The Best Camping Lanterns of 2024: Tested

After the sun goes to sleep, the stars come out to play—and with a lantern, you can too. But the lanterns on this list aren’t the old-school variety you might immediately think of (well, except for one). These picks have LEDs and ridiculous brightness. Some have solar panels so they can soak up the sun’s rays for extra run time, and others have built-in power packs to charge your devices. There’s even one you can manually crank for more light after the batteries peter out.First, decide what additional features you want in your lantern or portable light, then read on to find the right one for you. It’s time to banish darkness and keep the adventure rolling.Test ResultsFind our quick recommendations here or scroll to read the full reviews.Best Lantern for Emergencies & REI Co-op Editors' Choice Award Winner: Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern & USB Power HubBest Lantern for Backpacking & REI Co-op Editors' Choice Award Winner: LuminAID Max Quick Inflate Solar Lantern with Phone ChargerBest Miniature Lantern: Black Diamond Moji R+ LanternBest Lantern for Car Camping: Coleman Classic Recharge 800 Lumens LED LanternBest String Lights: MPOWERD Luci 44' Solar String Lights + Detachable Power HubBest Gas-Powered Lantern: Coleman Powerhouse Dual Fuel LanternOther Top PerformersMPOWERD Luci Inflatable Solar Lantern: Outdoor 2.0Nite Ize Radiant 400 LED LanternMPOWERD Luci Site LightsOther Top PerformersShop All LanternsBuying AdviceWhen choosing the perfect lantern for you, consider power source, brightness, features, weight and portability (especially if you intend to play backcountry two-square with your lantern).Power SourceBatteries—of one kind or another—make most modern lanterns tick. The majority of lanterns run on alkaline or rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and both have their benefits. A lantern that runs on disposable batteries like the Nite Ize Radiant 400, which uses three D-cells, is more predictable. When the lantern dies, pop in new ones. (You are carrying spares with you, right?) Alkaline batteries are sold widely, and they often hold their charge better over time if unused, making them great for emergency-kit lanterns. A lantern that runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, on the other hand, tends to be more versatile. You can fully juice it and start off every trip at 100% by plugging it into a power source. Such lithium-ion batteries also tend to operate better than alkaline batteries in colder conditions, and they hold a more consistent brightness as they die. And if your lantern offers a manual way to recharge the batteries—for instance, the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern can be revived using a hand crank—it can also make a great addition to an emergency kit. The ability to rely on manual charging in emergencies can make or break a situation. In this guide, most lights use a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and each can be charged through an external power source via USB. Some can be juiced multiple ways, which helps them last even longer away from a wall outlet or electric power source: The Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 can also be charged mechanically with a hand crank, while the LuminAID Max Quick Inflate Solar Lantern with Phone Charger, MPOWERD Luci 44' Solar String Lights + Detachable Power Hub and MPOWERD Luci Inflatable Solar Lantern: Outdoor 2.0 can also be charged with solar energy.  In this guide, one light runs on fuel instead of batteries: the Coleman Powerhouse Dual Fuel Lantern. BrightnessLumens, which correspond to how bright a light is, are often listed in specs as a lantern’s output. The higher the number, the brighter the light in its highest setting. While some lanterns boast hundreds of lumens, you don’t actually need all that many to see things close at hand. If you’re only using your lantern to create ambiance or look at things close-up, you can get away with 100 lumens or fewer, using something like the Black Diamond Moji R+ or MPOWERD Luci Inflatable Solar Lantern: Outdoor 2.0. (String lights like the MPOWERD Luci 44’ Solar String Lights + Detachable Power Hub or the MPOWERD Luci Site Lights are also great options for this.) If you want to see a little more—like your cook space, your eating area, or even your entire campsite or hut—brightness is more important. The Goal Zero Lighthouse 600, LuminAID Max Quick Inflate Solar Lantern with Phone Charger and Nite Ize Radiant 400 are more traditional lanterns in this sense.FeaturesAll lanterns create light, but some can do more. The Black Diamond Moji R+ can cycle through a rainbow of colors, perfect for setting an ambiance or enjoying with young kids. The Goal Zero Lighthouse 600, LuminAID Max Quick Inflate Solar Lantern with Phone Charger and MPOWERD Luci 44’ Solar String Lights + Detachable Power Hub allow you to charge other devices through built-in USB ports. Decide what additional features or light settings you want before selecting your lantern. Weight and PortabilityFinally, consider if you plan to carry your lantern on backcountry adventures and where you’d like to store it. On this list, the LuminAID Max Quick Inflate Solar Lantern with Phone Charger, Black Diamond Moji R+ and MPOWERD Luci Inflatable Solar Lantern: Outdoor 2.0 are the best choices for backpackers who want a lightweight lantern that doesn’t consume too much prized space inside a pack. Each lantern on this list will fit nicely inside a gear bin. Just make sure to store your Coleman Powerhouse Dual Fuel Lantern in a sealed bag to prevent bugs from nesting inside and blocking the fuel/airflow.  How to Choose and Use a LanternMethodologyIn the final months of 2023, we sent 13 nighttime-loving testers into the field with the best lanterns and string lights available at REI Co-op. They lit up the darkness across the country, from Southeast Alaska (with a whopping three hours of daylight in early spring) to the White Mountains of New Hampshire (just nine hazy hours). They tried out lanterns in tents and huts, as well as backyards and tailgates. After dozens of nights, our co-op member-testers filled out feedback forms that asked them to evaluate each light's portability, durability, brightness, battery life, features and ease of use. They rated each lantern or string lights on a 100-point scale for each metric; the scores listed here are the averages.The eight lights featured in this guide received the highest average scores in the test. The Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern (98) and LuminAID Max Quick Inflate Solar Lantern with Phone Charger (97) received nearly perfect scores all-around, earning our coveted REI Co-op Editors' Choice Awards. The Black Diamond Moji R+ Lantern (96), Coleman Classic Recharge 800 Lumens LED Lantern (94), MPOWERD Luci 44' Solar String Lights + Detachable Power Hub (92) and Coleman Powerhouse Dual Fuel Lantern (88) scored the next-highest, proving that they are great options in their respective categories.Lastly, the MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 Inflatable Solar Lantern (89), Nite Ize Radiant 400 LED Lantern (85) and MPOWERD Luci Site Lights scored high in many—but not all—categories, carving out special use cases in their respective niches.Photography by Andrew Bydlon.