The Greatest Tenting Lanterns of 2023

A good camping lantern is an outdoor essential. It’s a major help while cooking, is great for nightly camp games, and sets just the right outdoor ambiance. Sure, you could just use a flashlight or headlamp, but a lantern lights up the entire camp and makes two-handed tasks easier.

While there isn’t a single best camping lantern for everyone, we sure looked for one, and have tested armfuls of lanterns across many camping seasons to pull together a list of the most worthy light sources to bring on your next wilderness outing.

During our testing, we charged up, gassed up, and lit up our campsites with lanterns — paying special mind to a number of different factors: light output, power supply, burn time, durability, and more. Below we’ve broken the list into handy categories to help you identify the best lantern for your use.

If you’re totally in the dark about what you’re looking for in a lantern, check out our buyer’s guide and FAQ section to better inform your decision. We’ve even thrown together a comparison chart to better guide your way through the night.

Scroll down to see all of our top picks, or jump to the category you’re looking for:

The Best Camping Lanterns of 2023

Camping Lantern Comparison Chart

Why You Should Trust Us

While putting this list together, our lead tester Austin Beck-Doss was living off-grid and relying on a lantern every single night. Adding to the tester pool is Senior Editor Nick Belcaster, who has spent months at a time outdoors where having the proper illumination is key. To determine the best of the best, these lanterns underwent months of testing and thousands of light hours logged.

The lanterns featured here are the top picks that will stand up to constant use and abuse, from the rigors of packing and unpacking to the perils of rolling around in the back of a car. While testing, we paid particular attention to light output, battery life, and ease of use. We also kept an eye on durability, packability, and overall value.

Outdoor lighting technology is always advancing. Not too many years ago the best you could buy were propane lanterns that, while a classic look, brought along with them some classic issues. Today, most all lanterns depend upon battery power for illumination, with improvements in lithium-polymer and lithium-ion batteries greatly extending burn times. Light element tech has also taken off, with smart LEDs that can change temperature and even color now the standard.

As the tech behind camping lanterns changes, our testing will follow the trends, bringing the best of the best lanterns into the fold.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Camp Lantern

Electric vs. Gas-Powered Lanterns

Choosing between an electric and a gas-powered lantern comes down to what features you prefer. Electric lanterns are quiet, lightweight, and safe to use inside a tent.

However, alkaline batteries lose about half their capacity when temperatures drop below freezing, and rechargeable batteries may not last on multi-day trips without a recharge.

Gas-powered lanterns like the Snow Peak GigaPower Lantern Auto are bright, have a long burn time, and work well in sub-freezing temperatures (the runtime drops, but not as much as when using alkaline batteries). Because they use a live flame, they are hot to the touch, need to be used away from flammable materials, and require ventilation. They are also more fragile than electric lanterns.

Lumens

Lanterns need to be bright enough to light up an area, but not so striking that they’ll temporarily blind you if you accidentally look at them. Most lanterns have a lumen output somewhere between 200 and 500 lumens. This is more than enough to light up most camping spaces.

If you’re looking for a more pleasant glow, 60 to 100 lumens will work well. Lanterns like the Solight SolarPuff Lantern or the Black Diamond Moji Lantern work well for use inside a tent.

LED vs. Incandescent

Lanterns of old all utilized incandescent bulbs to provide their light, but these have largely gone away in favor of LEDs. Light-emitting diodes are far more energy efficient — often more than 75% — and have a lifespan that exceeds the wire filaments of incandescent bulbs.

Another benefit of LEDs is they have a high Color Rendering Index (CRI) level, a measurement of how natural colors render in certain light. Lanterns like the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Lantern boast a CRI of 90 and produce high-quality color lighting.

One downside, however, is that LEDs are typically not user replaceable. Thankfully, the lifespan of an LED is often given in years, not months, so barring a faulty light, you should never run into the issue.

Weight and Packed Size

Consider how you will be using your lantern. For car camping, weight and packed size are not going to be an issue. If you plan on packing your lantern into the woods, however, you’re going to want something lighter that won’t take up much pack space. If you’re going backpacking, look for a small or collapsible lantern. A good flashlight or a headlamp may even be in order.

Many backpacking lanterns are also lightweight, so you won’t have a problem finding one that weighs under half a pound. Quite a few in this list fit those categories — and some of our favorites to bring along on weight-conscious trips include the Black Diamond Moji and Solight SolarPuff.

Battery Life

If you’re going with an electric lantern, battery life is a consideration, especially if you’re going to be in the woods for a few days or more. Many lanterns will give you 5-10 hours on high, with longer times in the lower settings. Among the longest-lasting lanterns in our testing were the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Lantern at 200 hours on low, the Fenix CL30R at 300 hours, and the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern at an impressive 320 total hours of burn time.

It pays to carry extra batteries on your trip if your lantern uses disposable batteries. If you have a rechargeable battery, bring along a portable battery or solar charger to top off your lanterns between uses. Some lanterns even incorporate a charging system into the light itself, such as a solar panel, or hand crank.

Consider also the type of rechargeable battery your lantern uses. Some, like the Ledlenser ML6 Lantern, use a standardized rechargeable 18650 cell that can be used in other electronics. Most others will be integrated into the lantern, and non-serviceable.

Ease of Use

For the most part, electric lanterns win the prize for ease of use. They turn on with the push of a button and the brightness is simple to adjust. Gas-powered lanterns require a bit more work with applying the fuel canister and lighting the wick.

With advances in lantern tech, and more features being added every year, be sure to look for a lantern that hasn’t suffered from tech bloat. The pattern of button presses to move through the different lighting cycles should be easy to remember.

One tech advance that we are on board with is the adoption of USB-C in charging cables. Micro USB is still abundant on many consumer electronics, but a look to the future sees USB-C becoming the new standard. Of the lanterns we reviewed, unfortunately, none yet support USB-C charging.

Durability & Water Resistance

We won’t lie — there have certainly been times when we’ve left our camping lanterns out overnight and woken to a soggy light. That’s why investing in a lantern with a high degree of durability will pay out in the long run.

First, consider that many gas lanterns will still require the use of a glass lens to operate. Obviously, these will require some more care, and we recommend utilizing a carrying case for transporting them around. The mantles that are used to contain the flame are also fragile, so be mindful of these as well.

When it comes to electric lanterns, many will incorporate some type of rubberized over-molding to guard against bumps and bruises around camp. And in terms of water resistance, many lanterns today will be built to resist splashes or brief immersions in water. These are often rated using the Ingress Protection testing standard, which measures both resistance to dust and water. A rating of IPX7, for example, relays a resistance to water immersion up to 1 meter deep.

Extra Features

Many of the best camping lanterns offer additional features, such as the ability to charge your electronic devices and double as a flashlight. These are perks but aren’t real game-changers when choosing a lantern.

The most important features that we’ve found are ones that enhance the lantern’s main function. Look for lanterns that are water- and dustproof, ones with multiple dimming settings and integrated solar chargers.

Hang Loops, Clips & Hooks

Being able to hang your lantern from the inside of your tent or from a well-placed tree limb can greatly increase the amount of light it can cast on your camp setup. Look for a lantern that sports some type of hook or loop that will allow you to suspend it from above and make the most of your light.

Battery Banks

Because many lanterns today utilize an integrated rechargeable battery pack, they are able to also be used to recharge your electronics on the go. Just how much power you’ll be able to port around will depend on the lantern, but we’ve found that the larger lanterns are able to juice up a modern phone most of the way to a full charge.

FAQ

The best camping lantern is the one best designed for how you plan to use it. Look for a lantern that’s bright enough to illuminate your camping space and one that is simple enough to use after a long day of hiking. For 2023, we found the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Lantern to fit the bill for most of our camping outings.

For backpackers, a lightweight lantern that doesn’t take up too much pack space is ideal. Also, an electric lantern should be able to give you several evenings of light without requiring a recharge.

For most campers, 100 lumens or above is enough to light up many camp spaces. If you prefer a more gentle glow, 50-75 lumens will be enough. Electric lanterns under 50 lumens are good for in-tent use.

For occasional use, a brighter lantern with replaceable batteries will work well. Replaceable batteries are ideal for situations in which an external charging source is unavailable. Candle lanterns will also work well, as they don’t require any fuel besides the candle.

We’re fans of the classic Coleman Lantern. For $45, Coleman has made a solid lantern that will give you years of use. It produces 1,000 lumens on high, and it will run for 7 hours on high before you need to switch containers.

Lantern mantles are ceramic mesh sacks that encase the flame in gas-powered lanterns. They keep the flame small and contained inside the lamp.

If you take care of it, a lantern mantle can last years. You can lengthen the life of the mantle by not dropping or shaking your lantern excessively and by not exposing it to strong wind without the globe attached.