Sunday, December 8, 2013

Great In A Pinch, The Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern Works Great (But Coleman Makes You Pay For It!).


The Good: Wonderful, reliable light, Fairly durable, Rechargeable nature, Comes fully charged
The Bad: Comparatively expensive
The Basics: Coleman’s 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern is a worthwhile investment, though it is expensive!


A few days ago, the first big snow of the season hit Michigan and rather oddly, a day after the biggest storms ripped through the state, the power went out in my apartment. Because my wife and I live in a low priority area of Michigan, it took days for us to get the power back (boo, food spoilage!) and the entire couple of days ended up being incredibly expensive for us. One of the big expenses in those two and a half days was the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern. While I was both content to use candles and flashlights (and, to be fair, I spent my nights at work where it was pretty brightly lit), my wife has a decent need for brightly lit spaces and to keep the whole uncertain time from becoming a much more traumatic incident for her, we invested in the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern.

The Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern is an electric lantern, instantly reminiscent of the propane lanterns one might use while camping. The advantage of the electric lantern, of course, is that one does not accrue the expense of propane tanks and there are no fumes generated by the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern. Locally available at a hefty $45.99 + tax, purchasing the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern during our emergency felt like an act of financial rape by Coleman (one fails to believe that even this dependable, brightly lit lantern is worth that much). Ultimately, the reason we shelled out that much for it (in addition to not being able to wait for a less expensive version of it to arrive from an online store) was that, despite the packaging not mentioning it explicitly, the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern is one of the few rechargeable LED lanterns that has a rechargeable cartridge that comes fully charged! That means the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern is usable right out of the box.

The Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern is a foot tall (when the rotating handle is up) by 5 1/8” in diameter. Colored in the traditional Coleman olive green and black, the LED lantern features a 3” tall by 1” in diameter cylinder LED light. The handle at the top rotates down for easy storage and rotates up so it may be carried easily.

Activated to one of two settings (Low or High) by the turn of a dial on the front of the lantern’s base, the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern lights up with soft light. Both settings produce bright, soft light. According to the box and manual, the difference between the Low and High settings is the difference between 100 and 190 Lumens. In practical terms, this is the difference between fifteen and twenty feet of light. The light is bright enough to easily read by and for our apartment living room (15 by 20 feet), both settings are bright enough for us to read by in the dark, from pretty much anywhere in the room. The lantern remained lit for two full nights (thirteen hours each night) during our emergency without burning out.

The rechargeable battery pack for the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern is easily accessed through the bottom of the lantern. While it may be charged while in the lantern, there are two clips that allow the battery pack to be detached and charged in a standard wall socket. It took fourteen hours for it to recharge. Coleman makes it easy to tell when the battery is charged because the light on the battery turns green. The Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern comes with the cord needed to recharge the battery.

The Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern seems durable (we knocked it around in the dark several times) and the clear lantern face around the bulb has not been scratched or cracked. Well worth picking up before one needs it, the Coleman 2000008547 Rechargeable LED Lantern is a good emergency supply or camping lantern that is safe for indoor and outdoor use and provides useful light to keep one feeling safe and happy.

For other home and garden products or rechargeable electronics, please visit my reviews of:
Scrubbing Bubbles 2 in 1 Kitchen & Dish Sponge
Max Pen 521A 2 in 1 Sharpener
Energizer Recharge AA/AAA Charger

8/10

For other home and garden equipment reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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