Tent light

I’m surprised no one has recommended the Nitecore LR10 https://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/lr10.

This is a great little lantern if you are packing lite.

I have a couple of the Soshine CB2 versions of that light you pictured, (I also have a couple of that same AAA-powered version) its a rechargeable 1800mAh Lithium Ion powered version. (built in USB micro charging, warm-white LED tint, AliExpress seems to be the only place i seen them. They work ok, small compact, lightweight, couple hours run time on high, around 200 lumens, down shining & ideal for hanging in a tent. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32814866531.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.188b4c4dKyUW3K

Two Fenix CL25R’s, one inside the tent, and the other in red mode. Zanflare T1 on low. I leave the red on all night outside. Works as a night light and doesn’t attract bugs.

No kidding? Dang. I’ve had one of these and got rid of it because step-thru UI was tiresome and basically forced you to use the light since it just blinded you. Had red though.
https://www.fasttech.com/products/3720601

Also had ordered this one, great battery life, USB recharge, no PWM, tiny, but does have the step-thru UI so cover it up for the first 3 clicks. Kept it because of size and battery life.
https://www.fasttech.com/p/3720501 D’oh!

I guess the mosquitoes will find me even in the dark but if red will keep away the dorks of the bug world, the Junebug, then I’m all in.

You won’t have moths and all the other flying insects buzzing around that are normally attracted to white light.

Both those links are for the same light.

Was thinking the same…

Cant seem to find a working link for the Zanflare!

Fixed. Sorry. The one in the fixed link has magnetic back also.
It’s a first-world-problem but a bad UI just kills a light for me. I’d pay 50% more for any light or lantern with a UI that doesn’t ruin the experience. Long press for low, no forced blinkies, no more than one click for off. I don’t think they use their lights. None of this will matter soon when the LT1 ships (woo!) but perhaps a small BLF micro-lantern would fill a niche?

Have you given the Fenix CL09 a play??

Actually a VERY good little lantern… I use mine for Camping, Caving, Warning light at night walking alone a road, General reading light and so much more…

Lights up a room Very well indeed, same goes for a 10 man tent! Great in medium sized carverns when caving and fantstic in small ones…. Just a nive EXTREMELY pocketable lantern….

Yeah, looks nice, thank you for the suggestion. :slight_smile:
But as of now I’m looking to get another 10m string, for the vestibule. Though I could really use something with regulated brightness there…

Look into the Luci light by MPOWERED. I have had a couple of them for a number of years.

Solar Rechargeable only real downside the switch can be hard to find in the dark. Charge does

last for over 8-10 hours when I fell asleep and have left them on. They do have a blueish tint on

the larger one an a more neutral white color on the smaller one Price $15-25 US Just went to

web site and they do have warm tints now. Been a while since I have checked up on them.

Those look really cool. I was not aware there were so many different nice lantern designs out there.
Candle has caught my attention. :slight_smile:
Though I’m not a fan of solar charging due to the fact that I often leave my tent unattended. I don’t want to leave the items that need charging exposed and if I don’t do that they won’t have much charging time.
Some Luci lights come with USB charging (2-way, those who like solar can collect some energy to power other devices) - but candle doesn’t.
Also, candle outputs mere 25 lm. Enough for a mood light but not for a general purpose. Luci Pro Outdoor 2.0 looks better for me, though it doesn’t have a candle mode. :wink: And it doesn’t have CCT specced.

I just came back from Bratislava and Mosonmagyaróvár - I used a Folomov EDC C4 with my favourite (Naturehike) diffuser. My wife complained that mood-wise it was way worse than a LED string….
I still need a light for the vestibule of my villa. And another for my smaller tent. I have a feeling that after some trials (LT1 needs checking) I’ll end up with light strings in both. :slight_smile:

I set out to upgrade my string light with controller. Not much progress so far:

  • longer strip failed to arrive, I didn’t file a dispute on time because I was mislead by Ali lying that it received confirmation
  • 2 controllers turned out to be fake (12V instead of 5V), won both disputes
  • micro USB connectors arrived intact, though I’m not happy with quality

Looking for another string I found this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000516832224.html
Under $4 for 20m string and there’s controller attached already? If it arrives, that’s an awesome deal. :slight_smile:

…but couldn’t you just hang any flashlight by it’s tail on the ceiling, with a diffuser on it?

I used to do that. It has many drawbacks.

  1. In my medium sized tent I keep banging my head against it. Extremely annoying with anything but AAA.
  2. The diffuser sometimes falls off when I bang my head against it
  3. With significant amount of light it’s blinding despite the diffuser
  4. It directs most of the light straight down. Very little reaches the far end where I have my backpack.
  5. I want my tent light warmer and higher CRI than my walking light

Bouncing light off the top of the tent turned out better but I still wished for something better.
A string light doesn’t most of these drawbacks and creates extremely cosy atmosphere. Gets me and my wife in a really good mood.
Though it is single mode though and has low CRI - I’m trying to deal with both issues.

Maybe not what you’re looking for but this diffuser/case coupled with a nice headlamp (can also work with flashlights) works well for tent lighting. It has a reflective cone inside which directs light sideways. It’s also quite secure if you tighten the drawstrings. I have the small one as carry case and diffuser for my shorty h03 with 2700K SST20 and anduril headlamp. I leave it at lowest level candlelight mode or moonlight mode so it’s easy to see when I wake up at night. Candlelight mode will also get anyone in a really good mood. I know my girlfriend loves it.

I have it (the small one) and I love it. It’s my best diffuser and since I have it I haven’t used any other, not even once.
I don’t have a warm / high CRI light that I could use with it. I will surely get one eventually (actually I have some warm LEDs already, but I broke the first light that I tried modding) and will try this out.
So far the string is just better than a diffuser. It weighs just 20g (the 10m variant) which is the biggest drawback when compared to the diffuser and not banging my head against it is well worth it. I may work on some further weight reduction if I get to adding a controller.

Okay, i see.
The string lights seem a bit fussy to me.
You should have a light shaped like a small E27 globe, with a hook on the tail and an 18350 in it, or something like that.
(I’m planning on building something like that.)

Nah, a single light source won’t spread light around a narrow tent. Fuss? Only during the first hanging. Then I just fold them with the tent, so they are ready to use as soon as the tent is set up. Less fuss than any other variant. :slight_smile:

Broke the glass to myUCO mini.
If you like to DIY; here’s a mod.

Coin holder on Amazon; just type in coin holder for silver eagle coins.
Rubber grommet can be found at HD or any hardware store.
I used an old Sunwayman twisty; would prolly work better with a aaa tail clicky.
3.9 oz with 3 bats.