Reddit reviews Etekcity Lantern LED Camping Lanterns, Battery Powered Camping Lights, Outdoor Flashlight, Suitable for Camping, Hiking, Survival Kits for Emergency, Power Failure, Hurricane (Batteries Included)
We found 9 Reddit comments about Etekcity Lantern LED Camping Lanterns, Battery Powered Camping Lights, Outdoor Flashlight, Suitable for Camping, Hiking, Survival Kits for Emergency, Power Failure, Hurricane (Batteries Included). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
ULTRA BRIGHT: Includes 30 individual low consumption LED bulbs carrying 360° of luminous light while saving energy.LONG-LASTING: Light up at least to 30 hours of regular, continuous use with enough battery capacity (batteries pre-installed in the lantern).EASY TO OPERATE: Easily expand or collapse the lantern to turn on or off the lantern，and to adjust the light you want.TACTICAL STORAGE: The top lid of the lantern contains a small room for storing some small things like some change, yours keys, some spare batteries, etc.DURABLE MATERIALS: Constructed with military grade ABS material，promising long-time durability; FCC Certified, RoHS Compliant. Some accidental slight collisions or water splashing are acceptable.COMPACT & LIGHTWEIGHT: The extremely lightweight build(10oz) allows you to take your lantern on the go with ease. When not in use collapse the lantern to a smaller size; store it effortlessly, taking up little space.SUITABLE FOR VARIOUS SITUATIONS: It’s a must-have survival equipment designed for convenience when you go camping, hiking, night walking, or suffering emergency, power outage, etc.BUY WITH CONFIDENCE: Feel free to contact our California Support Team. We are always ready to help if you have any question about our product.
Lanterns or Lanterns?
REI has a very good camping checklist. Of course it's a US site and REI sells high quality stuff that is usually out of the price range of most beginners, so use it as a general guide on what you need, not necessarily the exact items you want to buy. Last time I was down under I was a shocked at the markup on imported US brands, so make do with what you can get down there.
I'm assuming you're going car camping; driving up to a campsite and unloading the gear. And I'm going to assume family of five means three kids say 8-14 or so. With older teens or more adults you'll need to pack more food and might need a bigger cooler, need a bigger tent or different sleeping arrangements.
Here are some recommendations for the basics. I'm linking to Amazon so you can see the products, and hopefully find something similar locally.
Tent - Coleman Montana 8. It's a well regarded tent for the price. Big enough for a family, can fit a couple of queen size air mattresses in there (kids can share a full size mattress or bring smaller inflatables). Whatever tent you get, make sure you take it out of the bag and try setting it up a few times. When setting up the tent, make sure you take out the poles and stakes and set them in a specific location, so they don't get lost and they don't get stepped on (and broken). If anything is confusing, get it sorted out before you go!
Sleeping bags - depends on where you are going and when. You can buy Coleman synthetic bags pretty cheap at most outdoor stores. Synthetic bags are generally heavy and bulky, but will get the job done. The rating on the bag is generally the extreme rating... as in you probably won't die at that temp but it might be a cold miserable night. Mummy bags save some weight and some bulk and are warmer, but some don't like the constrictive nature of the bags. Bring pillows from home to make things more comfortable (but note that you may have to wash them when you get home). Throw pillows will work, probably better than "backpacking" pillows. Or you can bring pillow cases and stuff them with spare clothes and jackets... I generally use throw pillows car camping.
Mattress pad - if you're car camping, don't bother with backpacking pads. Bring full size Coleman air mattresses, or even a queen. Remember you'll need some way to inflate the pad; a battery operated pump will work but is slow. You can get a pump that plugs in, but you 1. need an inverter in the car, 2. need an extension from the car into the tent since the inflated mattress probably won't fit through the door of the tent. Make sure you get the dimensions of all the air mattresses and the dimensions of the tent and make sure everything fits with some room to spare. Remember that you also need room for gear; of course the car is right there and you can always leave gear in the car, but on a chilly morning it's nicer to just open your bag and get a hat rather than run out to the car.
Stove - Camp Chef Everest dual burner propane stove. The Coleman dual burner stove is a classic and works well.
Cookset - I use full size pots and pans for car camping. You can just bring what you have at home (not too big, the stove won't fit big pots and pans), or maybe find cheaper stuff in the clearance section of some stores (if the stuff at home is too nice to bring camping). Along with the pots and pans, bring your usual utensils. You can bring paper plates, plastic cups and forks/knives, or buy "camping" stuff. Don't forget the spices and condiments, trivets for hot plates, coffee, tea, bottle/wine opener...
Water - Is there potable water at the campsite? Are you bringing your water or do you need to filter? I generally bring a couple of Coleman 5 gallon water jug. They collapse until I need them... but you really can't fill them all the way up since they're really difficult to carry. Or you might be able to buy water at the grocery store and just bring what you need - 1 gallon per day per person should be fine, more if it's hot and you're being very active.
Washing - if there's no washing facilities, you want to bring a wash basin to clean up the dishes and utensils. Don't forget the dish soap and sponge for cleaning pots and pans.
Cooler - Coleman Xtreme 70quart. Or the Igloo Max. I prefer something smaller since I've got a smaller sedan and will run into town more frequently. If you're only going overnight, you may only need a small cooler, but if your kids drink lots of milk or only cool juice, you may want to invest in a good size, well rated cooler.
Headlamps - it's good for everyone to have their own headlamps. The Black Diamond Spot is a good headlamp from a great company. You can a cheap Energizer Headlamp for under $15 for young kids, they're not great but work well enough.
Camp lantern - Coleman propane lanterns are the ol' standard, work great and cast great light. Uses the same 1lb propane tanks as the stove. But many are going with LED lanterns... these Cheap camp lanterns on Amazon seem like a pretty good deal, I've got some like them and they work fine. Very bright and very white, but cheap and effective.
Packing/hauling - Rubbermaid tote. These tubs make a great way to haul and store gear. I also store food in my tubs; make sure you can secure them so critters can't get in.
Tarp - bring a couple. It's good to have one tarp to hang over the cooking / eating area. You'll need some rope or cord to tie these up.
Folding chairs and tables - bring 'em if you've got 'em. It's much easier to cook standing up at a table.
Firewood - call ahead or check online, some campsites have firewood restrictions; some places you can't forage for wood and you need to buy it locally.
Garbage bags - bring a couple of big ones, a bunch of smaller bags if you need to pack up smelly stuff.
Well, I hope that enough for a start. Good luck!
just bought these yesterday. [2 pack of bright ass battery lantern] (http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Portable-Flashlight-Batteries-Collapsible/dp/B00XM8HTIS?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00)
And I got battery powered fairy lights to go around my canopy.
I also recommend a [head lamp!] (http://www.amazon.com/Petzl-TIKKINA-Headlamp-Lumens-Black/dp/B00UAJ2CXO/ref=sr_1_19?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1464147602&sr=1-19&keywords=headlamp) they're awesome for wearing around your neck so you can quickly access light to pee in not the dark and see around the camp site. It's annoying to walk around with it on all night though, goes in peoples eyes. You can get cheaper ones, and cheap ass ones at walmart. this is a pretty decent one.
These guys are bright as fuck. Easily lights up my whole campsite. Almost a little too bright if it's on the table like eye level lol. Last year we used a big carabiner to hook it to the canopy.
https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Portable-Outdoor-Batteries-Collapsible/dp/B00XM8HTIS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1491428905&sr=8-5&keywords=camp+light
Inside the tent, hooks up to any usb charger. Portable lantern. headlamps. Wreath lights were mentioned already, and of course a camp fire.
A lot of times you can even find the exact unbranded product on alibaba for much, much cheaper (assuming you want at least 500 padded rifle cases).
For example, here is a LED lantern on Amazon, 2 pack for $16.
And here is the same lantern on alibaba, $2.27 each (minimum 72 piece order).
Get something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XM8HTIS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wWfrxb7GDSSWB
Zip tie to canopy and you'll have plenty of lighting.
You'll need to list a budget if you want valuable advice. Like most camping gear - these items can go for a wide range of prices / quality. You generally get what you pay for - so the bigger budget the better quality.
Are you shopping in the USA or abroad? Online or local shops? Different areas have different brands available.
When / where will you do the majority of your camping? Don't need to list the specific parks - but a general idea of the temps and terrain you'll be using this equipment would be idea. Warm beaches or snowy mountains, Windy plains or thick forests, etc.
You said car / base style camping - that's a valuable distinction. Backpacking / wilderness style gear would be very different.
​
Tent - 4-person tent for 2 people is best for car camping, you could even go higher for more room/comfort.
Stove - a 2-burner propane stove would be ideal. Coleman brand is classic.
Lantern - a propane lantern is old-school, but bright / effective. I'd probably go with a battery powered option though, easier to deal with.
cookware - tons of options here. You could start by going to your local Thrift Store. Get the basics, they even have cast iron there often. Then get a plastic tub to store it all in - as your kitchen kit grows it will be valuable to store it all together for transport.
​
----
Without knowing the answers to my above questions, I'll throw out some basic gear options for you to check out:
​
Tent
There are other top brands, but the REI one is good quality for the cost. The Coleman one is cheap, but highly popular and good enough for most. Kind of 2 ends of the spectrum there.
​
Stove
This one really is the standard, I don't recommend any other option personally.
​
Lantern
Tons of options in the battery category. Might as well start cheap and see if it works well enough. I rarely even use my lantern anyway. I sit by the fire or use my headlamp. Better to invest in a good headlamp I'd say.
​
Cookware
Kits are a good way to get started. Then add single items like tongs, knives, wash buckets, etc. as needed. I really do suggest using items from the thrift store whenever possible. That way you don't care if it gets dinged up or burnt while camping.