Is Duracell’s $30 Lantern Any Good? I Took It Camping to Find Out

It’s absolutely pitch black when I push the button. “Surprise!” I exclaim as a jolt of white light floods the inside of the wall tent. Two of my buddies grumble and roll away from the light — 4:30 a.m. comes early in elk hunting camp.

I click the button on the Duracell 2000 Lumen Tri-Power Lantern a couple more times, and the brightness fades to tolerable. Now, with the inside of the tent lit and a heater warming the air, it was time to make coffee and dress for the morning hunt.

The $30 light hanging on the center pole would go about its job, mostly forgotten again until nightfall.

But really, can a $30 lantern be effective enough for the rigors of weeks-long elk hunting camps? That’s what I hoped to find out testing the Duracell 2000 Lumen Tri-Power Lantern. Sold at Costco, Amazon, and other big box stores, this is one downright affordable lantern. Could it really be any good?

In short: The Duracell 2000 Lumen Tri-Power Lantern is an incredible value. It packs solar charging, an internal rechargeable battery, three power modes, and a surprisingly long run time into an effective lighting source that costs less than a tank of gas (in a Prius). If you need a camp lantern, it’s a no-brainer. But don’t expect much from the solar charging and recharge times are slow.

Looking for a camping lantern? See how the Duracell Tri-Power compares in our Buyer’s Guide to the Best Camping Lanterns.

Duracell 2000 Lumen Tri-Power Lantern Review

As I noted in the introduction, when you push the button of the Duracell 2000 Lumen Tri-Power Lantern, you get all 2,000 lumens immediately. My hunting buddies and I dubbed it the “surprise light” for this very reason. When you’re deep in slumber, 2,000 lumens is a lot.

Thus, I am very puzzled as to why this light turns on at full power. It’s one of the first quirks you’ll notice about the light. There’s nothing actually wrong with that; it works. But I’d prefer it to turn on at “low” and dial up instead of vice versa.

Once on and adjusted to your preferred power output of high, medium, or low, this lantern simply works. The light is a little harsh and cool, but that’s to be expected at this price range. It’s the easiest way to create a high-output light and use lower amounts of electricity. And at $30, what do you expect?

But the light is entirely useful if not exactly pleasing to the eye. Waking up in the morning or going to bed in the evening, my crew used this light for about 3 weeks so far. It’s exactly what we’ve needed and nothing more. It lights the inside of a 14-foot White Duck Regatta Bell Tent evenly and brightly enough that I could put away my headlamp except when rifling through packs for gear.

It’s worth noting that the lantern has a built-on solar panel and internal battery. It also has space to add D batteries if you so desire. It’s a nice backup system, but it feels unnecessary if you have portable battery chargers to keep the rechargeable battery topped up.

Charging, Runtime, Lighting

Because of the built-in solar charger and long-term test, I never got a solid read on this lantern’s runtime. It would refuel a little every day, and only ran out of juice after camping for about 2 weeks. Then, a night on the charger got it topped up enough to run for the rest of my testing.

When home, I did a bench test on the empty battery and did find that it charges really slowly. When plugged in with a USB-A to USB-C cable, it took more than 4 hours to charge.

The lantern can also function as a battery bank to charge devices like phones or headlamps. It has a USB-A out port for this purpose.

Does the solar charger work fast? Not really. But if the battery is dead in the morning and the lantern sits in the sun all day, it’ll have enough juice by evening to run for a couple of hours on medium that night.

Similarly, the battery charger isn’t fast or very powerful, but it’s enough to get a phone partially charged in an emergency.

And really, for $30, it’s remarkably good.

Now, one legit gripe: While the lantern does have red LEDs built in, they only work in a flashing strobe mode. This seems like a huge oversight. A steady red light is perfect for before bed or morning wakeup in a dark tent. But for some reason, the red light will only flash, not remain on and steady.

I suppose Duracell intends it as an emergency use case, but given the brand went through the effort of adding red LEDs, just let them stay on! It doesn’t seem like it should change the cost and would make the lantern so much nicer.

But until Duracell fixes that issue, it will remain the “Surprise Light.” Push that button in the morning, and it’ll shock you awake faster than a crowing rooster in your sleeping bag.

So, if you need a lantern on a budget, this one will really do the job. It isn’t perfect, but for the money, you’ll have an excellent light source with rechargeable batteries, effective lighting, and a little solar charging to boot.

For the price, it’s very tough to beat.