Customer Reviews

Brunton Polaris LED Lantern (Silver)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I must admit - I am a bit of a lantern and flashlight addict - I have one too many in my collection at home, though I've had just one instance of power failure in the last 10 years.

That said, every flashlight / lantern has its purpose. And in spite of the other reviewers thinking this one did not hit the mark, I think it did so just fine - with flying colors, no less!

Now, this is not a propane lantern. If you are traveling, you know the pro's and con's. Nothing like being 'all set' on the light part before you reach your destination. I've been on several car camping trips where we've reached the destination only to find something in the way of getting light after dark - those French CampinGaz systems are really tough to get fuel for, the wicks are equally tough to find, and the regular propane ones require finding out a local camping supply store in a strange place when I'd rather be opening a bottle of wine and pitching tent. I don't risk traveling with fuel on road trips, as I don't really pay much attention to hazmat warnings on bridges and tunnels and ferries. Flights, of course, entirely rule out carrying fuel from home.

Given those hard-learned lessons, I've shifted to portable LED lanterns for a while. LED is, well, an obvious choice, as otherwise you are talking about a couple of hours of burn time.

Within the LED space, there's a wide array of options that are now available. This one fits a certain set of requirements - now its up to you to see if they are the same as yours.

1. This is bright white LED. There are come with warm white colors, this is not one of them. If you are particular about the color of light, you should know.

2. This is not as much light as the full-size D-battery powered GE CFL lamp lanterns. Those pretty much resemble a propane light, but are not easy to carry, specially if you have a small car or need to take a flight. This is super portable, and the convenience more than makes up for the small trade off in light output.

3. Yes, this is portable, but not to "ultralight backpacking" standards. There are other lanterns - powered by AA and AAA cells - that are meant to be ultralight. I like the fact that this snugly fits the "middle ground" - way more portable than full size 4xD cell lanterns, while offering a lot more burn time than the measly AA and AAA powered ones.

4. 3 watts is a lot of light! Chances are you'll use this in full power once you've seen the bright setting, and that's a good thing. Enough to light up a small campground, like the standard ones in car camping sites.

5. Nice clip to hang it in the tent, or elsewhere. Another plus over propane lanterns, no harm in letting these burn inside the tent!

So, there. Not the smallest of the lot, not the brightest of the lot (well, among the brightest in the LED space), but a good balance in everything.

And, if I may say, a much better build quality than those cheap knock-offs some "deal" websites have to offer. But then this is a Brunton, so that's a given.

When you are out camping, a lantern should be the last thing on your mind -should be as easy as throw it in the bag and expect it to work. This works great.

I decided to purchase the Brunton Polaris Lantern because it looked mysteriously similar to a Gerber Lantern that I love. The price of the Gerber however was $20 higher than the Brunton and I am happy to say that they are almost identical! The Gerber model features a camo-body instead of the gray Brunton body but other than that, they are basically the same. The output of the Brunton Polaris in low makes for a nice night light while the high mode can light up a small bedroom brightly and easily. The color of the light is also more "normal" and not too White or blue as with other LED lanterns. The output is also very nicely diffused with no rings, lines or shadows. This light, like the Gerber model is a great compact lantern with good output and size (it's not the lightest LED lantern out there as it runs on C batteries but I'd much rather have 3-C's than other lanterns that take 4-D's). If you need a small lantern for camping, fishing, or just to have as emergency lights around the home, this is a great find.

Update:
This lantern was put to the test in an island-wide blackout and I must say it performed wonderfully. We used one hanging high in the kitchen and one in a bedroom...a quick walk outside in a pitch black parking lot confirmed that these lights are indeed bright. There was also no flickering, dimming, or overheating with continued use on high mode for over 5 hours. We are very pleased and plan to order more for future use.

What I expected was something the size of an old camping lantern. What I received was the size of a can of soda that put out lots of clear light. This is a positive step forward in your collection of camping gear.

As always, I've no complaints about the pricing or speedy delivery from Amazon. Paid for normal ground shipping but it was delivered only two days after ordering. Can't ask for anything better than that.

I ordered the Brunton Polaris LED lantern as a light source for backpacking and moto-camping (motorcycle) The backpackers reviews suggest this emits a light source similar in color and warmth of a gas lantern (Coleman style) but without the obvious bulk, weight, and need for fuel and fragile mantles.

Upon receipt, the lantern would not switch on until fiddling with the battery cap screw tension. Seemed there is a sweet spot somewhere between the 'good n' snug' adjustment and simply loose. A small thing but that was my experience.

Tried it in a darkened bedroom. On the HI setting it seemed to be suffcient for a small camp and the LOW setting would be fine inside a tent for reading. Felt it would work fine for my trip planned to the Sierras the following week.

First night at camp could NOT switch the unit on no matter how snug or loose the battery well cover screw was. Seting up camp the following day after 300+ miles of riding I find the lantern in my saddlebags turned ON and the batteries quite warm. The jostling in the side bags apparently turned it on, maybe even fixed it?? Tried turning it ON/OFF several times and it seemed to work fine. Figured now I can use it.

Tried it again once darkness set in and again it will not work. Tried switching the batteries around, fiddling with the battery cover screw tension again, even tried both a light and firm force on the rubberized on/off switch. Nothing. Tried pounding it firmly in the palm of my hand and it flashed on/off for just a millisecond and that was it. Was never to illuminate again.

Once home, wrote to Brunton and waited over a week before receiving a reply from them. Took another week of exchanging email before given an authorization for return and hopefully, replacement.

If and when I receive the new lantern, I'll update this.

for the money, there are other options (Black Diamond Orbit Lantern for example; which is dimable, smaller, $10.00 less and packs very well)...The Burton Polaris latern has great output but is a bit bulky for backpacking (I'm a bit of a minimalist) and the "amber" color is not nearly as nice as it is made out to be...it still has that "strong white" LED light so if you're buying this for that feature, don't count on it or you'll be disappointed. Also, the "flare" in the middle of the latern casts a pretty good shadow under the latern, particularly if it is susupended overhead; also, takes "C" batteries - as things have gotten smaller over the years I find that this is the only piece of equipment that I have to carry Cs for

This is however, a good lantern despite these minor personal complaints...

When I first looked at this lantern I thought I had been scammed. It's tiny in comparison to old school lanterns. It looked like something that belongs in a children's camping set. Once I turned it on I was amazed -- it throws off tons of light. It's simple to use, has two levels of illumination and the batteries last a long time. This lantern is perfect not only for camping, but to keep for emergency lighting around the house or in the car. I've even dropped it a few times and nothing bad has happened.

I would have given it 2-1/2 stars if that was an option. First, I am a bit of an led flash light junkie in that if I see a design that I like I buy it, so I have probably a dozen plus led type flashlights.

Why I am disappointed is that in the low power setting there really isn't enough light to safely walk around a camp site near the light if say there was a tripping hazard around. I'm not sure what benefit the low power setting offers other than maximizing battery life with minimal light output - it would make an OK night light.

The high power setting provides more light, and is much better in the above regard, but the light dispersion pattern limits the usefulness of this light and where you can place it will determine if the area you want to light up is sufficiently lit.

In all fairness, it does look to be well constructed. I was just hoping it would provide a wider dispersion pattern of light (vertically) and the low light setting would have been 30% brighter. Part of the reason why I purchased this lantern was the advertised long run time in the low power setting, which I don't find useful for anything other than as a night light.

I got this light about a year ago I didn't like the warm orange glow from LED so I removed it

The ring in the middle of the lantern unscrews and the whole thing comes apart
the orange cap can be cut off with a small saw or a hot blade

much more light from the 3-watt Cree LED

Very impressed with this lantern. I purchased this item for tent camping. The size and weight of this lantern will make one believe it is a toy. Quite the contrary. It is a quality lantern that provides significant light around the picnic table on high and provides a wonderful light in the tent when settling in for the evening. The weight is such that it can be hung in the center of the tent without stressing any of the supports, it's literally unnoticeable in causing any sag or stress on the tent. The hanging clip is a great touch making it easy to hang from any loop or netting. There is no heat generated from the LED and this makes it a very safe light within the tent. Its size makes it great for space saving functionality. I actually would not hesitate to use this light for a short backpacking trip but there are other smaller lanterns with less weight for that purpose. A three night camping trip yielded no noteable loss of battery power after an estimated 12 hours of high beam and an additional 4-6 hours of low beam use. I won't hesitate to continue using the same batteries for another similar trip later this month. A few back up batteries will be carried just in case. I can foresee a time when this light will be used as emergency lighting within the house with loss of power. Altogether, a great light that has more than met my expectations.

There are so many LED lanterns to choose from depending on your tastes, needs, and convenience, and of course budget.
These lights live up to their name and described features and battery life and beyond.
This lantern features a 3 watt CREE LED module (one of the most efficient and brightest on the market today) I'm not sure about any regulation from the battery pack (3C cells) Although there are 2 brightness settings (not PWM like some models) I have tested these lights and battery life by simply leaving them on for 8-12 hours a day. I've gotten far more than 50 run time hours, although the LED starts to dim down. another 20 some hours later in my test, the LED on the High setting glows like that of using new batteries at the Low setting.
The CREE LED's can yield a variety of bright colors, including a "true" white light, unlike other cheaper lanterns and flashlights, that give off a cool bluish/purple tint. There is a slightly colored diffuser dome that supposedly makes it give off a "warm" glow, but I don't think the dome really does anything, the LED itself gives off a good clean white light, it is not harsh one bit.
Compared to my 3W Sportsman Xtreme lantern, which by itself is a bit brighter and gives a much cooler (purplish tint) white light, it seems to be a bit harsh as opposed to the Brunton Polaris. I use the Sportsman Xtreme mainly for work purposes.
Now, how does it light up a room? For an emergency power outage, one lantern will get you around effortlessly, and light up a small room for general use, but not quite reading-quality light.
I recommend at least 2 of these lanterns, spread apart. I just ordered a third one, and guess what, the first two I ordered came with Energizer batteries.
So for a value light on a budget, the Brunton Polaris will fit the bill. You will not be dissapointed.