Black Diamond Apollo Lantern

Black Diamond Apollo Lantern | Great Van and Cabin Light

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Black Diamond Apol...

	Black Diamond Apollo Lantern Black Diamond Black Diamond, 2008 average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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A bright, non-glaring, soup-can sized backcountry lantern with foldable legs and NRG rechargeable battery compatibility, the Apollo is equipped to illuminate all of your nighttime camping activities such as cooking, reading in the tent, or playing a three-hour, no-mercy game of Rummy 500. The Apollo's frosted globe combined with its inset 3-watt LED, eliminates glare while the dual reflectors capture and maximize light output, casting off illumination to brightly fill a four-person tent. A unique dimming switch provides adjustable brightness, and the distinctive fold-down legs increase the Apollo's height to 9.5 inches (24.1 cm), boosting light dispersion. The lantern runs on 4 AA alkalines or, better yet, Black Diamond's NRG Rechargeable Battery Kit, and has a handy battery power indicator with green, yellow or red LEDs that display either the amount of battery power left or the charging status of the NRG.

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Worth It

Okay, I admit that I am a flashlight (torch, if you are a Brit) junkie, especially LED types. So that's the bias, but that also qualifies me as somewhat of an expert -- well, somewhat. In any event I am very pleased with the build and design of this LED lantern. It is a quality, durable, functional piece of equipment that will last and serve you well. I may even get another one (his and hers when camping). If you can live with the price tag, then it is a good purchase. Even for seldom needed emergency use, a large package of alkaline AA batteries from Costco and one of these lanterns would be a lot safer and more practical than candles.
Also, as noted in the product description, dimmed down the manufacturer says you will get 60 hours of light. It's not the best intensity of light dimmed to that level, but it would be practical and viable for many uses (similar to 'nightlight' intensity). On 'high' you get pretty good light, but only 15 hours of use using the 4 AA alkaline batteries required. But with a large, discount package of batteries on hand that's not a concern for me, because the shelf life of fresh batteries is years and like I said, they are not too expensive if purchased at a place like Costco. Also, there is a plug-in for an adapter accessory (not supplied) if you don't want to use batteries, but that doesn't appeal to me. I might also add that intensity of light is one thing, but the way the light is reflected is another issue. With some LEDs, sure, you have an intense enough light output, but they cast, or reflect the light in a way that makes it uncomfortable to read by. Not so with this lantern. It is very comfortable to read by (at the high intensity level -- 15 hours duration), and that is important for me.
UPDATE: We just came back from camping in the Sierra Mountains and this lamp performed wonderfully. It was like having a mini (not as bright of course) Coleman lantern without the fuss, danger, weight, noise, etc. My wife wants her own now. Well worth the price for this product. Maybe I'll get two more!

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Great Van and Cabin Light

I got my Black Diamond Apollo and was excited to open the package and try it out. I think it's great! Nice package with pull-up lighthouse and pull-out tri legs that restore into a compact footprint. It's perfect for van camping, which is what I need.

The light output is totally satisfactory, also. All in all, a great little lamp for emergency or cabin use that stores very well.

Many uses!

We received this as a gift and it works great! Advertised for camping, and I'm sure it will work great for our next trip, but we've already used it for venturing outside in the dark of our backyard. Being battery operated, its perfect for indoors use during power outages. Gives off more light than I would have thought possible from these LEDs. I'm going to send one to my family in FL to keep with their hurricane kit!

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Compact and bright

This lantern has quite a few things going for it. Collapsed, it's very small - about the size of a can of soup. The 3W LED puts out a decent amount of light, even running off 1.2V NiMH AAs (it might be a tad bit brighter w/ alkalines, or their proprietary NRG battery pack, though I'm guessing lithiums might be too much for it). The dimmer works well, and has a clever feedback method - it blinks once at the top or bottom of the range, and then starts over again if you continue to hold. Oddly, the battery level LEDs are covered by the bottom of the diffuser when it's open all the way, but that doesn't seem like the end of the world (they claim 50 hours on a set of batteries, though that's likely dimmed all the way, which is still usable).

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