The Best Camping Lanterns of 2024

BioLite didn’t miss when they brewed up the AlpenGlow 500 Lantern ($80), a light that’s as versatile in the backcountry as it is for car camping. There’s little we could come up with that we would have done differently on this little lantern, which easily landed it the title of best overall. If you’re after a straight-ahead camping light source that will perform when needed and has a few tricks up its sleeve, the AlpenGlow is your lantern.

Need a quick burst of white light? One tap. Feeling a little more natural? Tap again. A third tap brings the color, and a fourth ignites color-changing ChromaReal LEDs. BioLite also incorporated a number of secondary modes to each, giving you the ability to limit the light to only one side of the lantern or imitate a candle flicker.

There’s even a third press option triggered by a quick shake of the lantern. But while we do applaud BioLite for finding a unique way of integrating an accelerometer, we found this to be a little hit-and-miss in practice. Eventually, the lantern will catch on — it may just take an extra shake to get there. These different lighting options take a minute to memorize, but the tiered setup means you can blitz through them pretty quickly if you pass the one you’re after.

On top of its impressive lighting capabilities (500 lumens is dang bright), the AlpenGlow 500 incorporates a number of features we’ve come to expect in a lantern, such as an integrated 6400 mAh power bank to charge your electronics (which, unfortunately, is USB-A output only for now).

Looking forward to the bright future of portable electronics, we’d love to see a pivot to USB-C here, which BioLite got right in the later offering of the AlpenGlow Mini. And for those looking for all the same functions in a middle-ground package, there’s the AlpenGlow 250.

Beyond the BioLite offerings, those after a generalist lantern like the AlpenGlow 500 with a few more mounting and lighting options would be well-served to consider the Black Diamond Orbiter 650 — a lantern that sports both tripod legs and a top-down mode to spot-illuminate your camp table at night. Our choice of the AlpenGlow over the Orbiter in our top spot was a hard-wrought decision, and incredibly, it came down to light quality and color. Across the board, the ChromaReal LEDs in this lantern provide a richer and more pleasing light compared to the Black Diamond lantern.

Night after night, the AlpenGlow 500 puts out impressively natural-looking light, which we greatly appreciate. Anyone searching for an all-around powerhouse of a lantern would likely find it in the AlpenGlow.

Recently updated, the Black Diamond Moji Lantern ($25) gained a number of upgrades that only further cements itself as our budget winner. Now with double the lumen output (a respectable 200), and the ability to be powered by AAA batteries or a rechargeable battery pack, this lantern does a lot in an even smaller package than before.

Senior Editor Nick Belcaster tossed the Moji into his pack as a last-minute addition to an autumn traverse in the Chugach Range, where he anticipated long light into the evening and a need to keep pack weights low. When the sun dipped back on the first evening, the choice proved to be wise, as this little lantern had plenty of oomph to illuminate the interior of a three-person tent and kept its presence low-key out on the tussocks.

Weighing in at just 6 ounces and measuring 3 inches around (think hockey puck-sized), there’s no reason not to bring it along just in case, especially at the price. The ability to run off of different types of batteries gives it an edge in emergencies, and the dimming switch allows you to make quick adjustments. Mounting options are pretty spartan, with just a set of hooks to suspend it from, but it’s tough to imagine needing much more from a tent lantern.

With a 200-lumen max, it’s not the brightest light on the list, but the Moji gets the job done. It not only stands up to rain but it also can be splashed from multiple angles and will keep on ticking with an IPX4 water-resistant rating. Compared to other uber-small lanterns we’ve tested, like the BioLite AlpenGlow Mini, the Moji eeks out the win when it comes to pure performance, as it’ll run for longer (70 hours versus 40) and put out 50 more lumens on high.

During our in-house bench testing, we were able to confirm that 70-hour run time, too, but don’t expect to get that much out of a single battery supply, as you’ll surely want to use a higher setting in camp. If you’re looking for some more flexibility in your lantern battery, consider the Moji R + Lantern ($45), an iteration that adds an integrated 1500 mAh battery and external micro-USB charge port. And if you really need some juice, the Moji Charging Station Lantern ($80) boasts both an internal battery pack and the ability to run off AA batteries as a backup.

This little lantern is our top pick for hanging in the tent. Its lowest 4-lumen setting makes a good nightlight, too. Whether backpacking, car camping, or looking for an ultra-packable emergency light, the BD Moji is a durable and useful bargain.

Looking for a packable solar light that won’t break the bank? Then it’s time you met the Goal Zero Crush Light. At just 20 bucks, it’s a great value. The 60-lumen max output isn’t wildly bright, but it offers a pleasant, useful glow around your camp. We tested this lantern on short backpacking trips this summer and found it to be the near-perfect luxury item to elevate camp with.

It weighs 3.2 ounces and collapses neatly to take up very little space in your pack. And you can recharge via USB or simply set it outside and let the sun work its magic. It’s good to note that a smaller panel like the one on this lantern will take some time — an estimated 20 hours — to fully top off the light. Functionally, this means that your lantern will more likely just be prolonging its charge — not totally revitalizing itself.

One of our favorite unexpected features? The candle flicker mode! Many lanterns these days incorporate some type of ambiance setting, but only a few really hit the mark. We’re happy to report that the Crush made us believe during our testing.

Compared to other lanterns you might tuck into your backpacking pack, the Crush has a few things going for it. Obviously, the solar panel is a plus, and the burn time is better than the only other collapsible lantern we tested, the Solight SolarPuff. The Black Diamond Moji is probably a better pick if you just need pure output and longevity, however, and it’s functionally not much larger.

The lantern has a claimed max run time (on the lowest setting) of 35 hours, but in our run-time testing, the longest we’ve gotten is 28 hours. It’s never been a problem camping, though, as we just set it out each day to top off the charge. The Crush Light is a solid solar light and a great choice for backpacking.

The little UCO Original Candle Lantern ($30) is a must-have for your emergency kit, bugout bag, or go-to camp kit. It’s extremely easy to use — just slide the glass down and light the candle for instant light. The included reflector clip directs the light where you need it most.

A single candle burns for nearly 9 hours, and the spring-loaded system keeps the flame at a consistent height. It does get hot, so use caution when extinguishing or moving. It packs down to 4.25 inches long and weighs just 6.4 ounces.

The neoprene case keeps everything protected during transport and makes it a convenient addition to your camp kit. We’ve used one exclusively at camp when desiring a classic, soft firelight. And it’s always in our chuck kit, just in case. Need a little longer-burning light? UCO also sells natural beeswax candles that burn for an extended 12 hours. For those buggy summer nights, there are even citronella candles that’ll keep the skeeters at bay.

To be sure, this lantern is an ambiance-first option — don’t expect to use this as your only source of camp light. While the warm glow is an inviting one, there’s only so much of it, and trying to cook dinner by candlelight can feel a bit limiting when there are so many other electric options out there. While many lanterns these days incorporate some type of ‘candlelight’ option, a great middle ground to consider is compact gas lanterns like the Snow Peak GigaPower or Mini Flame. These provide a warm glow that is adjustable and often brighter.

But for the real deal, it’s tough to beat the OG, and the UCO is certainly that. It’s also a top pick for emergency preparedness — whether you live in a hurricane zone or have frequent blizzard-induced power outages, it’s a good idea to have a backup light available. The Candle Lantern is an affordable, easy-to-use, reliable option for both camping and emergencies.

With up to 6,000 lumens(!) and casting light a full 150 feet in every direction, the Goal Zero Skylight Portable Area Light ($300) is a portable sun for your next overlanding, basecamp, or outdoor group shindig. Utilizing our typical go-to for lighting up large campsites, we’d need whole spools of string lights to accomplish the same lighted area, but the Skylight does it with ease.

The design of the Skylight borrows from the world of worksite lights but puts a much more user-friendly bent on it with a warmer light profile (3250K) that casts a cozy glow across your entire campsite. The six LED-studded petals atop the light are all individually adjustable as well, meaning you can direct light where you need it (or away from neighboring camps).

The whole apparatus is planted atop a 12’ telescoping pole that anchors itself securely with a broad tripod base. Being able to raise the light this high not only increases the spread but also keeps buzzing insects that might be attracted to it out of your orbit. During testing, even the sandy soils of the Northeast that typically give camp chairs trouble weren’t an issue for the Skylight, which incorporates staking holes in each leg to secure it.

The Skylight does sport an internal battery (of 33 Wh, or ~8 hours on low), but was designed to ideally be run off of an external battery source, such as Goal Zero’s Yeti Power Stations, or from a 12V cigarette lighter plug. When powered by one of these large battery banks, run time increases tremendously, up to 375 hours on low with the Yeti 1500X.

Rounded out with four different lighting levels — including a ‘boost’ option — the Skylight has become standard issue on our overlanding excursions where we need light for a broad area in between vehicles. Complimented with a few close-quarters lanterns like the Black Diamond Moji or Goal Zero Crush, you’ve got a backcountry lighting system to rival many rock concerts. 

The MPOWERD Luci String Lights + Power Hub ($70) have quickly become one of our favorite camping lights. Twenty individual light pods are spread across 44 feet of braided nylon cord, allowing you to light up a large area. It’s all the camp ambiance you need in a neat package.

In practice, we were able to light up entire campsites with these string lights, stretching from tents to picnic tables and back again. You’ll need to get creative to secure the lights on either end (we quite like the Nite Ize Gear Ties for this), but once you’re set up, the lights will run a full 8 hours on high. At a more mellow ‘medium’ setting, we were able to get close to the full 24 hours of run time that the brand claims.

We particularly like the way these lights store in themselves. Simply wrap the string lights into the solar base and twist closed. Pro tip from our testing: Be sure to avoid too many overlapping bulbs or it will become too bulky to close.

Because of its small form factor, the integrated solar panel does struggle a bit to charge the lantern from flat dead (something we also noticed with the Goal Zero Crush). It charges fully in about 3-5 hours via USB-C or 16 hours via solar, so we recommend charging it up prior to camping and then using solar to keep it topped off throughout.

If the $70 price tag is a bit rich for you, don’t sweat: MPOWERD also makes their Luci lights in a few other variations, including the shorter 18′ Luci Solar String Lights ($55). You lose out on about half of the battery capacity that the Power Hub version packs on, but for more close-quarters camping, it’s a nice option to consider.

We’ve used these string lights nearly every day for many months, and they’re still going strong. The color is a pleasing, natural warm light, and we’ve been impressed with how bright it gets on the highest setting. The Luci String Lights are a favorite option for adding a bit of camp ambiance or brightening up the backyard.

The Snow Peak GigaPower ($80) is a little lantern that runs on isobutane (just like your favorite backpacking stove) and doesn’t take up much room. It weighs in at just 4.6 ounces and measures about 3.75 inches around and is the perfect addition to your camp table come dinner time.

We found the light output particularly pleasant during our testing, yet plenty bright to complete all our camp chores. It has a max output of ~400 lumens and will run for about 5 hours in warm conditions. Similar to stoves, the run time decreases in colder weather. The benefit of running on stove fuel, however, is that you can use your depleted canisters that are too low to bring along for cooking. Genius!

The body of this lantern is machined aluminum, coupled with brass fittings that ensure a smooth attachment to a gas canister. The glass globe is held in place by a stainless steel cage and houses the lantern mantle that will be needed to illuminate this lantern. This takes a little finesse the first time, but once it’s in place the lifespan should be many nights before it needs replacement.

An added bonus? Since it’s burning fuel, this little lantern will give off a bit of hand-warming heat, perfect for when the chill sets in. Just remember to let it cool down before stowing — something we were (painfully) reminded of during our initial use.

Compared to the gas lanterns of olden times (we’re looking at you, Coleman Deluxe), our allegiances have shifted to compact backpacking fuel lanterns like this one. They are simply easier to use, don’t require bulky green propane canisters, and put out enough light to count.

It began raining while we were using this lantern, but it never went out or had any issues. Being made of glass, it is susceptible to breaking if dropped. But the included hard carrying case will keep it safe when packed. For a portable warm glow, the GigaPower Lantern is our top choice.

So bright you can see it from space — well, not quite, but at 650 lumens, the Black Diamond Orbiter 650 Lantern ($65) can still more than light up your next camp-out, and with a hefty amount of smart functionality on-board, this lantern absolutely impressed in our testing. Compared to top lanterns like the BioLite AlpenGlow 500, its honestly neck-and-neck, and your choice will come down to a few slight differences.

Looking like it’s liable to blast off of your camp table, the Orbiter lantern combines a number of different hanging and folding modes with six different lighting settings, each of which is dimmable or color-changing. The folding leg design is reminiscent of the Goal Zero Lighthouse lantern, but better executed, in our opinion, as it sports three legs to the two on the Lighthouse.

This design allows the lantern to be both propped up above cluttered picnic tables, as well as hung from above with the double-hook metal loops to attach to tent webbing loops or cordage around camp. An additional LED at the base of the lantern provides the illumination for this mode, and we found in our testing that it’s a targeted light that’s perfect for positioning over camp stoves or board games.

Moving through the lighting modes, the lantern offers up a bright white, bright white along with the additional downward spotlight, the spotlight on its own, a flickering campfire mode, solid colors, and a color cycling mode. It’s the most feature-packed lantern we’ve encountered to date with this many modes, and they all can be dimmed to as low as 25 lumens and cranked to as high as 650.

Rounding out the Orbiter 650 is a forward-thinking USB-C charge-in port (recharge occurs in about 3.5 hours), as well as not one, but two options to recharge other devices: a USB-A port, and a USB-C port. The 5200 mAh internal battery bank can be leveraged to recharge your electronics, and while it’s not quite as large as the 6400 mAh cell the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 sports, the additional charging options go well beyond that lantern.

With how much we enjoyed the AlpenGlow 500 Lantern, it was unsurprising how quickly we took to the new BioLite AlpenGlow Mini Lantern ($40), a diminutive counterpart that takes much of the camp-friendly functionality that won the best overall lantern designation, and shrinks it down into a totally backpackable size.

A good backpacking lantern is something that every camper should have in their arsenal. The most obvious competition for this petite model is the Black Diamond Moji Lantern, our top pick for a budget option, and also an impressive mini lantern in its own right. Both the Moji and the AlpenGlow Mini make strong cases as the best backpacking lantern to chuck in your pack, but a few key differences will decide which one you ultimately go with.

First, let’s talk about brightness. There isn’t much of a difference between the two lanterns, but the Moji does edge out the Mini with 200 overall lumens, versus the 150 of the BioLite. Neither of these lanterns is impressively bright but instead, excel in tent interiors where not much light is needed anyway. Burn time also leans toward the Moji, with a marathon time of 70 hours on low, compared to 40 hours from the AlpenGlow.

The scales really start to even out when it comes to functionality. The AlpenGlow Mini sports four different light modes — warm white, one-color cycling, single-color static, and a party-worthy Horizon mode that changes color — compared to the single white of the Black Diamond. These different modes really open up options for setting your campsite mood, and we loved dialing it in for what we had going on.

Mounting options, too, are better on the AlpenGlow Mini, which uses a bungee cord system that is much more amenable to attaching to limbs, tent poles, and interior hang loops compared to the hard double hooks on the Moji. And finally, we swooned over the addition of USB-C charging in this little lantern, something that the Moji and even the larger AlpenGlow 500 lantern lacks.

Need no-nonsense light in a packable size? The Black Diamond Moji is likely your lantern. For reference, the Moji is the lantern that Senior Editor Nick Belcaster equipped seven teams of Denali guides to head out into a month at the top of a continent with. But if fun is also on the agenda, it’s nigh impossible to argue against the AlpenGlow Mini, a lantern that offers four different lighting modes, a better hanging system, and quick USB-C charging.

It’s not often we take the kid gloves entirely off when dealing with camp lanterns, but the burly construction of the Fenix CL30R ($144) made it clear that it required no such special treatment. This is one tough and versatile lantern.

Built with a confidence-inspiring design, this lantern pumps out an impressive 650 lumens on turbo mode and is able to dial it back to 10 lumens when you want to enjoy the full 300-hour-long burn time. It also makes use of an intelligent memory circuit, meaning the lantern will return to the previous setting last used. Smart.

When the time came to test this lantern, we were impressed by just how versatile it was when it came to power supply, and this was one of our favorite features about it. Using rechargeable (and replaceable) 18650 Li-ion batteries, this lantern becomes cross-compatible with our other 18650-powered electronics, and it can run on one, two, or all three cells. There’s even an option to replace the included cells with more powerful 3,500 mAh versions for even more juice.

Need to power up your other electronics? At the rear of the lantern is a charging and mini-USB discharging port — all covered by a rubber gasket. At a total capacity of 7,800 mAh (with the ability to expand to 10,500), this lantern can certainly charge most modern phones to full from dead flat.

The battery compartment is sealed with a replaceable O-ring, which aids in making the light IPX7 water-resistant and is one of the highest ratings of any lantern we’ve tested. That means you could submerge this lantern 1 meter deep for up to 30 minutes!

Rounding out this versatile lantern from Fenix is both a bail handle for hanging, as well as a tripod socket for really spreading those lumens. But now the hang-up: the price. While it is so frequently on sale it’s tough to even claim that the $144 MSRP is the real price, the $110 you’ll more often pay for it is still a hefty price tag compared to similar options. If you consider it an investment piece, however, it makes a bit more sense.

For a tough and long-lasting lantern that’ll handle it all, you’d be hard-pressed to go wrong with the Fenix CL30R.

Talk about beam for your buck — the Coast EAL22 Lantern ($40) cranks up the lumens to a blistering 1,250 on high and does it while sliding in as one of the cheaper lanterns in our lineup. The lantern is styled as more of an emergency light source, but there’s nothing holding it back from illuminating your next camping trip.

The lantern lives up to the tough reputation that Coast has garnered for itself and is made from a bash-resistant nylon shell and polycarbonate diffuser that even after accidentally knocking off a camp table, we couldn’t ding. 

The run time of 225 hours is on the endurance side of the spectrum, with only the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 and Fenix CL30R besting it in total burn time. The five lighting modes begin with a soft white light that is perfect for gathering around for a card game, then pivots to a set of brighter white modes for really illuminating a campsite or outdoor kitchen. The final two modes are red and include a flashing option should you need to hail anyone or warn oncoming traffic.

Mounting options are also packed in, with two carabiner-style hanging hooks on top and bottom of the lantern, as well as a bail handle for walking around with. This flexibility even extends to the powering options on the EAL22, as it is a dual-power lantern that can run off of D-cell batteries or a separate battery pack.

The ZITHION-X rechargeable battery pack is nigh-essential in our opinion, which does take a bit of the budget along with it as it costs as much as the lantern itself. You certainly can make do with D-cell batteries, but the ability to recharge other electronics with the lantern is a handy feature we wouldn’t want to leave home without.

This added cost keeps this lantern from finding itself higher on our lineup, as the light itself is a bit bulky and for the same price, you can snag a solid option like the Black Diamond Orbiter 650 or BioLite AlpenGlow 500.

Made to be stormproof, we didn’t fret over leaving the Coast EAL22 out on the picnic table in an overnight shower, and this is really the main selling point for this lantern. If you’re looking for a rough-and-tumble style lantern, consider the EAL22.

Leave it to solar-power guru Goal Zero to come up with a lantern that incorporates a number of smart charge and recharge features that turn the Lighthouse 600 Lantern ($70) into a light source you can trust to stay on when you need it.

With three methods of charging the lantern (solar panel, USB, or spinning the crank atop the unit), we never felt we’d see the flicker of this lantern running out of juice. When we tested the brand’s claim of 10 minutes of light for every minute of cranking, we found the numbers to be fairly accurate (and our wrists tired). It makes an excellent basecamp lantern, perched above a table or hung from the inside of a tent.

While the integrated charging USB cord is a handy touch, we do see this as a potential future failure point should the cable become snagged or kinked. A simple USB port with a cover would have been our preference.

Beyond this, there’s one Achilles heel to the Lighthouse that keeps it from ranking higher in our books, and that’s the diffuser — or the lack of one. With a clear plastic globe, the higher reaches of this lantern become too bright to look directly at, and multiple of our testers commented on this independently. We also had some issues with the twin-leg design, which, unlike the three legs of the Black Diamond Orbiter 650, could be made to tip over when jostled.

Unlike some of the other lanterns on our list, the Lighthouse 600 doesn’t use an integrated solar panel to recharge from the sun. This means you’ll either need to already own a Goal Zero solar panel or purchase one like the Nomad 10. For those who use a panel regularly, the Lighthouse will be an obvious companion.

Ready for whatever, the Lighthouse 600 would make a great lantern for anyone who wants an all-in-one system for light and charging ability.

No lantern review would be complete without this classic Coleman Deluxe Propane Lantern ($65). If you’ve never used a gas lantern, it’s important to make note of a few things. First, in lieu of light bulbs, it uses mantles that fill with fuel and burn brightly. The glass can become extremely hot, and caution should be used when handling it.

That said, it’s a solid lantern that will last for years. And it clocks in at just $65. The dual-mantle design pumps out 1,000 lumens on high, and it will run for nearly 7.5 hours on high before needing a new fuel canister. The green propane cylinders run about $10 for a single 1-pound canister. While this isn’t outrageously expensive, it does add up and should be a consideration when lantern shopping.

We found it easy to thread the light onto the propane cylinder and appreciated the footed base that prevents tipping. It’s worth noting that you will need a match to light this lantern. But once it’s up and running, it’s easily manageable for the entire evening. There’s even a plastic base that interfaces with the propane canister to ensure tipping won’t be an issue.

When it comes to versatility, the era of gas lanterns has largely moved away from propane-fueled options like this in favor of smaller, isobutane-fueled options like the Snow Peak GigaPower, in our opinion. That doesn’t mean that the Deluxe is lacking in any old-school charm, however (it’s got it in surplus), but that you should consider potentially having a few other lanterns on hand for more functional use. This lantern makes a killer place to gather around, and when supported by a few electric modern options, it’s a winner.

When you’re ready to turn the lights out, be sure to let the Coleman Deluxe cool down before disassembling. Thankfully, the lantern ships with a hardshell case to port it around in between camping trips.

The Solight SolarPuff Lantern ($32) unfolds with the grace of an origami swan, going from a compact flat to a 4-inch lighted cube — all without the need of inflating it. Made of PET sailcloth, this light pops open and provides either a bright, warm, or multi-colored light.

We first saw the SolarPuff lantern riding on the outside of the pack of a PCT thru-hiker named Bonfire, who found the collapsible lantern to be a perfect luxury item. The integrated solar panel on the bottom charges the lantern while you hike and puts out a purported 12 hours of light on its low setting (with the sun shining).

Newly updated, Solight added a Dusk to Dawn light sensor, which can turn on the lantern by itself as the stars come out and turn back off as the sun comes up — a feature we very much enjoyed. This is something that not even our top pick for a solar-powered lantern, the Goal Zero Crush, can do.

You likely won’t want to make the SolarPuff your only light source, as even at max output it only manages 90 lumens. But as a go-anywhere lantern with a small footprint, the SolarPuff Lantern is an easy choice.