The Best Camping Lanterns of 2026

The Quick & Dirty: This is the best camping lantern for most people, and it balances output, light modes, and battery life well. It doesn’t charge via USB-C, which is one of our only complaints.

BioLite didn’t miss when they brewed up the AlpenGlow 500 Lantern ($80), a light that’s as versatile in the backcountry as it is for car camping. There’s little we could come up with that we would have done differently, which easily landed it the title of best overall. If you’re after a straight-ahead camping light source that has a few tricks up its sleeve, the AlpenGlow is your lantern.

Need a quick burst of white light? One tap. Feeling a little more natural? Tap again. A third tap brings the color, and a fourth ignites color-changing ChromaReal LEDs. BioLite also incorporated some secondary modes to each, giving you the ability to limit the light to only one side of the lantern or imitate a candle flicker.

There’s even a third press option triggered by a quick shake of the lantern. While we do applaud the unique way of integrating an accelerometer, we found this to be a little hit-and-miss. Eventually, the lantern will catch on — it may just take an extra shake to get there. These different lighting options take a minute to memorize, but the tiered setup means you can blitz through them pretty quickly if you pass the one you’re after.

In addition to its impressive lighting capabilities (500 lumens is dang bright), the AlpenGlow incorporates several features we’ve come to expect in a lantern, such as an integrated 6,400 mAh power bank to charge your electronics (which, unfortunately, is USB-A output only for now).

Looking forward to the bright future of portable electronics, we’d love to see a pivot to USB-C here, which BioLite got right in the later offering of the AlpenGlow Mini. And for those looking for all the same functions in a middle-ground package, there’s the AlpenGlow 250.

Beyond the BioLite offerings, those after a generalist lantern like the AlpenGlow 500 with a few more mounting and lighting options would be well-served to consider the Black Diamond Orbiter 650 — a lantern that sports both tripod legs and a top-down mode to spot-illuminate your camp table at night.

Our decision to choose the AlpenGlow over the Orbiter for our top spot was difficult, and it came down to light quality and color. Across the board, the ChromaReal LEDs in this lantern provide a richer and more pleasing light compared to the Black Diamond lantern.

Night after night, the AlpenGlow 500 puts out impressively natural-looking light, which we greatly appreciate. Anyone searching for an all-around powerhouse of a lantern would likely find it in the AlpenGlow.

The Quick & Dirty: A spend-wise camp lighting option that does a whole lot for a lot less out of pocket. There are some kinks to work out (like the instant full-power mode), but it’s forgiven for the price.

For $30, we’re willing to forgive the ‘surprise’ nature of the Duracell 2000 Lumen Tri-Power, which turns on at a full blast of 2,000 lumens. Get beyond that, and this is one excellent budget camp lighting option, with two separate ways to power it and just as many ways to charge it.

Editorial Director Sean McCoy tested the Tri-Power recently while base camped during an elk hunt, and found the little lantern could hang (and illuminate the interior of an entire 13-foot canvas tent). Unlike some camp lanterns (where feature bloat makes for a difficult-to-use light), the Tri-Power is simple: you have high, medium, and low power, as well as a flashing red light. That’s it.

But tech-trickle down has certainly improved this Duracell lantern, and we were pleased to see it sport both a solar panel and a USB-C port for charging the internal cells. The lantern will also run off of classic D batteries, which make for a great backup. We also used the USB-A output to keep our phones topped off, but wouldn’t count on getting multiple full charges out of it.

The Tri-Power isn’t perfect, and besides turning on at full bore, we find that solar panels are best suited to lower-output lanterns, like the BioLite Luci Charge 360. Even still, we found that the Tri-Power would recharge itself enough to run for a couple of hours on medium after sitting in the sun all day. The red light will also only flash and not stay steady, which isn’t great if you’re trying to use it to preserve your night vision.

For more than half of what our best overall pick will run you, the Tri-Power is an excellent budget lantern.

The Quick & Dirty: This is the collapsible camp lantern perfected, and is for campers who might be short on packed space, or who want a lantern that will keep itself charged on long trips.

While we plucked the BioLite Luci Charge 360 ($60) for this award, similar praise can be heaped on all of the inflatable Luci (formerly MPOWERD products, now BioLite) light offerings. All are supremely portable, and range from the lovable, petite Luci Candle, which is only $20 and flickers with mock candlelight, to the larger Luci Charge models, which can charge electronics via USB.

Regardless of the model, all Luci lights are lightweight, collapsible, come with a handle for hanging, and can be recharged in a day of sunlight. On road trips, we put ours on the dashboard, which keeps them topped off. One time, the novelty of them there even got us through Mexican customs more smoothly, thanks to a chatty border agent.

The Luci Charge 360 is a great do-everything light. Its 31 LEDs give off a total of 360 lumens, which is enough for backcountry cooking or taking a shower in a dark state park campground stall. It also has a battery level indicator, and that 3.5″ square solar panel is large enough to keep the lantern self-sufficient on longer trips (something smaller solar lanterns struggle with). The internal 4,000 mAh battery pack isn’t quite as big as the one in the AlpenGlow 500, but it still will charge our phones at least once.

BioLite claims its lights can withstand up to 150 pounds of pressure, and the waterproofing has held up when we’ve left them in the rain. But we’ve found that, in general, the Luci lights aren’t particularly durable. We’ve purchased more than a dozen of them over the years, in various models, and about half of them fail after a year or two of heavy use. Some tear, which isn’t a big deal because even if they don’t hold air, they still function.

Still, the Luci Charge 360 is our go-to solar-powered lantern for most situations. Some version of these lanterns has traveled with us for many years, miles, and nights under the stars, and when we run into friends camping, they almost always want to show off their Luci lights, too.

The Quick & Dirty: A simple camp candle lantern that adds some nice ambiance to your evening. Don’t expect to light up the forest with it, but its inexpensive enough to grab a few.

The little UCO Original Candle Lantern ($30) is a must-have for your emergency kit, bugout bag, or go-to camp kit. It’s extremely easy to use — just slide the glass down and light the candle for instant light. The included reflector clip directs the light where you need it most.

A single candle burns for nearly 9 hours, and the spring-loaded system keeps the flame at a consistent height. It does get hot, so use caution when extinguishing or moving. It packs down to 4.25 inches long and weighs just 6.4 ounces.

The neoprene case protects everything during transport and makes it a convenient addition to your camp kit. We’ve used one exclusively at camp when we wanted a classic, soft firelight. And it’s always in our chuck kit, just in case.

Need a little longer-burning light? UCO also sells natural beeswax candles that burn for an extended 12 hours. For those buggy summer nights, there are even citronella candles that’ll keep the skeeters at bay.

To be sure, this lantern is an ambiance-first option — don’t expect to use this as your only source of camp light. While the warm glow is an inviting one, there’s only so much of it, and trying to cook dinner by candlelight can feel a bit limiting when there are so many other electric options out there.

While many lanterns these days incorporate some type of ‘candlelight’ option, a great middle ground to consider is compact gas lanterns like the Snow Peak GigaPower or Mini Flame. These provide a warm glow that is adjustable and often brighter.

But for the real deal, it’s tough to beat the OG, and the UCO is certainly that. It’s also a top pick for emergency preparedness — whether you live in a hurricane zone or have frequent blizzard-induced power outages, it’s a good idea to have a backup light available. The Candle Lantern is an affordable, easy-to-use, reliable option for both camping and emergencies.

The Quick & Dirty: A big-camp lantern that brings the daylight back, and the choice for campers who want to keep the party going into the night. You’ll pretty much need to also own a portable power station, and the lantern isn’t cheap itself, but it’s worth it for some.

With up to 6,000 lumens (!) and casting light a full 150 feet in every direction, the Goal Zero Skylight Portable Area Light ($400) is a portable sun for your next overlanding, basecamp, or outdoor group shindig. Utilizing our typical go-to for lighting up large campsites, we’d need whole spools of string lights to accomplish the same lighted area, but the Skylight does it with ease.

The design of the Skylight borrows from the world of worksite lights but puts a much more user-friendly bent on it with a warmer light profile (3250K) that casts a cozy glow across your entire campsite. The six LED-covered petals atop the light are all individually adjustable as well, meaning you can direct light where you need it (or away from neighboring camps).

The whole apparatus is planted atop a 12-foot telescoping pole that anchors itself securely with a broad tripod base. Being able to raise the light this high not only increases the spread but also keeps buzzing insects that might be attracted to it out of your orbit. During testing, even the sandy soils of the Northeast that typically give camp chairs trouble weren’t an issue for the Skylight, which incorporates staking holes in each leg to secure it.

The Skylight does sport an internal battery (of 33 Wh, or ~8 hours on low), but was designed to ideally be run off of an external battery source, such as Goal Zero’s Yeti Power Stations, or from a 12V cigarette lighter plug. When powered by one of these large battery banks, run time increases tremendously, up to 375 hours on low with the Yeti 1500X.

Rounded out with four different lighting levels — including a ‘boost’ option — the Skylight has become standard issue on our overlanding excursions where we need light for a broad area in between vehicles. Complemented with a few close-quarters lanterns like the Black Diamond Moji or Goal Zero Crush, you’ve got a backcountry lighting system to rival many rock concerts. 

The Quick & Dirty: The best option for covering a wide area in camp with soft light. This won’t be the brightest option, but it will run for a long time, and enhance the camp energy.

The BioLite Luci Solar String Lights ($100) are everything we loved about the old MPOWERD version of these twinkling stars, just with a new name. Twenty individual light pods are spread across 44 feet of braided nylon cord, allowing you to light up a large area. It’s all the camp ambiance you need in a neat package.

In practice, we were able to light up entire campsites with these string lights, stretching from tents to picnic tables and back again. You’ll need to get creative to secure the lights on either end (we quite like the Nite Ize Gear Ties for this), but once you’re set up, the lights will run a full 8 hours on high. At a more mellow ‘medium’ setting, we were able to get close to the full 24 hours of run time that the brand claims.

We particularly like the way these lights store in themselves. Simply wrap the string lights into the solar base and twist closed. Pro tip from our testing: Be sure to avoid too many overlapping bulbs or it will become too bulky to close.

Because of its small form factor, the integrated solar panel does struggle a bit to charge the lantern from flat dead (something we also noticed with other solar-powered lanterns). It charges fully in about 3-5 hours via USB-C or 16 hours via solar, so we recommend charging it up prior to camping and then using solar to keep it topped off throughout.

We’ve used these string lights nearly every day for many months, and they’re still going strong. The color is a pleasing, natural warm light, and we’ve been impressed with how bright it gets on the highest setting. The Luci Solar String Lights are a favorite option for adding a bit of camp ambiance or brightening up the backyard.

The Quick & Dirty: The classic propane camp lantern choice for ambiance and dependability. Uses the same fuel as your camp stove likely does, but also requires a little user care to be safe.

No lantern review would be complete without this classic Coleman Deluxe Propane Lantern ($65). If you’ve never used a gas lantern, it’s important to make note of a few things. First, in lieu of light bulbs, it uses mantles that fill with fuel and burn brightly. The glass can become extremely hot, and caution should be used when handling it.

That said, it’s a solid lantern that will last for years. And it clocks in at just $65. The dual-mantle design pumps out 1,000 lumens on high, and it will run for nearly 7.5 hours on high before needing a new fuel canister. The green propane cylinders run about $10 for a single 1-pound canister. While this isn’t outrageously expensive, it does add up and should be a consideration when lantern shopping.

We found it easy to thread the light onto the propane cylinder and appreciated the footed base that prevents tipping. It’s worth noting that you will need a match to light this lantern. But once it’s up and running, it’s easily manageable for the entire evening. There’s even a plastic base that interfaces with the propane canister to ensure tipping won’t be an issue.

When it comes to versatility, the era of gas lanterns has largely moved away from propane-fueled options like this in favor of smaller, isobutane-fueled options like the Snow Peak GigaPower, in our opinion. That doesn’t mean that the Deluxe is lacking in any old-school charm, however (it’s got it in surplus), but that you should consider potentially having a few other lanterns on hand for more functional use. This lantern makes a killer place to gather around, and when supported by a few electric modern options, it’s a winner.

When you’re ready to turn the lights out, be sure to let the Coleman Deluxe cool down before disassembling. Thankfully, the lantern ships with a hardshell case to port it around in between camping trips.

The Quick & Dirty: This is a solid alternative to my top pick, and even bests it in a few areas. The battery isn’t quite as large as other lanterns, however, and the colors aren’t as vibrant.

So bright you can see it from space — well, not quite, but at 650 lumens, the Black Diamond Orbiter 650 Lantern ($80) can still more than light up your next campout. With a hefty amount of smart functionality onboard, this lantern absolutely impressed in our testing. Compared to top lanterns like the BioLite AlpenGlow 500, its honestly neck-and-neck, and your choice will come down to a few slight differences.

Looking like it’s liable to blast off your camp table, the Orbiter lantern combines a number of different hanging and folding modes with six different lighting settings, each of which is dimmable or color-changing. The folding leg design is reminiscent of the Goal Zero Lighthouse lantern, but better executed, in our opinion, as it sports three legs to the two on the Lighthouse.

This design allows the lantern to be both propped up above cluttered picnic tables, as well as hung from above with the double-hook metal loops to attach to tent webbing loops or cordage around camp. An additional LED at the base of the lantern provides the illumination for this mode, and we found in our testing that it’s a targeted light that’s perfect for positioning over camp stoves or board games.

Moving through the lighting modes, the lantern offers up a bright white, along with the additional downward spotlight, the spotlight on its own, a flickering campfire mode, solid colors, and a color cycling mode. It’s the most feature-packed lantern we’ve encountered to date with this many modes, and they all can be dimmed to as low as 25 lumens and cranked to as high as 650.

Rounding out the Orbiter 650 is a forward-thinking USB-C charging port (recharge takes about 3.5 hours), as well as not one but two options for charging other devices: a USB-A port and a USB-C port. The 5,200 mAh internal battery bank can recharge your electronics, and while it’s not quite as large as the 6,400 mAh cell the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 sports, the additional charging options go well beyond that lantern.

The Quick & Dirty: The lo-fi classic inflatable lantern, perfect for adding some light around camp. Recharges itself, but doesn’t have the biggest built-in battery.

The BioLite Luci Lantern Original Clear ($30) is the inflatable lantern that everyone should own. While not quite as feature-packed as the Charge 360 model, this classic is affordable, bright enough, and has earned its keep around camp.

This little inflatable light source puts out up to 75 lumens. It keeps things simple with only four light modes: low, medium, high, and flashing. The cool white light is ideal for detail-oriented tasks like food prep, but if you need something a little softer, the lantern is also available in a matte finish that’s easier on the eyes.

The Luci Lantern’s solar charging has always been a big deal, mostly because it just works. Other cheaper lanterns might implement solar cells, but they are subpar and fail to recharge at a decent rate. The Luci Lantern will top off completely in 7 hours, meaning a full day of sun will keep you charged indefinitely. 

The Luci Lantern has changed much since it hit the market 10 years ago, but thankfully, its kept up with modern technology and integrated a USB-C charging port. This gives you a failsafe backup to recharge your lantern if the sun isn’t shining. 

Luci Lanterns aren’t bombproof, and our years of use have shown that they will eventually develop a hole or the hanging strap will rip off. Even still, we get a few solid years of use before this happens, and for the money, these are solid camping lanterns.

Read Review: More Than One Way to Light a Campsite: 3 Fenix Lanterns Compared

The Quick & Dirty: A rugged lantern with a metal build, great waterproofing, and light temperature adjustment. It’s more of a flood light than a camp lantern, so consider your use case.

Right out of the box, it’s easy to covet the Fenix CL27R ($85) because of its exceptionally sturdy feel. It has a rugged metal case and build that puts it head and shoulders above the other lanterns. On top of that, it’s also more compact than the previous CL30R lantern we’ve reviewed. If you want a camping lantern for the end of the world, this is it.

But the CL27R is more than just a tough face, and you can dial in the light not only in brightness but also in color temperature — a feature we haven’t seen in many other lanterns. These settings are step-less, meaning they progress as you turn a dial rather than change at incremental settings.

For temperature color, those ranges span from a charming 2,700K to a stark-white 6,500K. For brightness, it tops out at an alarmingly intense 1,600 lumens, which can cover a nearly 600-foot radius. It can also dim down to the more friendly glow of a soft candle. In spotlight mode, it has a narrow 14.5-degree beam, and in floodlight mode, a 105-degree beam. Spotlight and floodlight modes can be used together or independently.

Other stellar features of note are USB-C recharging, an IP66 waterproofing rating, and drop resistance to 1.5 meters. On the short end, it lasts nearly four hours (a claim we verified with testing). On the long end, it can eke out 285 hours on its lowest setting. It also has a red-light mode and recharges in about 2.5 hours. On our weight test, it came in at 10.5 ounces, which is actually slightly lighter than the company claims.

The Fenix CL27R also comes with a number of helpful and unique carrying and hanging options. Its handle rotates 360 degrees, which can prop up the beam at different angles, plus makes it easy to carry and hang. The handle is also magnetic and includes a tripod mount, which is particularly helpful for low-light filming and photography. Alternatively, you could couple it with a monopod to reenact your favorite Lord of the Ring scene — all fair game.

Jokes aside, camping with the CL27R really does give one a feeling of reassurance: it’s highly versatile and comforting, like that friend who’s always reliable no matter what hits the fan. And in a pinch, it has enough power to blind an intruder, and easily enough heft to knock out a rabid chupacabra.

The Quick & Dirty: An isobutane-powered lantern that’s perfect for backpacking, or adding camp ambiance. There’s some care required, as well as an extra can of gas.

The Snow Peak GigaPower ($87) is a little lantern that runs on isobutane (just like your favorite backpacking stove) and doesn’t take up much room. It weighs in at just 4.6 ounces and measures about 3.75 inches around and is the perfect addition to your camp table come dinner time.

We found the light output particularly pleasant during our testing, yet plenty bright to complete all our camp chores. It has a max output of ~400 lumens and will run for about 5 hours in warm conditions. Similar to stoves, the run time decreases in colder weather. The benefit of running on stove fuel, however, is that you can use your depleted canisters that are too low to bring along for cooking. Genius!

The body of this lantern is machined aluminum, coupled with brass fittings that ensure a smooth attachment to a gas canister. The glass globe is held in place by a stainless steel cage and houses the lantern mantle that will be needed to illuminate this lantern. This takes a little finesse the first time, but once it’s in place the lifespan should be many nights before it needs replacement.

An added bonus? Since it’s burning fuel, this little lantern will give off a bit of hand-warming heat, perfect for when the chill sets in. Just remember to let it cool down before stowing — something we were (painfully) reminded of during our initial use.

Compared to the gas lanterns of olden times (we’re looking at you, Coleman Deluxe), our allegiances have shifted to compact backpacking fuel lanterns like this one. They are simply easier to use, don’t require bulky green propane canisters, and put out enough light to count.

It began raining while we were using this lantern, but it never went out or had any issues. Being made of glass, it is susceptible to breaking if dropped. But the included hard carrying case will keep it safe when packed. For a portable warm glow, the GigaPower Lantern is our top choice.

The Quick & Dirty: A tough lantern with a few emergency-minded functionalities built-in, and offered at a low price. The rechargeable battery pack will run you extra.

Talk about beam for your buck — the Coast EAL22 Lantern ($40) cranks up the lumens to a blistering 1,250 on high and does it while sliding in as one of the cheaper lanterns in our lineup. The lantern is styled as more of an emergency light source, but there’s nothing holding it back from illuminating your next camping trip.

The run time of 225 hours is on the endurance side of the spectrum, with only the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 and Fenix CL30R besting it in total burn time. The five lighting modes begin with a soft white light that is perfect for gathering around for a card game, then pivots to a set of brighter white modes for really illuminating a campsite or outdoor kitchen. The final two modes are red and include a flashing option should you need to hail anyone or warn oncoming traffic.

Mounting options are also packed in, with two carabiner-style hanging hooks on top and bottom of the lantern, as well as a bail handle for walking around with. This flexibility even extends to the powering options on the EAL22, as it is a dual-power lantern that can run off D-cell batteries or a separate battery pack.

The ZITHION-X rechargeable battery pack is nigh-essential in our opinion, which does take a bit of the budget along with it as it costs as much as the lantern itself. You certainly can make do with D-cell batteries, but the ability to recharge other electronics with the lantern is a handy feature we wouldn’t want to leave home without.

This added cost keeps this lantern from finding itself higher on our lineup, as the light itself is a bit bulky and for the same price, you can snag a solid option like the Black Diamond Orbiter 650 or BioLite AlpenGlow 500.

The Quick & Dirty: An emergency-ready lantern that can be charged by hand crank in a pinch. The multiple charging options make it versatile, while the tacked on USB cord dings it.

Leave it to solar-power guru Goal Zero to come up with a lantern that incorporates a number of smart charge and recharge features that turn the Lighthouse 600 Lantern ($80) into a light source you can trust to stay on when you need it.

With three methods of charging the lantern (solar panel, USB, or spinning the crank atop the unit), we never felt we’d see the flicker of this lantern running out of juice. When we tested the brand’s claim of 10 minutes of light for every minute of cranking, we found the numbers to be fairly accurate (and our wrists tired). It makes an excellent basecamp lantern, perched above a table or hung from the inside of a tent.

While the integrated charging USB cord is a handy touch, we do see this as a potential future failure point should the cable become snagged or kinked. A simple USB port with a cover would have been our preference.

Beyond this, there’s one Achilles heel to the Lighthouse that keeps it from ranking higher in our books, and that’s the diffuser — or the lack of one. With a clear plastic globe, the higher reaches of this lantern become too bright to look directly at, and multiple of our testers commented on this independently.

We also had some issues with the twin-leg design, which, unlike the three legs of the Black Diamond Orbiter 650, could be made to tip over when jostled.

Unlike some of the other lanterns on our list, the Lighthouse 600 doesn’t use an integrated solar panel to recharge from the sun. This means you’ll either need to already own a Goal Zero solar panel or purchase one (check out our favorite panels in our Buyer’s Guide). For those who use a panel regularly, the Lighthouse will be an obvious companion.