Key takeaways:
- Power outages, poorly lit nooks and crannies, nighttime—all of these require supplemental light.
- Via its base and its four detachable panels, this lantern offers a unique versatility to light your loved ones’ way.
- Load up on the batteries because all that charging can be draining.
9 and 1/2 times out of 10, diamonds are going to evoke a bigger reaction than a flashlight as a gift.
But even the most brilliant of diamonds will not help when the power’s out. Or when you’re trying to bait a hook on a boat in the dark. Or when you’re fumbling under a sink looking for a leak.
Those are the moments when the Coleman Quad Pro 800L LED Panel Lantern will be most appreciated.
The bright, portable lantern has many capabilities, which we’ll explore below. But it may be the higher price point that clinches its suitability as a gift.
“They have flashlights, of course they do. But they’re never going to spend $90-ish on this. And I want them to have it because I think they’ll love it!”So goes the reasoning of one of our team members who recently bought these for each of her three adult children.
Detachable, magnetic light panels
We all have a general understanding of how a lantern works. But four detachable, magnetic and self-charging light panels makes the Coleman product unique.
The lantern serves as a base. That’s where the batteries go.
It’s the lantern provides the big light—800 lumens on the high setting. That will throw light for about 59 feet.
At that setting, it can run for 20 hours. At the medium setting (200 lumens or one-quarter of the maximum brightness) the lantern will throw light for 120 hours, and for 400 hours when the mode is set to low, 100 lumens. This data assumes the lantern is using eight D-cell batteries. It can work on just four D batteries, but that will significantly reduce the runtime.
The 9-inch tall lantern weighs 3 pounds. Add eight batteries and you are about doubling its weight to 5.75 pounds. That’s not an issue when all you need is light but when you need to peel off and look for or at something, that’s where the detachable panels come in.
The four panels draw their power from the base and automatically recharge when placed back on the base.
But each panel stands on its own, and has its own controls—high, low and flashlight for directional light.
The possibilities are endless for how these panels can be put to use. They’re just a few ounces so they can be held like you’d hold a phone. They have fold-down handles, which can also be used as stands. But their magnets enable them to be used hands-free, broadening where and how they can be deployed.
In a power outage situation, for example, the main lantern can remain in a central area and the detachable panels distributed elsewhere. On a campsite, the lantern could sit on a table and the panels taken to individual tents. Or, you could just slap one to the side to illuminate a circuit breaker box, as shown.
The detachable panels run three hours on their highest setting, 14 hours on low. Placing them back on the lantern recharges them.
You’d use this lantern primarily for light. However, there’s a USB charging port at the top that can provide a charge to a phone. Using it that way would drain the overall power, of course.
What’s not to love about this lantern? In user reviews and ratings that are overwhelmingly positive (4.5/5.0), it’s the reliance on the eight D batteries that reviewers comment on most. This seems like an objection that could be overcome by keeping a backup supply of long shelf life batteries, ideally stored in a cool dark place.
The panels themselves are powered by nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. They’re rated for 300 to over 1,000 charge cycles and usually have a calendar lifespan of three to seven years.