Ordered the coleman from the top post, and will be trying it out this weekend. I'll report back on my experience.
Primary reason I ordered it, over other options is the higher output on high, although that does come at the expense of run time... only 5 hours on max supposedly.
Still, so far camping, I have yet to come close to completely running down any light.
Edit: Just ordered the GE Enbrighten 360 too. Will be interesting to compare.
FlashPilot;
Another way to reduce glare in an LED lantern is illustrated by the design of the lantern linked to below. Quite inexpensive at $10 from Amazon at the moment, the blue one was $5 briefly as an add-on for a few days. One on the way. It has the LEDs in the bottom of the light and is using light pipes to feed the output up in to the globe. On the left side of the screen click on the third photo from the top of the light to see the details.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DTT8394/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
No idea of the efficiency loss in the light pipes or whether it is as efficient as the remote phosphor LED technology used by GE and Coleman in their new lanterns for glare reduction but an interesting concept in itself and probably cheaper to produce. It looks like some makers are starting to respond to complaints of excessive glare from their lanterns.
Another glare reduction technology is being used by Energizer in their “Light Fusion Technology” which basically looks to be a similar concept to the light pipes in the lantern linked to above but it is using a double sided flat panel for the light emitting surface in the below linked to product.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B0EZWCG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That looks very interesting! Any other suggestions on area lights?
Looks to me like the big advantage of the Energizer lantern linked to earlier is how compact it is when folded up compared to most lanterns. The designers came up with a quite original concept for the design.
Any tail standing flashlight fitted with a dome type diffuser can make a decent area light and I have heard of people making diffusers for the big lights from cut up 1/2 gallon plastic milk jugs. Unfortunately it seems like no one makes such diffusers commercially for the big lights. Olight makes flat front diffusers for some of their SR series lights but they are still unidirectional while what is wanted for a flashlight used as a lantern is more of a cup shaped diffuser so it allows light out in a 180 degree hemisphere.
So I received the Energizer LED Folding 360 Area Lantern with Light Fusion Technology, and the GE Enbrighten 360 today, to add to my camping gear.
The GE Enbrighten is basically what I expected. Decent plastic quality, ok output, although at ~300 lumens it's nothing to write home about. I also find the light to be somewhat too cool personally. I expect it will hold up well, and given the run time on low, will probably last forever on the one set of alkaline D batteries I put in.
The Energizer folding area lantern is the surprise dark horse. It's equally as bright, and produces a nice quality, artifact and glare free light. The best part, folded up it's not much larger then a paper back book! So far I'm extremely pleased with it. Construction is decent, not great, but think it will hold up.
The one thing has me concerned about it, is run time, 100 hours on low (supposedly) is nice, but I wonder if it will last through the night on high.
A larger version, the size of say a school textbook, powered by a bank of 8 18650's would be unbeatable.
I received the same two lanterns today and have not even powered up the GE. As far as run time is concerned see my comments in the review I posted for the Energizer. It is the last post in the below linked to thread. Am I too harsh?
Those little remote phosphor domes are available in different CCT/CRI options, somebody with one of the GE lanterns needs to disassemble and get the dimensions and see if any of these are compatible...
Anyone have this one? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CHHNLZ0/
Infinitely variable? Could be a good candidate for a LED swap.
I have a bunch of non-LSD Tenergy D cells, they're truly impressive and well worth the money.
Also... am I weird for wanting to see what happens when you stick a de-phosphored MT-G2 in that GE lantern? :D
@Richwouldnt - I don't see anything on that post about run times? Mine came in retail packaging (already in the garbage), basically the same way I would expect to see it in store, and on demo mode, with four batteries inside. I added four more alkalines for the the first use after that switching to eneloops. Had no trouble at all with the plastic screws, just used my nails, and they turned ok. Did use a key to pull the cover off the first time, it was a bit stuck, but second time around inserting more batteries, had absolutely no trouble.
I agree with you in that compared to old lanterns it feels toy like, but at the same time, how much durability do you really need for something that's going to end up on a picnic table? I like the kid friendly factor... I bring lights, and glow sticks to every camping trip now just to make sure that kids have something to play with, and hopefully stay away from my bigger lights :p I love the fact that all three of the new lanterns I just got are absolutely idiot proof. The absolute worst that will happen is one will break. None of them can explode.
Regarding the GE, I tested it a bit more just now, and one thing that makes me concerned, with reference to run times, is that there is no huge difference in output, going from low to medium, and medium to high. If the run times can be trusted the light will serve very well, although I really can't see any reason why they could not have reduced the size of it significantly.
@Comfychair - Don't think you're weird at all, but BLF is not not really the place to ask... sort of like asking if talking to yourself is normal at an insane asylum :p
I would love to see an MTG2 lantern, but as another member recently pointed out to me, they get HOT when driven, more so than xmls.
Personally to me, there is no more pleasing tint yet, versus a dedomed mtg2. That coleman looks like a good candidate, but I doubt it would be anywhere close to being able to work with an mtg2. Not to mention all three of the lanterns (if you can count the energizer fusion folding light as a lantern) are made of cheap plastic... so I think they will be ok for light use, but appearance aside, they are nothing like the old solid gas lamps.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B0EZWCG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Scroll down the page to the “Product Description” section and the run times are near the bottom of the section. Shows times for 4 Energizer products and the 2 in one and 3 in one lights show Energizer Lumens and run times in grey boxes and ANSI FL1 Lumens and run times in orange boxes. The 3 in 1 light lists 150 Energizer Lumens and 100 hours run time and below that in orange it says 100 FL1 lumens and 10 hours run time for example. Quite a difference.
Below that is a section titled “ANSI Standards” and below that the two statements I quoted in my review, the lines marked with a single and a double asterisk.
One thing to remember about mantle style lanterns is the HEAT involved. You are dealing with a flame at about the same physical temperature as the color temperature of the light being put out by the glowing mantle. No plastic can stand up to the temperatures involved. The lights are made of glass and metal because they pretty much have to be. Plastic is better for a LED lantern in most areas because it is not electrically conductive so shorts are less likely. Note the size of the aluminum heat sink though on the 1000 Lumens Coleman LED lantern. Some serious heat dissipation being tried for there it looks like.
The GE lantern, what's the battery layout? All 8 in series, or some series/parallel arrangement? That's the only one that might be suited to a MT-G2 conversion. If the cells aren't in series it probably wouldn't be impossible to change.
@Richwouldnt - I see what you mean, but there is no listing of run times, except the 300 lumens (max at led) and 100 hours, likely meant on low, with 8 batteries.
Of course there is a huge discrepancy between LED lumens and ANSI... that's no surprise, and ANSI as I understand it, really can't be applied to area lighting, so that's why they don't list it. Maybe I'm missing something but I'm still at a loss as to real world usage. I'll try to keep track of my own experience and report back monday.
You're 100% right, and have a point that plastic makes more sense for LED lanterns... but it's hard not to miss the solid feel of glass and metal.
@Comfychair - Looks like series, but that's strictly based on now the batteries are inserted. Since 4 or 8 can be used, it might be a setup of where four are treated in series, and 8 are treated as two four packs in parallel.
Considering it runs on 4 or 8 it almost has to be a 4Series 2Parallel battery arrangement for 6 volts nominal with alkaline batteries. The same for the Energizer folding 360 lantern with it’s 4 or 8 AA batteries, again a 4S2P arrangement when all possible batteries are installed.
By the way on the GE lantern I would expect that the eight battery arrangement, using alkaline batteries, would more than double the run time due to halving the current draw per battery as alkaline batteries are much more rapidly depleted as current draw increases. Take a look at the capacity of the HKJ tested alkaline batteries decrease in the below linked report as current draw increases. At low current draw the useable capacity in mAh is over 4 times what it is at maximum tested current draw and the difference in watt hours is almost a 6X difference. The reason that alkaline batteries SUCK at high current draws.
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Duracell%20Plus%20Power%20AA%20UK.html
Very interesting battery testing results... I new alkalines sucked at high draw, but didn't realize how much. They do seem to last almost forever on remote controls. Definitely makes sense to stick to using 8 batteries in these lights.
Here below is the link to HKJ’s test of D size alkalines. Not much better, or maybe even worse results, as he was able to push them to 5 amps output. A reason why I bought Tenergy Centura batteries for my Coleman. With fresh alkalines it is drawing about 3.5 amps per a test done by a CPF member and over 4 Amps with NiMH rechargeables.
Also a good illustration of why I wonder that no one has come out with a commercial lantern that takes 18650 or 26650 batteries. Maybe because the battery manufacturers LOVE alkaline batteries. Eaten alive by high current devices like digital cameras, flashlights and both LED and fluorescent lanterns they sell zillions to people too uninformed or lazy to buy rechargeable batteries.
I now have three lanterns with very close to the same output by makers claims. The Coleman is 330 Lumens on medium. The Streamlight Seige is 340 on max and the GE Enbrighten is 350 Lumens on max. Running them all with newly charged true D size Tenergy NiMH batteries guess their order of light output. As said in the bible “The last shall be first”.
Brightest is the Coleman followed by the Streamlight with the big GE bringing up the rear. This was an eyeball test done in my darkened bedroom at night and judging which lantern put the most light on the walls of the room, all held in the same position. The differences were noticeable with the theoretically lowest output lantern clearly the brightest of the three. Interesting, and to me surprising.
BTW the Energizer Fusion folding lantern, which lists output as 300 LED Lumens, was about as good as the GE if not better and a LOT more compact. I swear that 10+ of the Energizer lanterns, folded, could fit in the transportation space of the GE, which is actually bulkier than the 1000 Lumens Coleman. Eight D battery bases make for big lanterns but relatively long run time.
For camping purposes I would judge the Streamlight as the most rugged of all without performing actual torture tests.
I ended up not really needing to use the lanterns this weekend, as we were able to use our extension cords, combined about 200 feet, and had lights for the picnic tables.
Of course they did still see plenty of use, specifically the GE Enbrighten 360 was on every night in the supply tent, and a big help there.
The Coleman also did well enough, giving us enough light to play Frisbee at night in a very small field. Definitely helped that there was a stump basically smack in the middle of it.
The Fusion folding lantern got the least use, mostly I guess because it was too unusual for people. Personally I like it the most of the three area lights, and it is the same on max as the GE 360, and about the same as the Coleman on medium. Unfortunately it's design does feel very flimsy, and where I'm not concerned about the GE or Coleman breaking easily, the fusion lantern, in it's open state, wouldn't take much to destroy it. A strong gust of wind could definitely knock it down.
If Energizer ever decided to create a larger, brighter, more rugged version, they would have an instant winner.
I agree about the Energizer. A combination of large surface area when opened up, relatively light weight and relatively flimsy construction, at least by feel, makes it seemingly a pretty delicate item. A good breeze could take it right off a table. Based on some of the Amazon reviews it seems that the plastic used in the battery compartment and it’s cover fasteners may be on the brittle side too. Of course no owner would be ham fisted! 
A simple change to a true high strength plastic could increase the strength enormously. Note that the Streamlight is polycarbonate plastic which is a very tough plastic.
BTW if you want a more directional light put some aluminized Mylar on the back side of the Energizer light diffuser panel. This will increase the light brightness a lot on the uncovered side. Even white paper or the bright side of aluminum foil should do much the same thing.
For those who want to get a additional battery holder, or more, for the big Coleman lantern check your local Walmart. I did a web search and found that they seem to be about the only source that has them in stock. Everyone else is waiting for a new supply from Coleman per their stock status and not expected until about November. This is the” 4D Battery Cartridge CPX6 compatible” battery holder and from Walmart it is about $6 each. Powers any CPX6 compatible Coleman product. I was in Walmart today and picked up two of them. Loading my two spares with LSD NiMH Tenergy Centura D size batteries for emergencies.
Prior to my visit I checked on line so I knew that my closest Walmart was supposed to have the battery holders in stock.
As a collector of vintage Gas and battery lanterns, ( in total its at 70 + atm) I like modding lanterns as much as flashlights.
One of my favorite modded lanterns is this Coleman Remote control Lantern that was once a twin-Fluorescent tube model that ran off of 12v ( 8-D Batteries) it still has the remote control modes, but now it has a Philips 11-Watt/800-lumen E27 Base LED bulb, (equivalent to 60 Watt Incan) that i converted and modded to run off 12 volts DC instead of 120 volts AC.
Its the brightest LED light i have in my collection and use while camping, with the original High/Low modes and night light still operational, and it can now run from 8-D Alcalines, 8 AA NiMH cells, 3 18650s, or use a 12V Car adapter cord to run from a cig-socket or RV battery.
This conversion has a much, much better tint natural white Bulb, , closer to an incandescent, (or even the Gas/mantle Lanterns) and better CRI that 95 % of the eye-searing blue-tinted LED & Fluorescent lanterns that manufacturers seem to keep shoving in our faces lately on the shelves of outdoor stores and online.
The next light i’m modding is a former Coleman single-mantle Naphtha Model-321B, ( that will run from the same Muli-cell set up as the below lantern) but will use a 3 mode driver and MT-G2 5000K B0 emitter and Mantle-shaped diffuser.
