Iām (still) very excited about this! Thanks for the updates! 
I been experimenting with various reflectors & LED positions to get the light in all directions as evenly as possible while eliminating as much eye-glare as possible. so far the down-firing LED, with lightly frosted diffuser and a lower flat-white reflector seems to work great with getting the light directed both up and down and out the sides evenly without having the LED in direct view that causes glare.
Very interesting project!
Do you think the reflector could be made easily interchangeable and available in colors like red or green ? I wonder how much luminosity would be lost but it might also help not scaring wild life to come closer as well as possibly not attract as many bugs as regular light ?
That sounds perfect. Iām very excited about this project and really hope that we see a group buy in the near future. I will more than likely order several for myself and friends and family assuming they are solidly built and perform like your pictures. Thank you for putting in all this time and effort. I currently have ZERO lanterns that I actually enjoy using and dozens of flashlights and headlamps that I love.
once i field-test it two weekends from now on a big camp trip, i can work on a blueprint to send off to Kronos 
If it is not too late, it will be very beneficial to incorporate built in charger to recharge the battery.
This enable us to use Solar panel with usb output, so the battery can be top up during the day.
It also saving us having to bring separate li-ion charger during camping trip.
But to think again, this idea might not be feasible as the origina host need to be modded extensively to incorporate this feature 
Remember Djozz saying āmake it look attractiveā earlier in the thread, well that is mission accomplshed!
And what you have tested so far is super.
I am interested if the cost remains in budget range. This is a great community to be part of. Thanks
A Charger port & circuit is definitely possible & may be added after i do a field test, based on a 4056 type.
Waiting patientlyā¦.not! Good work DB.
WOW!
Woah, excellent!
4056 is good enough as it is very reasonably priced and provide 1A (10w) max current to charge the battery.
Even 10w solar panel is still quite bulky nowadays (about 20% max efficiency), unless we can have access to reasonably priced triple junction solar panel which are used for space application (approaching 30% efficiency) 
Count me in on this more and more exciting Group Buyā¦
Wow, looks like there is finally going to be the perfect lantern. Count me in!
- We just returned from our 5-day Wilderness Canoe camping trip to the interior of Algonquin Park in Ontario, and the field-test of the BLF/SRK Lantern prototype was a bright success!
The lantern was a hit with the camp group, it was the brightest, most used, longest running, and most commented on lantern i had on the trip. I will have some photos of the lantern in use on the trip posted soon.
Sounds great. Canāt wait to see the picts
Been waitin on update!
Updates & photos from the field-test of the prototype at the top of the OP (with photos
Your light really shines.
It also looks tiny compared to the others. Well done. The pictures of your camp make one wish they were there.
It really did shine on the trip. Its the compact small size,output & run time that really impressed the group campers, all of them commented they would gladly pay nearly any price for such a light if they were commercially available, as most store-bought factory LED lanterns they have or seen (even the best most expensive LED models) suck in comparison when it comes to compact size, output, run-times, modes, and tint.
Nice field test! Makes me want to get out fishin. This would be a great light for bike packing with its compact size and great run times. A lot of uses 4 sure!