Who Makes The Best Solar Camping Lanterns?
Table of Contents
You are going to need lighting at some point at your campsite at night. Solar camping lanterns are good for lighting up a good portion of your campsite, you can hang them from a nearby tree branch or put them on a picnic table.
Solar camping lanterns are nice because you don’t have to continually replace the batteries on them you can recharge them during the day by just leaving them out in the sun. Most of them also allow you to charge your wireless devices from the solar power that they capture throughout the day.
Below are the solar camping lanterns I would recommend you check out and what criteria you should look at when selecting a solar camping lantern.
Things to consider when buying a solar camping lantern
When picking the best solar camping lantern there are a lot of considerations that you will want to make before you decide which one will be best for you and your friends and family. Maybe you will decide that you want more than one type of solar camping lantern.
Solar camping lanterns are nice because you don’t have to keep buying replacement batteries and they can be recharged during the day by capturing the ambient sunlight. There are many different features that are offered on solar camping lanterns that I’ve outlined below.
Design
You will want to decide which solar camping lantern design you will want to go with. There are some solar camping lanterns can collapse for easy portability and there are some solar camping lanterns that are larger and designed to light up a large area like a normal camping lantern that you would be accustomed to.
You may want to choose a solar camping lantern that has a handle on it if you are planning on transporting it a lot around your campsite or if you just want a handle to be able to hold your lantern.
Charging Mode
When choosing a solar camping lantern there are some that offer different charging solutions, some of them allow you to charge the solar camping lantern with a USB connection so that you can charge the solar camping lantern with a standard electric connection while you are at home that way you don’t need to leave it out in the sun all day to keep charged.
Another option that some of the solar camping lanterns I’ve recommended have is the ability to still use AA batteries as another power source backup in case you weren’t able to charge the lantern fully with solar power.
You may also be interested in my other article about the best portable camping generators that
Lighting source
Most of the solar camping lanterns I’m going to review are going to use LED lights within them to be able to provide you light at your camping site. They use LED lights because they are the most efficient in the light they are able to produce while using the least amount of energy.
This is beneficial for a solar camping lantern as most of them are going to be running on a battery pack that will eventually get drained. The more efficient the lighting source the longer your solar camping lantern is going to last you while in use.
Durability
Depending on what you are expecting to use your solar camping lantern for you may want to go with a model that is designed to be waterproof or water resistant. If you are planning on using it at your campsite most of the time and it’s not going to be covered in any way it may be beneficial to go with a waterproof model just in case it gets wet from a pop-up storm and doesn’t get ruined.
Power source
Because of the nature of solar camping lanterns and solar panels, in general, they are going to need somewhere to store the energy that they are capturing from the sun. This is typically going to be done via a rechargeable battery pack that will be built into the solar camping lantern.
What’s nice about this is that some of the solar camping lanterns I’ve recommended will allow you to charge your other devices from the rechargeable battery pack if you choose to do so.
Lighting Performance
Another thing to keep in mind when choosing a solar camping lantern is going to be the lighting performance of the model that you choose. Most solar camping lanterns are going to offer different lighting modes on them which will affect how long they will be able to keep emitting light.
The brighter the light the solar camping lantern will be outputting the shorter the solar lantern will be able to hold a charge. You will want to try to find a solar camping lantern that will at least last a few hours on a full charge.
Depending on your needs you may want to find one that can emit light for 5-8 hours if you are going to be taking your solar camping lantern on long trips where you will only be able to recharge it from solar power only.
Weight
If you are planning on taking your solar camping lantern on a backpacking or hiking trip it would be wise to pick one that is going to be light in weight so that it doesn’t add any unnecessary weight to your pack.
When going on a hiking trip making your backpack as light as possible is crucial in making sure you don’t get too fatigued too quickly while out hiking. The more your backpack weighs the more you are going to want to take breaks which may slow down your progress.
Practicality
On some of the solar camping lanterns, I’m recommending they offer a camping flashlight as well attached to the solar camping lantern. This would allow you to get two features out of the same product and you may not need to get a flashlight for your camping excursions if a solar camping lantern will meet both needs.
Color
When talking about the color of solar camping lanterns there are two colors I would be talking about, the color of the LED lights and the color of the solar camping lantern. The color of the LED lights is going to be more important than the color of the camping lantern for most people as the main purpose of a solar camping lantern is to output light for your campsite.
The color of that light will be a determining factor of how much light the lantern is able to put out. Some people also prefer white or blue LEDs so keep that in mind when looking at the lantern you ultimately select.
In regards to the color of the lantern, this may matter more to people if they are going to be carrying the solar camping lantern on a hunting trip. You may want not want to go out hunting with a bright yellow lantern as it may be more visible to the wildlife you would be hunting. Some people want their lantern to blend in with their other camping gear so there are different color options to choose from.
Solar Camping Lantern Reviews
TANSOREN Portable Solar Camping Lantern
The TANSOREN Portable LED Lantern is designed to be multifunctional and can be used for either indoor or outdoor. It features three different power supply methods. You can charge the lantern either by its built-in solar panel, a USB port or via 3 AA batteries.
Because the lantern has built-in rechargeable batteries it also has the ability to charge your phone or other electronic devices if you choose. It’s also designed to be collapsible so that it’s easily portable.
It’s advertised to be able to use its light for up to 8 hours on a single charge. Having three ways to power the solar LED lantern is a big plus in my book as you never know when you may need the lantern and it may not be fully charged if you had AA batteries you’d still be able to use the lantern in a pinch. If you are interested in checking out this TANSOREN Portable Solar Camping Lantern on Amazon click here.
SUAOKI Portable Solar Camping Lantern
The SUAOKI LED solar camping lantern is accordion shaped which means that it’s expandable and needs to be expanded to be able to shine its light.
There are many different brands of this same style on Amazon so if you like another brand better than SUAOKI go with that brand, most of them are the same design and shape and most come with a hook to hang them.
The SUAOKI LED camping lantern can be charged via two methods either through its built-in solar panel or via a micro USB port. It offers three lighting modes high, low, or SOS blinking depending on your lighting needs.
It’s advertised to be able to run its light in the high brightness setting for more than 15 minutes after an hour charging from the solar panel so that’s decent. It can run in the highest brightness setting for more than 5 hours at a full charge and more than 10 hours for its low brightness setting from a full charge. To check out the current prices of this SUAOKI portable solar camping lantern on Amazon click here.
Kizen Portable Solar Camping Lantern
The Kizen Solar camping lantern is of the same accordion design as the SUAOKI and offers most of the same features.
I think that this must have been a product that was offered to be customized by a company as there are 5 or 6 of the same accordion-style solar camping lanterns on Amazon.
With that said most of them have all of the same features as the other so I would go with the color or brand that you like the most. I like this Kizen portable solar lantern because it’s offered in blue and black which I like as a color combination.
It’s going to have the same specs as far as lighting as the SUAOKI. It’s advertised to be able to run its light in the high brightness setting for more than 15 minutes after an hour charging from the solar panel so that’s decent.
It can run in the highest brightness setting for more than 5 hours at a full charge and more than 10 hours for its low brightness setting from a full charge. If you are interested in checking out the current prices of this Kizen portable solar camping lantern on Amazon click here.
AGPTEK Solar Camping Lantern
The AGPTEK solar camping lantern is designed to be a stand up solar camping lantern. It offers 5 different charging methods either through the built-in solar panel, a built-in hand crank, car adapter, AC adapter, or 3 AA batteries.
I think that the many different charging methods are a plus especially if you aren’t able to fully charge the lantern with solar energy at your campsite if it’s a cloudy day.
This solar camping lantern is unique because it also has a hand crank that you can turn to provide energy to the lantern, which means it would work even if you don’t have any other way to charge the lantern. All you would have to do is turn the crank until you’ve provided enough energy to light up the lantern.
It also offers USB power output to charge your other electronic devices which is a plus. I really like this one because of all the features and the design, if you want a larger lantern for your campsite this is the one I would go with.
To check out the current price of this AGPTEK solar camping lantern on Amazon click here.
Zanflare Solar Camping Lantern
The Zanflare Solar camping lantern is a bit unique in design compared to the other solar camping lanterns on this list.
It’s designed to fold its solar panels out from the base of the lantern; it also has multiple solar panels to be able to catch more direct sunlight than a solar lantern with just one solar panel.
Because of this design, I would say that this lantern would be your best option if you were planning on charging your solar lantern from solar power solely.
With this sort of design, it doesn’t look like a typical solar camping lantern and I think would be better suited for lighting smaller areas rather than being able to light up large areas of a campsite like a typical lantern. It does feature three lighting modes high, low, and flash.
If you interested in buying this Zanflare solar camping lantern from Amazon click this link here.
SUAOKI Solar LED Camping Lantern
The SUAOKI solar LED camping lantern is designed much like the Zanflare one where is has multiple extendable solar panels to be better able to capture sunlight to be used for energy for the solar lantern.
This solar camping lantern also features the ability to charge the solar lantern via USB. Like the Zanflare model, this lantern design is going to be suited for lighting small areas and not large campsites.
It would be really suitable for lighting the inside of your tent as both models will come with a hook that you can use to hook it at the top of your tent.
With this solar camping lantern model and the Zanflare, it comes down to brand as they are essentially the same lantern with comparable features and price. You may like one color over the other. To check out the current prices of SUAOKI solar camping lantern on Amazon click here.
How do solar camping lanterns work?
Solar camping lanterns usually will have a solar panel that is integrated within the solar lantern. The solar camping lanterns panel unit is made up of many smaller units called photovoltaic cells.
Photovoltaic means they convert sunlight into electricity. These cells would be linked together to then send that electricity into an internal battery pack to be stored for later.
Solar camping lantern tips
• Make sure that your solar camping lantern is fully charged before you head out on your camping trip. If you only use your solar camping lantern from time to time it will probably not be fully charged when you are ready to use it. Make sure that it still works and that it’s fully charged before you actually need it and it’s not charged.
• It may not be a bad idea to go with a solar camping lantern that can use batteries as a backup in case you don’t get that much sun during the day and you can’t charge your solar lantern that day.
• If you are camping then you would want to make sure that during the day the solar lantern is in full sunlight at your campsite so that it can charge as quickly as possible. Remember that the shadows at your campsite will change where they are landing during the day so you may need to move it around a bit during the day to make sure it’s in full sunlight all day.
• Carry your solar camping lantern on the outside of your hiking backpack if you are going to be hiking during the day so that it has a chance to charge.
