Our Choice of Camping Lantern

While the hand torch and head lamp certainly have their place on camping trips, don't leave home without a camping lantern. A rechargeable lantern light is a great source of constant night lighting both around camp and as a tent lantern. Our top choice is one well-used by the team at The Safari Store - on self-drive safaris in wild places, on local camping trips, and whenever the power goes out. Meet the LedLenser ML6 Lantern.

What to Look for in a Camping Lantern

Digging through your provisions for dinner one-handed while balancing your hand torch. Hanging your head torch from a branch while you're cooking or from pole loops when you're reading in your tent. We've all been there. That's what makes a camping lamp a camping essential. This useful central light is the hands (and head) free way to illuminate your camp at night. If you are looking for the best camping lantern, there are a range of extra features to look for - all of which are housed in the impressive LedLenser ML6 Lantern.

Finding the Best Rechargeable Camping Lantern

• How Many Lumens Do I Need for a Camping Lantern?: How bright should a camping lantern be? The brightness of a camping lantern comes down to lumens. As you need a greater distribution of light, the best LED lantern tends to fall within the higher lumens bracket. The LedLenser ML6 Lantern is up to 750lm, with three white brightness outputs to match your needs.
• Charge and Be Charged With the Best Rechargeable Lantern: Escaping civilisation means finding batteries can be a little tricky. Thankfully, gone are the days of the dreaded light flicker and ensuing darkness of spent batteries. Pick a camping lamp that's USB rechargeable, but the best rechargeable lantern doesn't stop there. The LedLenser ML6 Lantern charges using a standard micro USB but, when it comes to the question of charge, the ML6 pays it forward. It also has a USB port so you can use your lantern as a power bank.
• White Light Functions: You don't always need the brightest white light - especially when you're enjoying being away from the glow of the big city. Look for an LED lantern with different light functions for pleasant, warm, glare-free lighting and total energy efficiency on camping trips. The ML6 has three white brightness modes and four white flashing modes - blink, strobe, SOS, and breathe. It also selects the last-used function every time you use it and is lockable to prevent battery-sapping accidents in transit.
• Choose Red Light for Night Vision: Red light is great for the outdoors, helping your eyes adjust better to the darkness and being less imposing than sharp white light. It also has less of an effect on wild animals and is less attractive to insects. The ML6 features red light functions that cast sufficient light to get things done around camp, with low-impact benefits for nights outdoors.
• It's All About That Base (And That Hook): It goes without saying that a camping lantern should be stable and free-standing, but the LedLenser ML6 has some clever design features that adapt perfectly to different camping conditions. The sturdy base of the ML6 is magnetised, which means you can secure it to the side of your car or any metal surface to get the light you need. We've even hung it from metal D-rings on the inside of our tents. If it's a central light you're looking for (but don't have metal D-rings), the ML6 has a rubber hook you can use to mount the lantern for perfect light distribution.
• Extra Features: The ML6 has a few other handy features we love. For instance, the fluorescent element glows at night so there's no thrashing about in the dark to find it after lights out. It also has built-in temperature control so you can use it for even prolonged periods without worrying about the light burning out. It's also easy to use. The top switch is used to flick between light settings, to increase or decrease brightness, and to activate or de-activate the lock-out function.

Our Favourite Camping Lantern: More About the LedLenser ML6 Lantern

There's no doubt about it - getting a camping lantern is a bright idea on any camping trip. Shop for the LedLenser ML6 Rechargeable Lantern and explore our range of hand torches and head lamps. Not sure where to start? Read our advice on how to pick the best flashlight.

The LedLenser ML6 camping lantern is USB chargeable - and can be used as a power bank to charge devices. The LedLenser ML6 camping lantern has three white brightness modes and four white flashing modes, as well as red light functions. Indoors, outdoors, and behind tent flaps, click through the options to find the light you need. The magnetic base of the LedLenser ML6 camping lantern is a useful feature for illumination around camp or anytime a bit of extra light comes in handy. The LedLenser ML6 camping lantern has a detachable hook - giving you a hanging camping lamp on demand both indoors and outdoors on camping trips. The LedLenser ML6 camping lantern comes with a wrist strap, ICR Li-ion battery, and charger.