Customer Reviews

Coleman StormBeam Dynamo Lantern with Radio and Cell Phone Chargers

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

 

 

I bought this Coleman StormBeam Dynamo Lantern as a small thank you gift for my mother. I showed this lantern to my co-workers, and one co-worker was so impressed with the lantern that she bought a similar one for her husband that very same day after work. Every year during thunderstorms or cold weather season, there are power outages. So, instead of my mother having to light candles or attempting to find a flashlight that has run low on batteries, this lantern makes the perfect useful gift for my mother. I think that this lantern would make a great gift for anyone - female or male. Because you never know when you are stuck in an emergency or when the power goes out. Not only do you have light, but you have a radio to listen to the news which is essential during times of emergency or power outages, which my mother likes. It was easy and didn't take long for me to completely charge my mother's phone with one of the six cell phone chargers that are stored on the top of the lantern. And the crank on the bottom of the lantern is great for emergencies when you need to power up the lantern. I've always been a fan of multi-functional gadgets, and this lantern is one of them. I think it's well worth its price. It's better than having a plain old lantern during an emergency and having to lug a radio with you. And you can charge your phone when the power goes out. I've read the other reviews for this lantern, but you know what? I'm happy with the lantern. This lantern provides many functions, and I don't need to find a match or candle during emergency events. So, if you want to give a gift that will definitely be used, give this lantern a chance.

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I cranked mine for one and a half minutes and the radio lasted 6 minutes. Possibly somebody on the assembly line is inserting junk batteries--this couldn't be the way it was intended to work.
C. K. Young

Mine came defective and drove me nuts for awhile cause I would follow the instructions exactly and the light would stay on for like 1 min or 2 then start dimming to a worthless glow. Finally I just upped and bought one at Wal-mart the same exact thing and it worked fine. So as with all electrical stuff beware ordering them on internet as they can come beat up and may be a hassle to return. But Amazon has good customer service so your covered chief. Thank You Amazon .. never have so many owed so much to so few....

Great product! Love the fact that it doesn't need batteries. Gives off more than adequate light in both high and low. The radio comes in clear and was able to make good use of the cell phone chargers.

Wow, I'm seeing so much negative feedback that I feel like I shouldn't have returned mine back to walmart just because the radio antenna was a little broken. With these storms and tornadoes in the south, I was lucky that my biggest inconvenience was literally only a 3 day power outage, no damage to any of my trees even on my 5 acres of land. I had gone to Wal-mart to buy some sort of fuel powered stove so that I could heat up milk for my babies and I saw this hand crank lantern with a radio and cell phone charger, and it was very appealing and I also thought worth the $46 I paid for it and it was. But I was a little unsatisfied that when I opened the box at home the antenna was kind of damaged so I didn't want to make a trip back into town specifically just to return it when I knew I'd have to go back into town the next day to buy hot food for us to eat. Of course, we used the lantern until the next day, the radio picked up pretty well considering the conditions we were having and the damaged antenna, I never left the radio on for more than a couple of minutes so I can't say how long it works on how long of a hand crank, but I will say this, I cranked the lantern for about 5 or 6 minutes and left it in the living room in case any of my kids woke up so they won't be scared. I have 5 kids all under 10 years of age. About 4 or 5 hours later when I woke up to feed the baby, the lantern was still going on a low light, which is enough light to dimly light up a room so you can see what you're doing. Yes, I know that other battery powered sources can produce better light than this lantern but it was costing me about $15 per night on batteries, and this lantern wasn't and on high light it can light a room very well, (and even better had the manufacturer not covered the top part of it). I was very reluctant to return it back to wal-mart cause I knew that I had taken the last one off the shelf and I couldn't exchange it at this time, but since I had already stocked up on battery powered lights and batteries, I returned it, but I am definitely buying another one or two as soon as their shelves stock back up on these "camping" supplies. It's perfect for unexpected power outages and with me having smaller children, I don't have to worry about burning down my house or carbon monoxide since it's not fuel powered. I already know what I'm getting some of the people I know for Christmas. I feel sorry for you people who had bad experiences with this lantern, but I just love this lantern.

We have only had this item a few days but tested it and it lasted over an hour on one crank but that was just the light the only thing I didn't like was the lid where they store the cell phone adapters is very hard to get on and off but we recently had a power outage that lasted 6 days and I would have loved to have had this I actually ordered another one....

I liked the fact that this choice of product had many features, like the radio, the cell phone chargers, and that it could operate with no power source. I chose the crank only option because I do mission work in remote parts of the world. The only problem I had was that the high / low switch either didn't work, or was damaged in transit. The bulb(s) associated with it might have been damaged. I won't ever know, because I can't return it. It was left as a gift in Haiti.

Purchased this latern because it would be used WITHOUT batteries, for our emergency room. Not only having the crank for needed light, but a radio to keep up with any news that may impack our area .... also the cell phone chargers!!

fantastic price and fortunately, no real need to use it as yet. but the item is not real bright for reading but is sufficient to get you there. the fm radio is satisfactory and the cell phone recharger plugs are fine for my cell phone. I've recommended this to others and they have purchased it.

I bought this not as an emergency item, but to put in my garden so I could see to walk down the path to our recycle container. The light is good, and has two output cycles, hi and lo, which are as they should be. However, for those who are buying it as an emergency item, the radio quality is very poor, not tune-able, and the cell phone charger tips did not fit my cell phone. I have not tested it to see how long the light lasts. It was sufficient to light my way to recycle and back.