About a year ago I bought this lantern on Amazon for ~$9 and I really liked it because it’s compact, bright enough, can technically charge my phone (don’t care, but it’s a nice-to-have feature) and batteries, besides being a very common Lithium cell, are replaceable… so I can carry around a bunch of them and use the lantern, virtually, indefinitely.
Now, I gave this lantern to my family as a gift and was looking to buy it again but as you can see it’s unavailable, so I went to Aliexpress (searched other sites as well) and found this other lantern and bought it for $10 (now $12). It’s basically the same thing, only in a different color.
My question is: Is there a better lantern (or light bulb, or flashlight) out there similarly priced that uses at least two user-replaceable 18650 lithium cells?
The BLF LT1 (sold by Sofirn) is the go-to if you want 18650 and high capacity, though the Sofirn LT1S and LT1S Pro are a closer form factor to the one you posted, they take a 21700 cell which is slightly less capacity than 2x18650. It is significantly more expensive, but also probably much higher quality.
Dude! Where’s “Budget” in BLF… just from looking at the pictures I can see that those lanterns are on another level quality-wise. I mean, It’s hard not to love them, but they are in an entirely different price range. The cheapest is $45.99 without batteries, and with that, I can get at least 4 lanterns from Aliexpress and light the whole house.
I am sure, but for how long will they last…?? But I get it, a budget is a budget.
There was a time within the last couple of months when the original model LT1S could be had for around $20. So maybe look for sales if you are interested.
Yeah, it really depends on when and where you’re looking. In the past, I’ve seen the LT1S available with a battery for a little over $20 on AliExpress Super Deals. Bit of a rare occurrence but a great deal.
I ran a test and got like 4 hours on 1 step below max brightness, the light got dimmer at the end of the test but it never went off, and when I measured the batteries they were at 2.6V.
I meant physically. As in how long until they die from mechanical (or electronic) issues?
I knew I should have clarified that.
Don’t get me wrong, I have gathered lots of cheap lanterns over the last 5 to 10 years. Some have ceased to function just sitting in a drawer. (not worth troubleshooting and fixing them.) Some (though with very few hours on them) still work fine. But I wouldn’t put my faith in them working during a true emergency situation.
For something dependable and flexible, I keep the slightly modded LT1 (2)/LT1S (4) and an LT1 Mini around. But I can see where that may be overkill for others. Honestly though, the last protracted power outage around here (about 12 hours), I used headlamps more effectively than the lanterns.
Good question, now I want to take it apart to find out… maybe if I had let it on a while longer it would have turned off automatically but I don’t really know. My point is that even if it doesn’t have low voltage protection it’s still a good lantern for the price.
I hadn’t considered that aspect. The lantern seems well-constructed, and the plastic feels heavy and thick so I suppose it can withstand being dropped from a reasonable height. Now, electronically… IDK i’m gonna tear it down to see what’s inside.
Also, what modifications are possible for the LT1 and LT1S?
I guess that depends on how ambitious you are. I have seen people replace the LEDs, and flash updated firmware. In my case I did more add on things. A 3d printed “shade” for the LT1 and Lt1 mini… 180 degree with reflective coating to direct the light. I put magnets in the tail cap of two of the LT1S lights so I can hang them from metal surfaces. A strong rubberized magnet screws into the bottom of the LT1 for the same thing. The mini get a friction fit base that helps it stand up with the shade attached and also tail magnets. Simple stuff that make them more useable for me.
Wouldn’t be waterproof but would be cheap- use one of those cheap plastic lanterns and drill a hole in the cap. Solder wires to the positive and negative battery contacts. Solder the leads to one of those plastic 2 or 3 or 4P (parallel) 18650 holders.
Okay it’s a bit hacky, but it would achieve 1)long runtime, and 2) Cheap.
Ive run my original LT1 on moon or slightly above pretty much every night for a few years now. I used the bottom thread to screw it onto an extendable tripod then fit a 40,000mAh power bank to the base. Quality wise the LT1 is great, never has it done anything other than work as it should. I have the newer mini and the LT1-s which is also agreat lantern. I also have Olight lanterns but they are 6500k and while decent quality, they aren’t on the same page as the LT1 series for everyday use.
IDK i’m gonna tear it down to see what’s inside.
