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 Buy…
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. Can’t 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!
Count me among those campers! 
I dig this project. Here are a few thoughts as I think of what I want in a lantern.
1) Durability/Reliability. I want to be able to hang a lantern somewhere if necessary and not worry about it breaking if it drops. I realize this may add a tiny bit of weight but really, if designed properly I think a sturdy lantern is completely within reach. I would also add being somewhat waterproof since I can see someone forgetting to put it away and it raining heavily overnight or at a water crossing or boating getting the lantern briefly submerged. I hope to see the final product made by a quality manufacturer with a proven track record.
2) Lack of glare. That’s probably my biggest complain about how most LED lanterns are designed. It seems like there is just a ton of light spilling directly out the sides and not much going down and below.
3) Run times are absolutely more important for me than extreme brightness. Obviously a good balance of both is the ideal.
4) Useful output modes with a moonlight mode.
5) Way down on the list would be the ability to charge via usb, specifically for use with small solar panels if possible. I know that some chargers won’t charge batteries unless a minimum amount of juice is being provided via the solar panel but that amount varies quite a bit depending upon the charger.
That’s about it, I really love what you’ve done so far and am looking forward to more updates!
This Prototype has all those you listed above, except the built in Charger port. Right now the prototype is very water resistant, (it can handle short submersions) its made of solid aluminum (as its SRK based) it has a great moonlight mode that would allow it to run continuously for months (with the Q-lite Rev. 105 Nanjq driver it has) output is very good with great run times, (700milliamps on high with four 18650 cells all in parallel keeps the XP-L in its most efficient output vs. Amp-draw range, and on medium mode will give you a couple weeks of run time using it 4 hours per night) and with the down-firing LED & reflector design it has the least glare out the side of all the other lanterns i have seen or tested.
A blue-print type drawing and specifications for this prototype will be posted soon, and discussed with Kronos so he can work his magic with manufacturers/brands to get this into a production model soon.
Thumbs up from me DBSAR! Keep up the good work .
Great result man!
A we some build.
Very useful
That’s the best lit camp I’ve ever seen! The prototype looks awesome!
Great lamp! And now for the production model. But whatever screw-ups there will be in the chinese manufacturing process, it will still be miles better than any lantern for sale today.
The Lantern is looking great. Thanks for the update. Im getting excited.
Man, there’s definitely no shortage of lights when you’re around.
Thanks for the update. Great to see the lantern out in the wild. Tint looks gorgeous and run times are impressive!
Looks really nice! Just curious on how hot it got when running it continuously on high for long periods of time.
Nice pic!