small lantern using 14500 or similar small batteries?

Other Types of Lights LED Lanterns
1

I was looking at the Olight Obulb but, I don't like the embedded battery. The LT1 Mini looks promising but, it is at best a good ways off before beta/alpha deliveries start.

I have two LT1's so, I'm covered there. Something in a globe shape smaller than a baseball and larger than a golf ball is a reasonable size for me. I prefer the form of the LT1 but, it would need to be about half the size overall or at least a smaller diameter (thinking of something like a travel size can of deodorant or a small can of lubricant/WD-40). Finally, not flashlights with diffusers as the diffusers just get lost or misplaced when I travel.

Thanks!

Sid

2

Look for the Lumintop CL2

3

If you want to do some modding, there’s a ton of cheap 3AA lanterns out there. You could rewire the battery compartment to use three 14500’s in parallel, and maybe add a charging circuit.

Here is one that is on sale for labor day:

https://www.harborfreight.com/250-lumen-pop-up-lantern-64110.html

4

Thanks! That looks like a good option I need to look into.

5

Maybe this? 1AA you could use an eneloop if that counts.

Niteize 3-in-1

6

How is Niteize quality? The products of theirs I have seen in person looked like they were slightly better than the really cheap Chinese knock-off type products.

7

Nitize mechanical stuff has always looked nice to me, not mountaineering strength (which would make it heavy), but cleverly designed. I haven’t tried their electronic stuff, but I remember they acquired Inova, which was a respectable flashlight brand. So that 1aa light has a good chance of being ok.

(Note: I just fixed the link in my earlier post).

8

Good to know. Innova was a good entry-level flashlight back in the day for me. The Nitize lights I saw were a long time ago and pretty subpar IMHO. Innova probably has helped them improve their lights so, it might be time to give one a try.

9

Options: flashlights.parametrek.com/index.html?type=lantern&battery=1x14500,3x14500,4x14500
Lumintop CL2: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/67706

10

Regarding difusers, have you considered using an organizer pouch (sometimes called an EDC organizer or field pouch) or travel cubes to keep your smaller items from getting misplaced or buried in the bottom of your bag while travelling?

As for dedicated lanterns not mentioned yet:

Fenix CL09 - 1 x CR123A or 16340. Very small. 4 white modes, plus red and green secondary modes. Magnet in the tail

Fenix CL23 - 3 x AA (but not 14500). Similar diameter as the Lumintop CL2, but shorter in height, and lighter weight, but plastic instead of aluminum. White light or red light. Can turn on only the the LED’s on one side for directional illumination if desired. Also includes a light on the bottom to illuminate downward when hanging.

Fenix CL20R - 1600mAH lithium ion. Built-in battery, but I figured I’d mention since it is similar to the Obulb but a little bigger. There was an older version (CL20) that used AA batteries and sounds like it would have been a really good option for you, but I don’t think it is available anymore.

Nitecore LA10 - 1 x AA (but not 14500). Very small. Magnet in tail. Diffuser can be telescoped down to further reduce size. Standard or high CRI versions.

Nitecore LA30 - 2 x AA and built-in lithium ion (can run on either). Magnetic base, high CRI, secondary red light mode.

Coast EAL12 - 4 x AA (not 14500). Simple and cheap, but not very compact. I’m pretty sure the output is not regulated, and it only has 2 modes.

Cascade Mountain Tech Lantern - 3 x AA (not 14500). Simple and absurdly cheap, especially if you have a Costco membership. This is the only one from my list I have tried so here’s a mini-review:

It comes very close to being a great budget lantern. Modes include: Daylight high and low, warm white low only, and red strobe mode. The illumination pattern is decent, although could be better. The diffuser can be removed to have a directional light good for hanging to illuminate downward such as in a tent or using as a very floody flashlight. The diffuser telescopes down to reduce the size for packing. It is mostly plastic, but still feels decently well built. Output is unregulated, but that’s to be expected for the price.

Unfortunately, the red strobe mode makes absolutely no sense to have included at all, and worse, the user interface forces you to cycle through all modes to turn the lantern off. If they changed this light to single click on/off, and hold to change modes, I would call this an excellent deal. It has nowhere near the features or quality of the BLF LT1, but for the price, the features it does offer have the potential to be a great value. Considering the actual UI, I can only recommend if you accept that you have to cycle through strobe to turn off. I could not accept this, so I returned them.

11

Lepro 3-AA lantern (on Amazon) is reasonably small and light weight. Click once for cool white, click again for warm white, again for both together (which gives max lumens), next click is a flashing mode, then click to turn off. For the price it’s decent.

If you just want super-small (but no detachable diffusers you can lose), look at the Nitecore LA10 which runs on 1-AA cell and isn’t much larger than the cell. The diffuser is permanently attached, and retractable.

12

The Lumintop CL2
Looks like a mini LT1 - Freeme has a group buy going on for this with cells included.

I have the Nitecore LA10
The LA10 ticked off a lot of boxes when I bought it, I like the light only thing I tend to get dazzled.
It won’t work with Li-ion 14500 though. -

This Ledlenser looks appealing , except for the price! ML4

A member has a video youtube review of it although I really cant remember who it was.

Fenix has this CL23 , again it doesn’t have Li-ion 14500 functionality

Another choice would be the Nitcore LA30

Good Luck!

13

If you like the Olight style, the original Black Diamond Moji might be attractive to you. It's brighter, has a full ramp from I think 5 lumens or so up to 100 lumens, decent color temp (maybe 5000K, but not cold nor warm), runs on three AAA. It has really good run time and even better with Energizer lithium primaries. The dual folding hook is actually useful although it took me some time to warm up to it. No magnets but I think it'd be easy to install some if you wanted to. Haven't had mine apart but it looks like modding would be relatively easy and accessible. Diffuser is very smooth and not so opaque as to cut back the output significantly like some do. No lockout but the switch is flush/slightly recessed so if you pack it for travel you can toss it in virtually anywhere and not worry about it coming on. When ramping it exhibits a noticeable and oddly strong PWM flicker but the light is smooth and steady in use (I'm not one of those that is bothered by flicker in anything and can rarely notice it, but it looks clean to me). The only thing I'm not crazy about is battery swaps in the dark with the left-right-left configuration of three cells. When perched overhead I like the light distribution more than I do the vertical lantern style and if you set it on a countertop it's not harsh on the eyes, still distributes light nicely...don't really get the same wall/ceiling bounce that you would with a normal reflector setup, though, which can be better at times.

I scored a couple of these for $11 and $13 from a sporting goods store who was closing them out, but the usual $19 price seems to stay the same at all kinds of retailers. Decent light and I've had the occasion to use it a lot and for some long periods with storm power outages and car camping. Had a couple of recent extended power outages and the Convoy M3 on moonlight with an added diffuser is actually a clear winner for output and super long run time, but of course it needs cell recharging and is much larger/heavier.

One inconsequential note, maybe, is that BD gives a good 3 year warranty and does truly stand behind their products without making you wait forever or jump through hoops. I don't think they've had failure issues with these lanterns as they had a couple times with headlamp models, but if anything happens they'll take care of you, often even if it's out of warranty or you don't have proof of purchase.

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Diamond-BD620711BLYLALL1-Moji-Lantern/dp/B017P3N3SK