Customer Reviews

Coleman MicroPacker Compact Battery Lantern

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a rugged little lantern. I have to say that for $10, I was not expecting something of this quality. This is a solid well constructed unit that will not disintegrate if it gets knocked on the floor.

Other reviewers have stated this provides light for weeks. Not so... While technically it may output light on 3 AA batteries for 125 hours, it isn't at usable levels.

I bought two of these, and as soon as I received them, I took one of them and inserted the batteries that were included with it, turned it on and left it. I wanted to see if it would live up to other reviewers claims on battery life.

I realize that battery life would be extended with intermittent usage rather than continuous use, but if you are planning to use this for emergencies, you may need it running continuously for extended periods.

Anyway, the first 24 hours were the brightest. It easily illuminated my 10 X 12 study well enough to distinguish objects around the room, and I had no problem reading by it. After 48 hours, it did get somewhat dimmer and to read by it, I had to hold the book right next to the light. At approx 72 hours the light was feeble and I had difficulty reading a book with the light right next to the book. The light output was less than a standard night light I have in my bathroom.

At this point, I opened up my second lantern that I had purchased, inserted the included batteries and set it side by side with the lantern that had been running continuously for 3 days. The lantern with the fresh batteries was far far brighter, so at this point I ended the experiment as I felt that the light output from the lantern that had been running for 3 days really wasn't useful.

The last thing I did was to insert 3 fresh energizer batteries in the lantern that had been running for 3 days and set it side by side with the lantern with the fresh batteries that were included with it. The lantern with the energizer batteries was noticeably brighter.

So, buy the best batteries you can and you may well get the 125 hours of light this is purported to produce.

All in all, this is a very good value for the price.

UPDATE 06/05/2011:

It's been almost 3 years since my original review and both lanterns are still running in top notch condition. My neighborhood in Springfield MA took a direct hit from an EF3 tornado 4 days ago and these lanterns have been my primary source of light since then. I've not been running them non-stop as in my original tests, but only for about 5 hours a night, and they put out extremely useful light levels. I haven't had to change the batteries out once. My utilities were restored yesterday, but these lanterns performed the task extremely well. I'm going to order a few more.

My wife and I bought two of these on a Tuesday for a weekend camping trip and, lo and behold, the next night a storm knocked out the power. These were a godsend. Absolutely fantastic. They aren't the world's brightest things because of a reflective sleeve that casts the light in a fairly uniform direction, but once it gets darker, they're easily brighter 2-3 candles and without the fear of accidentally leaving one on to burn down your house. With good alkalines, they could easily run for weeks due to the low power draw of the LED's. These are fantastic emergency lights for the house, car, etc. And at the going price of $10, they just can't be beat. I highly recommend them and have already urged my entire family to stock up.

They work very well for camping too. ;)

PS I would recommend staying away from the "exponent" line of Coleman LED lanterns. They're designed poorly as far as light distribution and LED placement.

Coleman Micropacker compact battery lantern proves to be a highly useful camping device. The lantern stands 6.5 inches tall, about 2 inches in width and weight only 6.5 ounces. Its armed with two LED lights that gives off plenty of good light for its size and the three AA batteries got excellent life span which really help. The lantern itself isn't waterproof but it seem to be well sealed so several times I took it out in foul weather, it held up without any problems.

There is sliding reflector that goes up and down. While it up, the lantern can serves as a directional wide flood light while when it down, it serves as an surrounding light in all directions. There is enough light there to read a book or play cards.

Small size, good battery life and lightweight carry load make this an ideal backpacker light to used inside the tent. It also got a fold out handle on the top to you can hang it almost anywhere for any situation. While it won't turn night into day, it will shed enough light for you to function.

Overall, a pretty good product from Coleman.

Our friends had one of these when we went camping a few weeks ago, and it was so great I ordered it the minute we got back home.

We used it for the first time this weekend, and it was perfect. Small and lightweight, it uses 3 AA batteries (supplied!), and gives off a very even light.

Inside the tent, we hung it from the top loop and used it to read by.

The light isn't extremely bright (I wouldn't want to do brain surgery with this as the only light source), but it's very even and doesn't create any glare.

Earlier in the evening, my husband allayed our fears of its fragility by dropping it on the cement - it didn't break, chip or even show a scratch, and worked perfectly afterwards.

It takes up the same space as a flashlight, but is way more useful for our needs - so the flashlight's out, and the Coleman's in!

No need to go into great detail here, as the other reviewers have managed to describe this item adequately. My experience with this lantern can be described thusly: it's about the size of a can of beer, is lightweight, casts enough light to read by, and it doesn't feel like it will fall apart at the first stiff gust of wind it encounters. It definitely will not survive being immersed in water. The reflector is pretty much a joke. If you live in hurricane country or in any other place that could conceivably be subject to long power outages, then a low-output LED lamp like this one, with its absurdly long battery life, can provide a safe substitute for candles.

EDIT: It took two years to wear out the first set of batteries, and I've found that the switch is not entirely reliable (fails every fourth or fifth time its turned on.)

Well, O.K., I don't sneer at hurricanes. But after Hurricane Ike and a week without power, we decided to upgrade our emergency lighting to more than flashlights, candles and chemical light sticks.

I bought three of these of these dandy MicroPacker lanterns and three of the family sized Coleman lanterns (also reviewed). The MicroPacker is a terrific value at under $10, plus it comes with three AA batteries. When was the last time THAT happened!

I measured the light output of the MicroPacker with a light meter (I'm a photojournalist) and discovered that the tiny light puts out just a little less light than one good, white candle. The pure white light easily illuminates a living room, abet dimly. The clever built-in reflector does NOT intensify the light, but shields your eyes if you need to read something.

This tough little light appears well-made but not waterproof. It can stand on a flat bottom or hang from a handy built-in loop on top. With a fantastic 125 hour battery life, I figure one light will last through two or three WEEKS of dark nights. The MicroPacker is small (about the size of a very skinny can of Red Bull), lightweight and should be good for backpackers. I give it 4-1/2 stars: I think they should waterproof it and add one more LED for five stars.

This lantern doesn't give out as much light as other LED lanterns. The Coleman 3AA MicroPacker LED Lantern is a better choice because it has a much brighter LED that can fill a decent sized room with light. Since it's the same size as this one, it doesn't take up any more space for campers. This compact lantern is okay for the small confines of a tent, but it's not the best choice for an emergency home light.

It's a small light, and is really only a reasonable replacement for candles in a power blackout (we get those a lot during summer thunderstorms). Low power means you still have to watch where you're walking with them on, but they save me the worry of open flames and tripping over large items. As for reading, well, I have done it, but you need to be really, really close to the light to read - still it clearly beats having nothing but candles. My daughter used it on a recent camping trip in Canada and liked it for its light weight and ease of packing. For the price however, it's the best I've found

This is for the unit with the yellow body and the screen that slides up one side, not the unit by the same name that has a grey body and that uses the Cree LED bulbs. That unit is likely to have a much brighter output but nowhere near the battery life of this unit.

I purchased three of these for $9.99 each. I was going to purchase 2, but buying a third one qualified for Amazon's free shipping which meant the additional cost of the third one was only a few dollars more than getting two. I purchased them as emergency lights - when you have worked in the WTC until a certain date in September of 2001 that we all remember, then went through the several day blackout a few years later with only candlelight, I figured it would be wise to be prepared for anything.

The Coleman MicroPacker light puts out a decent amount of light for the compact size and the fact that it runs a long time on three AAA batteries. I have one of the Coleman Pack-Away LED lamps which is quite a bit brighter, but also doesn't emit an even distribution of light. Given the choice between three MicroPackers or one Pack-Away at the same cost, I would go with the MicroPackers. If you turn the lights off and then turn on the MicroPacker expecting the same amount of light, you will be disappointed. But when it's dark, and your eyes have adjusted to not having "full" light, there is more than enough light from one of these to do multiple tasks, whether it be playing cards, reading, or hanging in a tent to see what you are doing in the middle of the night.

After being disappointed at the light output of a "no name" brand and much larger light that I purchased at a chain drug store that uses 4 D batteries and "12 LED Bulbs", I decided to go with a name brand when I purchased these. I'm quite pleased I did, as the light from these Coleman units with only 2 LED's is the same as the "no name" brand with 12.

The screen that slides up the back makes just a minimal difference in the amount of light being projected forward, but it does make the light project out about 270 degrees, rather than all 360 degrees around the unit, so you will not have the glare of the light in your eyes when using the light on a focused area rather than as general light.

The flip up hook for hanging is plastic, but seems very sturdy, and with the light weight is much more than sufficient for hanging these. It also folds down neatly on the top of the unit.

Living in a NYC apartment with very limited space, the compact size of these is greatly appreciated for the output. I'm not a person who goes hiking/camping, but would imagine that the compact size and light weight would be also be appreciated by those who do.

As someone else mentioned regarding to the battery life, these do have an "absurdly" long life! 125 hours on 3 small batteries. Absurd, indeed! That's over 5 days left on 24/7. And note that this is not achieved by using some sort of "low" setting - it is on its standard (only one level) of brightness!

Come Christmas, I'll be buying several more of these to give to family members who live "out in the woods" in parts of the country where snow and wind storms often result in them having power out for several hours or days.

First there seem to be two different versions of this product .. with similar (or identical) names. The product I am reviewing is the one (pictured) with a yellow plastic case and a diffuser around the LED's. The other model has a grey case and no diffuser. The other one appears to have an upside down conical reflector to spread the light, but I'm not sure since I've only seen photos and not the actual item. It also costs more than the yellow one.

The (yellow) unit is GREAT! I own a couple of other LED lanterns and this is by far the best I've seen. The technology is always advancing and something better will come out I'm sure, but right now (and for a while I think) this is a really good choice.

I used one on a recent camping trip and it was more than enough light to illuminate my picnic table at night for cooking. Of course, the light is not as bright as a flourescent, or gas lantern. The pattern is fairly even (unlike all my other LED lanterns) Throwing light both sideways and up and down (dead spot directly under the base, of course).

After my camping trip I came home and purchase two more of these. One to keep at work, and the other to keep in the car.