Oct 22 Update: Olight is having a flash sale until tomorrow night with up to 40% off. Check it out here.
Many purveyors of fine edc gear are familiar with the brand Olight. Appearing on the scene a few years ago, the build quality of their flashlights is some of the best out there. Many have been expecting Olight to release lantern for some time and today we have their first foray into the scene with the versatile Olantern.
Slightly bigger than a can of soda, the Olantern is a unique addition to the world of camping lanterns. Made from a hardened plastic the lantern has an innovative bulb swap feature with different features per bulb. Initially I was not sure about the material of the lantern but after spending some time with it I can understand the choice to go with the hard shell material over something else.
It’s a fantastic all-around use mini lantern. The Olantern is durable, versatile, and super easy to use for a wide range of different activities.
Features of the Olantern
This lantern comes with some features you’re likely familiar with and a few new tricks up its sleeve. The biggest is the quick swap bulb system, allowing you to easily remove the 3-stage white bulb that comes installed with the flickering candle bulb in the box. More on that later.
Olantern Specifications
| In the box | Batteries, Cleaning Cloth, Flaming LED Module, Magnetic Charging Cable, User Manual | |||
| Material | ABS Plastic, TPE Alum Alloy | |||
| LED | High Performance NW Neutral White | |||
| Weight | 12.24 oz | |||
| Height | 5.37 in | |||
| Battery | 1900mAh Rechargeable | |||
| Charge Rate | 2 Amps | |||
| Warranty | 2 Years |
The lantern also comes with a flip-up hook which is useful for hanging it on to things – the hook is slightly wider than as the lantern itself and is only on the top of the lantern. I didn’t have a chance to test it inside of my tent but I am anticipating a little bit of trouble getting the large silicone wrapped hook inside of a small narrow lashing inside my tent. Perhaps a smaller carabiner would help and could be attached in between the tent loop and the Olantern’s hook
Similar to other flashlights from Olight, the power button has an illuminated battery level ring surrounding it. The battery level light is activated when the lamp notices motion, making it easier to find when you are trying to find the lantern in the darkness of your tent at 3 am.
Olantern Published Runtimes and Output
| High | Medium | Low | Flickering Flame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brightness | 360 lumens | 120 lumens | 30 lumens | 1 lumen |
| Runtime | 6.5 hours | 20 hours | 75 hours | 80 hours |
Olight Quick Swap Bulb System
The Olantern comes with a round bulb with 3 stages of light brightness High, Medium and Low at 360, 120, and 30 lumens respectively. On the highest 360 lumen setting it will run for approx. 6.5 hours where as you extend that runtime to 75 hours when operating at the low 30 lumen mode.
The housing for the bulb also is easy to remove. It requires a quarter turn to easily pull on and off. It has a reflector inside the top of the housing to help the bulb reflect light outwards for more coverage.
The second bulb, which is attached by opening the top of the lantern and screwing off the entire bulb itself, is a flickering candle bulb. I’ve spent more time using the flickering candle bulb than the other white light by 10x.
The Flickering Flame
It is a unique feature that makes this lantern useful late at night when sitting outside with friends, as a kid’s nightlight or just to give off a more comforting feeling of the flickering flame. The ambiance created by the flame is great and something I can see using in many different circumstances. It’s also a distinct reason to bring this lantern over another in my collection when attempting to pack light because of its increased versatility and cool factor.
I cannot wait to see what other variations and bulb styles will be sold for this lantern.
Please Olight, make a hot-swappable red light for this thing!
Construction
The version of the lantern we were sent came in a forest green color that Olight calls Moss Green. It also comes in Basalt Grey and Wine Red. It is made from a hard plastic, a departure from the other Olight products on the market, and does seem like a new direction for the brand. All three versions have an anodized blue ring around the body, with the Olantern logo in a script font.
The lantern is IPX4 certified waterproof and has been drop tested to the hight of 1m, making it more rugged than the other lanterns in its class.
Battery Life
The lantern also features the proprietary magnetic charging method popular with all of the other Olight products – I was able to open the lantern and start charging it using the same charger from the Warrior Mini we reviewed from Olight a few weeks back.
Powered by four 3.7V 1900mAh lithium-ion batteries, the Olantern has good battery life, on par with my black diamoned lanterns of similar shape and size. Because it’s an Olight, it is rechargeable via a magnetic MCC3 to USB cable. It’s also great that the light can be recharged by USB, removing the need to lug a bunch of batteries around when out in the field or camping somewhere.
The posted battery life for the flickering flame is 80 hours and I have used it at night for almost a week without needing to charge.
What We Liked
- Quick Swap Bulbs
- Rechargeable Battery
- Flickering Flame
- Warranty
What We Didnt Like
- Blue anodized ring
- Colors
Conclusion
This new release from Olight is a must-have for your kit. It’s extremely easy to use, has a ton of convenient options and is rugged enough for some of the hardest circumstances you could throw at it. It is great for emergencies as well with its efficient battery use and ability to be recharged easily via its magnetic charging cable.
At 50 we can certainly recommend this lantern as a quality buy. Olight also has a 2 year warranty if anything goes wrong while you’re out in the field.
A super reliable lantern able to push out 360 lumens with a max runtime of 80 hours. The flickering candle hot-swappable bulb is a must-have and increases the usefulness of this lantern by 10x.
