so sorry...but another camp light question
Submitted: Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 12:56
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Holiday Hound
We are trying to consolidate our
camp lights -more quality over quantity. We have a Northstar dual fuel which is great for cooking and having outside. We also have a little one that can be wound up which is good for emergencies, a torch and have just bought head torches for the kids.
Primarily we will be
bush camping, and on occasion- maybe a powered site.
However, we are trying to find a good light which can go inside a tent, give enough light to read under. It needs to be easy/fast to use and robust( kid factor). I dont mind if it is battery- however all of the battery ones we have had, never crack up to the claims of battery life.
We do not have a dual battery set up, so would rely on batteries or something that can be charged off our car. I have seen a lof of people suggesting LED lights, but the setups seem complicated..?!
any thoughts would be appreciated.
Reply By: MrBitchi (QLD) - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:25
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:25
I have a rechargeable 60 LED worklight that I use. It runs for about 4-5 hrs on a charge and is enough for general use. Has a 12v charger for recharging in the car. Can't tell you what the brand is, picked it up from the Caravan &
Camping show a couple of years ago.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Atta Boy Luther - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:30
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:30
narva inspection led light I use these narva hand held inspection lamps because they are robust , have a folding hook on the back that you can hang the light up by , no leads so take to the
toilet etc , rechargeable in 4 hours , spares available , leds so not insect attracting , its aussie owned , they are about 80 bucks .
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: dbish - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 14:13
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 14:13
Ausie owned but probably chinese made like alot of products.
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Follow Up By: Atta Boy Luther - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:15
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:15
Its just that i have found coleman stuff cheap and nasty , but the narva seems really tuff quality . I cannot fault it .
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Follow Up By: Holiday Hound - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:39
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:39
Thanks
How long would you get before you have to charge one?
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Follow Up By: Atta Boy Luther - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:49
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:49
4 hours of light and it takes 4 hours to recharge . I have 2 and the best thing is they dont have cords so you can carry them anywhere .
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Reply By: Mandrake - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:45
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:45
Try this -
4 part lantern
Concept is brilliant - price is a bit iffy - and not having rechargeable batteries in the main unit - sad !!
Cheers
Steve
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Follow Up By: Atta Boy Luther - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:50
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:50
chinese made rubbish , sorry .
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Follow Up By: Mandrake - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:57
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 13:57
Really ?? Chinese made rubbish ??
I don't suppose you have checked one out and tested it have you ?
I know a couple of guys that use this lantern for fishing with and for
their particular use they are very happy with it ..
Cheers
Mandrake
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Follow Up By: Atta Boy Luther - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 14:10
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 14:10
Statement retracted then .
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Reply By: Von Helga - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 14:02
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 14:02
Holiday Hound,
Go to Jaycar and buy the LED Fluro/torch, comes with AC and DC charging, and magnetic brackets about $59.00. A great light, when one of my 12v fluros packs it in I'll be getting one.
Cheers
Trevor
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Amy G (SA) - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 14:22
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 14:22
The best purchase I made was a Primus Nova light for inside the tent. It runs on 4 x D batteries. We took it to Tassie for 3 weeks and have since taken it on a couple of weekend 4WD trips and it's still going strong. They say 25 hours battery life and ours wouldn't be far off of this now.
Primus Nova link.
It was $65 from the local
camping shop.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Holiday Hound - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:38
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:38
Hi Amy
Thanks for this.
I saw this one last night on the internet as
well and it looked pretty good re battery life and also the brightness was far above all the other products they had.
I wonder how long it would take to charge on a car charger.
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Follow Up By: Member - Amy G (SA) - Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 08:50
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 08:50
Hi Holiday Hound,
It doesn't come with an AC connection so you can't actually charge it- unless you have rechargeable batteries and a big battery charger!
But as I said originally, it does last a long long time :)
Cheers
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Follow Up By: JAZZY - Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 at 10:23
Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 at 10:23
I have also just purchased one of these after asking lots of questions and doing lots of research, a bit pricey at $75, but they are a brilliant light that you can read from, and also can be hung upside down (has hook) for jobs like cooking. We were told by the
camping shop that this lantern (albeit small) emits the most powerful light of all of the leds. Although it uses batteries, we camped over
Easter for 4 days and used the light at night and still havent changed batteries.
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Follow Up By: Holiday Hound - Friday, Aug 21, 2009 at 21:24
Friday, Aug 21, 2009 at 21:24
I have just bought one of these and WOW are they
bright! On the lower setting is good for reading. I imagine though, in the bush with no light they
bright will be great.
I paid $60 for
mine :> it was at a local dispoal/
camping store. Next best price was a smaller chain
camping shop, biggest price...was from the big chains!! go figure that!
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Reply By: warfer69 - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 15:20
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 15:20
I have the Northstar Dual Feul too...But also hav something like this but the old square Coleman one..Work great for tent etc..
Coleman..
Also have a couple of the ones mechanics use
But i use 12v of course not 240v...
These guys bring out good lights also
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Follow Up By: Atta Boy Luther - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:29
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:29
Heres a good link for it
versalite
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Follow Up By: Holiday Hound - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:44
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 16:44
Hi
These look good too. How long is the light life before you need to charge?
Im having nightmares about having lights, dvd's, GPS, IPOD things to charge!!
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Reply By: stevesub - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 17:12
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 17:12
We use an inverter run off the car battery (or second battery), extension lead to the tent, then a household flouro - plenty of light, ever going to drain the battery, cheap and works
well.
Stevesub
AnswerID:
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Reply By: gbc - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 17:31
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 17:31
60 led rechargable from bcf for about 70 bucks - waterproof unbreakable blah blah blah.
Goes great, charges easy. I now use it at work as
well. Poor old duel fuel hasn't been used since I got a couple of these.
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Follow Up By: Holiday Hound - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 17:44
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 17:44
Hi GBC
charge time? and run time?
THANKS very much
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Follow Up By: Holiday Hound - Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 17:45
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 at 17:45
Dont worry- Just saw the post at the top who has the same light!
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Reply By: Member - Scoof (SA) - Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 08:56
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 08:56
Versa lights are great and the led head lights that strap onto your head, batteries last for months some times a year.
Not a fan of any of the rechargeable light's we have tried 3 or 4 different brands and all have been stuffed in a couple years or sooner.
Just like your mobile phone , battery drill battery after a while it runs flat quicker and quicker until the battery is stuffed. A new battery is about the same price as a whole new set up.
Cheers Scoof . :-)
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - graeme W (WA) - Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 14:40
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 14:40
get the 12 volt fluro versa light .less than 1 amp draw and they will fix for free no matter how old.they just repaired one of
mine that must be 15 years old.the ones that arb sell and many others that look the same are made in china .the versa ones are only about $20 more.not bad for a lifetime of use.
cheers graeme.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - JohnR (Vic) - Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 15:23
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 15:23
I have a couple of fluorescent 12v lights that are useful for the non directional light they convey, but for portability, I love my Ironman rechargeable which I have had for some years. It will run for about eight hours with it's super
bright LEDs and recharges on 12v or with a 240v desk charger. It is great.
If you want fixed lighting, the only way to go is LED lights and they aren't any more difficult to set up than anything else.
The Ironman torch is at
this torch page
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Mfewster(SA) - Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 16:12
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 16:12
I have used gas mantle lights; a versa light; no name fluoro tubes and now we don't use any of them. Everyone in the group has a quality LED headlight and we carry a couple of spares in case someone loses theirs. We find we just dont need more than this. Everyone has the light they need just where they want it at all times. Cooking, eating; playing cards; changing wheels; getting up in the night. A personal led headlamp for everyone does the lot. Not a real expensive model, about $40.00 seem good. Robust, cheap to run; versatile.; dead simple; no packing problems. the batteries run for yonks and rechargeable battereies are fine.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: JAZZY - Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 at 10:28
Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 at 10:28
I also purchased two of these head lights although I think I went overboard on one and bought one with a stack of leds (so was quite heavy on my head - gave it to hubby) - purchased it from ebay (china) and had it delivered for approx $12.
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Reply By: Member - Mfewster(SA) - Thursday, Aug 20, 2009 at 08:17
Thursday, Aug 20, 2009 at 08:17
If buying led headlights, I'd avoid the models that have heavier batteries mounted at the front. These get quite uncomfortable to wear. Either aaa batteries or a unit with the batteries at the back of the headband seem better. Personally. I hate aaa batteries. They seem very expensive but for led headlamps the life is so good that the extrta comfort seems worthwhile. And you can get rechargeable ones.
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