Customer Rating:  
Summary: I SNEER AT HURRICANES!
Comment: Well, O.K., I don't sneer at hurricanes. But after Hurricane Ike and a week without power, we decided to upgrade our emergency lighting to more than flashlights, candles and chemical light sticks.
I bought three of these of these dandy MicroPacker lanterns and three of the family sized Coleman lanterns (also reviewed). The MicroPacker is a terrific value at under $10, plus it comes with three AA batteries. When was the last time THAT happened!
I measured the light output of the MicroPacker with a light meter (I'm a photojournalist) and discovered that the tiny light puts out just a little less light than one good, white candle. The pure white light easily illuminates a living room, abet dimly. The clever built-in reflector does NOT intensify the light, but shields your eyes if you need to read something.
This tough little light appears well-made but not waterproof. It can stand on a flat bottom or hang from a handy built-in loop on top. With a fantastic 125 hour battery life, I figure one light will last through two or three WEEKS of dark nights. The MicroPacker is small (about the size of a very skinny can of Red Bull), lightweight and should be good for backpackers. I would give it 4-1/2 stars: I think they should waterproof it and add one more LED.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Neat
Comment: Compact and convenient. This will replace my candle lantern for future backpacking trips. About the same weight, only slightly larger, and produces more light.
Have also used it when camping in our trailer.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Camplight
Comment: A great product! Lots of light. Very durrable. It would be even better if they had made it waterproof. But for the price, it is well worth it!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Quality lantern
Comment: This is a rugged little lantern. I have to say that for $10, I was not expecting something of this quality. This is a solid well constructed unit that will not disintegrate if it gets knocked on the floor.
Other reviewers have stated this provides light for weeks. Not so... While technically it may output light on 3 AA batteries for 125 hours, it isn't at usable levels.
I bought two of these, and as soon as I received them, I took one of them and inserted the batteries that were included with it, turned it on and left it. I wanted to see if it would live up to other reviewers claims on battery life.
I realize that battery life would be extended with intermittent usage rather than continuous use, but if you are planning to use this for emergencies, you may need it running continuously for extended periods.
Anyway, the first 24 hours were the brightest. It easily illuminated my 10 X 12 study well enough to distinguish objects around the room, and I had no problem reading by it. After 48 hours, it did get somewhat dimmer and to read by it, I had to hold the book right next to the light. At approx 72 hours the light was feeble and I had difficulty reading a book with the light right next to the book. The light output was less than a standard night light I have in my bathroom.
At this point, I opened up my second lantern that I had purchased, inserted the included batteries and set it side by side with the lantern that had been running continuously for 3 days. The lantern with the fresh batteries was far far brighter, so at this point I ended the experiment as I felt that the light output from the lantern that had been running for 3 days really wasn't useful.
The last thing I did was to insert 3 fresh energizer batteries in the lantern that had been running for 3 days and set it side by side with the lantern with the fresh batteries that were included with it. The lantern with the energizer batteries was noticeably brighter.
So, buy the best batteries you can and you may well get the 125 hours of light this is purported to produce.
All in all, this is a very good value for the price.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Price is Right..
Comment: It's a small light, and is really only a reasonable replacement for candles in a power blackout (we get those a lot during summer thunderstorms). Low power means you still have to watch where you're walking with them on, but they save me the worry of open flames and tripping over large items. As for reading, well, I have done it, but you need to be really, really close to the light to read - still it clearly beats having nothing but candles. My daughter used it on a recent camping trip in Canada and liked it for its light weight and ease of packing. For the price however, it's the best I've found
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