Best lantern-powerbank I have tried so far, almost!

Hi all,

My job is mostly related to lighting products consulting. Very little of it, if nothing, nowadays is related to outdoor equipment (I do mostly industrial, street, home… ), but my first steps many years ago were to create my own diving lights brand, named Barbolight. So, I can say that I have some knowledge about this area, and you can call me an expert… at least is what other people pay me for, and up to know they are quite happy.

Being said this, and although again my professional life is not around this kind of products, as a rider, adventurer, ocasional traveler…. I do have always some personal interest on all kind of gadgets, and whenever I see them anywhere, if I find them worthy ,I buy some units, test them and use them for myself. 99% of the displayed products are novelty, with no real purposeful innovation, with no quality control… But some are worthy.

A few weeks ago I attended a lighting trade show in Hong Kong, and I found and bought the lantern I want to tell you about, as I think it is a remarkable product.

First of all lets talk about the specs, but prior to anything else, please keep in mind that this lantern is a very capable power bank as well, with capacity enough to charge any USB powered device. This feature makes of this gadget an extraordinary one for “advriding”. For example on my last trips to Laos and Philippines I rented motorbikes with no 12V power socket, and I used my iPhone + waterproof case as satnav (Yes, I’m a minimalistic adventurer), and I did it thanks to the use of power banks I had with me.

So, now the data and the pictures:

Is a tube shaped item, very easy to pack or attach, made of polycarbonate, IP68, very impact resistant weighting 250 grams, L*D (length diameter) 260*36 mm. (like a regular jedi lightsaber, give or take :ricky)

It has a 5200 mAh li-ION battery (in fact two 2600 mAh 18650 type cells).

Has three levels of output ( I tested them into an integrating sphere, and they are true)

350 lm. 5 hours. (lots of light to make any serious repair)
175 lm. 10 hours (cooking, camping duties… )
40 lm. 72 hours. (into the tent)
Strobe: 15 hours

The color temperature is 5200ºK. Color rendering is as high as 84!)

Other than that, lets go for the pictures:

Real world use, top of Nanshan hill, stormy day. I would say that light beam is narrower than 120º. more than 90º, but you have some spill 180º. Really useful.

The cap covering the USB input/ouput is sealed with an o-ring and has piece or plastic to avoid loosing it. Good detail

Good design details: The pushbutton is “glowinthedark” and is recessed so it will be very hard to activate accidentally. The D-ring looks resistant enough and made of stainless steel.

Battery status is displayed with 4 blue LEDs.

For your reference, sometimes better that talking about “millimeters”. As you can see is easy to pack.

Yes, is totally waterproof. Its been on the bath tube for hours…. no signs of water leaking inside. One very interesting feature is that it floats with the light source pointing up.

Overall… one of those rare gems I use to find. I have seen them on amazon and so on, use “power bank Q7 and you will find them… or at least similar products, you know how quickly lower priced clones come out when something is born in China. There is one shorter version, with just one cell, but now power enough for motorbike travelers which are not so much concerned about weight as a climber.

Why do I say it on the title “almost”?

Well, in order to make it perfect I would use higher capacity Panasonic batteries (30% better capacity, and really reliable ones). Another thing to improve, but this is quite personal, is the color temperature… I would get 4000ºK instead of 5000ºK. Other than that, even as it is, a great product. Sooner or later there will be 1000 clones with low quality, but you can still meanwhile catch some good items. I’m not linked at all to manufacturer, and have no commercial interest, this review is based on my experience and made to help others.

Javier

Interesting,
thanks Javier

I have the same lamp, but half the size, capacity, but only 100 lumens.

Great review, it only misses a purchase link :smiley:

Thanks for the review!

There’s a ‘short’ version of it, 100lm, 1*18650 (soldered, not supposed to be chganged), with additional red light: link (Banggood, 17 USD)

edit: same as the blitzwolf it seems.

Yes, I got that one as well… maybe great for a backpacker, but not juice enough for serious purposes.

$26 on aliexpress

Looks good. Is there any sign of pwm on the lower modes?

No noticeable flicker at all. Not even with the mobile cam.