Customer Reviews

Coleman Two-Mantle Adjustable Gas Lantern

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Couple this lantern with the Coleman 2 Burner Dual Fuel Premium Compact Liquid Fuel Stove, and you'll have decades of reliable, economical, environmentally friendly cooking and light. You can cook and light up your campsite for a week with a can of Coleman fuel. With other solutions (even Coleman's), you buy about five cans of compressed propane for the same effect, which costs more and creates a lot more litter.

This lantern puts flashlights to shame -- it truly illuminates a campsite with hours and hours of even, white, bright light. The output of even a 4 D-cell flashlight is very dim by comparison. Seem silly? Not if it gets dark before you're finished cooking dinner!

As with the Coleman stove, it uses liquid gas, not pressurized propane. This means you have to pour liquid gas into its tank -- which is very easy, especially if you use the Coleman Fuel Filler. You also have to pump the stove and lamp, but this is super-easy to do. Both units prime themselves, which means you light them, and their flame heats up the tube which feeds them gas. As soon as the tube heats up, it fully draws the gas and the stove/lantern run for hours without more pumping. It's a little old-fashioned, but it is extremely reliable, and there's something very rustic and romantic about using the same camping gear that people used in the 1940's and 1950's.

I bought the plastic carrying case for this lantern and I love it. There is a trick -- you have to press in the sides of the case at the bottom in order to "latch" the lid onto the bottom. Otherwise, as another reviewer mentioned, the bottom will come off. As long as you make sure it's latched, it works very well to protect the lamp during transport and storage.

A word of warning: This lantern produces a flame, it is encased in glass, and it gets very hot. It is very dangerous to use inside of a tent, and of course you must be careful not to knock it over in the woods. It has a large handle, and it can be hung, but make sure it isn't going to burn whatever it's hanging from. This isn't a big deal - just use common sense, and you'll have years of camping fun.

I've used these lanterns for 40 years. I have four - use them for camping, backyard patio lighting, backup lighting during power outages. You can find a use for it everywhere.
Pros: Weatherproof, brightest non-electric light you can find anywhere, will run nightly for a whole season on one can of coleman fuel.
Cons: The glass globe and, especially, the silk mantle are quite fragile. Not quiet - it hisses during operation.
Tips: Don't lay the lantern on its side or upside-down - gravity will cause the mantles to fracture. I have never yet found a way to tie up a new mantle without a helper to put his finger on the knot. Parts of the lantern get very hot during operation and will burn your hand - use with care around small children. Use the Coleman filtered funnel for refueling. Don't smoke while you're refuelling the lantern unless you want a Darwin Award. Don't use anything other than Coleman Fuel unless you've got the dual-fuel version that can burn regular unleaded gas. These lanterns are too big for backpacking - car camping and backyard use are best.

We bought this lantern for my son and daughter-in-law last winter. These newer lanterns have plastic parts in the pump that some reviews I read considered inferior to the older metal versions. The pricing at Amazon, at the time, offered such a bargain that I decided to buy a new lantern rather than search for a good used one with metal pump. I picked up a case, extra mantles, funnel and Coleman fuel at my local REI store. We fueled up the lantern and it fired right up. After the new mantles settled down, the lantern operated as my older versions do. The intended purpose of this gift lantern is to provide emergency lighting so I'm not sure how good a test the newer version pump will get. Initially, it was fine.

There is a reason coleman fuel lanterns used to be stamped "Sunshine of the Night"; they blast away at the darkness with retina-searing levels of light. Truly impressive, dead simple, and cheap to run.

The new northstar line may put out more light but uses harder to find and $$$ mantles. I say stick with lanterns that use the old tie on mantles (#20/21). While you're at it, stick with liquid fuelers instead of propane ("profane"). Yes, you have to pay attention when working with a liquid fuel lantern but it's excellent practice for life itself. Teach your kid how to operate a lantern safely and change his/her life for the better.

My oldest Coleman lantern is 48 yrs old at this point and I still use it weekly. I don't know if my new one will last that long but if it does it will outlive me.

Bought the Coleman Lantern for my back yard for parties and evenings outside by the fire pit. What a great choice. The coleman illuminates 1/2 the yard just as if I were ten years old on a camping trip. Best purchase in a long time. Thank you Amizon

Ronald DeSimone

I grew up around this lantern while camping and wanted one of my own for a very long time. It burns very bright with an easily adjustable dimmer. If you want a real camping experience, ditch the LED lanterns and pick this baby up. It comes with two mantels that are easy to tie on and "prime." I don't see any problems with the build quality of these later coleman lanterns. The pump does have some plastic parts but oil it once a year and don't put crappy fuel (gasoline, kerosene) in it and it'll last forever.

Yes it is a little noisy (slight hissing sound, not a big deal) and yes it gets very hot. It's a lantern for cryin' out loud. Don't touch it, don't put it in your tent and don't leave it burning in some grass. However, do let your kids touch it once and then you'll never have to worry about it again. That's what my dad did and I learned my lesson quick!

5/5 stars cause it's be best lantern you'll ever buy.

We have camped for 44 years and relied on our Coleman lantern. Even tho we have now moved up to an RV, we still do most of our 'living' outside and prefer rustic areas. As our original lantern slowed down, we needed a replacement. This is it!! Much easier than hooking to propane, etc. Good value....great shipping/delivery time....would recommend to anyone.

Very bright and economical. Coleman fuel is cheaper than propane, I fill the tank and it last for 3 nights camping easily.

Time to replace mine after 17 years, great product. Replacement parts readily available could probably fix mine (has a valve leak) but I am upgrading to the dual fuel.

Only downside is that the top does get very hot, cannot use inside a tent and need to keep it away from the kids. Leave it outside and it lights up the whole campsite.

We are a family that loves camping 3 seasons a year. We have now gone through 2 lanterns in 10 seasons, which by Coleman standards in poor. The lanterns quit working and fuel starts to burn in the globe and around the fittings when they have met there demise. The lanterns are expensive, and should be reliable when well cared for. They are very bright, but watch them carefully.

I have been using a coleman later for over 20 yrs so why change now I have the old one and a new one They have never let me down in any weather . Thanks for a very good product.