I'm looking for a light for my Tipi? It can be heavier than what you would backpack. Think car camping in this case mule packing. What is every one using? I'm a little behind on the latest stuff.

Ed, how the hell are ya, my old bud, still alive and kickin'?

For ANY base camp, even just under a tarp strung from our trucks to nearby trees overnight, I have a large Coleman "mantle" lantern, burns propane. I have had this for close to 25 years and it runs flawlessly.

I also have an Optimus backpacking lantern, runs on butane or that "iso" whatever, weighes very little and is amazingly bright for it's size. I learned of this from "Nevada Dan" on Kifaru several years ago and I find it a really great rig in a tent or tipo.

Cabela's, USED to sell this rig made of heavy wire that looped around the tipi pole and stuck out over a foot, held a Coleman by the weight of it bearing on the end looped around your tent pole....naturally, I put off buying one and have not seen them in recent catalogues....

Anyway, these two plus two light rigs using plumber's candles are all I have/use and they do what I need.

Howdy Kute

Well I have coleman gas and propanes they still work and put out the needed light. I don't like the hiss and the refill hassle every night. I'm just thinking there must be an easier softer way for an old guy.
ps: Kute since we are the same age how long have we been using these antiques?

round LED lights from the Walmart sporting section.They run on 4 a batteries .
Tim

These things are cheap & light enough to carry several and do a good job of lighting up a small tent. Use a couple for a larger tent. Available at Harbor Freight, Amazon, & many other places for around $3. The only drawback is that you need a small phillips screwdriver to change batteries (thank the Chinese idiots for that). They use 3 AAA's. The hook swivels & folds flat against the back. If you happen to have a steel pipe tent frame, they have a magnet in the back to stick to the pipe.
Use the big side lights for general lighting or push the button a couple more times to use the end light like a flashlight.

Ed,

You are probably looking for more light than this but this is what I have been using. The Nite Ize Buglit:
http://www.niteize.com/product/BugLit.asp

Not only does it light your tipi, but wrapped on the tipi pole you have a 2- gun rack, one on each side.

My hillbilly brother Dan was the one that showed me the usefulness of these little lights.

http://www.streamlight.com/en-us/product/product.html?pid=287

This looks good, but I can't find where to buy one

I just hang an extra LED headlamp. Works great.

Black Diamond Lantern. Fine for backpacking or car camping

I use a Snowpeak miners headlamp.It can be used as a headlamp or as a diffused tent light.Really ingenious. Snow peak

I think of the days of carrying a Coleman lantern to base camp with fuel, wicks, a spare glass bulb and having to be careful not to break the glass. I really appreciate the new technology. An LED flashlight with a diffuser like the one below can light up camp much better and on a single AA battery without regard to wind, rain, or an open flame if the lamp gets knocked over. Camp life has improved. I also now use this on backpack hunts and they will light up a tent or tipi.




I like the little Fenix E11 that runs all night on a single AA plus it is a great little waterproof flashlight with 115 lumens, but there are other similar lights that will work with this diffuser. I have tried other diffusers but this one works better than any others and they are cheap and durable. The diffuser is about $10 and the flashlight is $27. There are cheaper flashlight options.

Where have you looked? The Streamlight Seige is carried by most sporting good stores. There's always ebay.

The only thing I don't like about The Seige is that is uses D batteries.

I also use a Black Diamond (45 lum) when weight is an issue.