Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting LANTERNS

Do you guys carry lanterns while backpack hunting? If so, which ones, and how do they perform? Weight? Light output? I always have carried a lantern for fear of having to clean a sunset-shot animal and having to clean it at night w/o light.

I used to carry the Coleman Peak 229. But then I bought a Coleman butane that weighs a few ounces. It supposedly sheds lots of light I have yet to use it so I have no practical experience. Has anyone used such a lantern? I was told it will work with winter blend fuel from Primus.

I am going all canister fuel now. No messy white gas to pour. They're lightweight. There are easy on cold mornings. They have improved so drastically that for me there is no advantage, other than cost of fuel for staying with white gas.

for serious backpack hunting I can't justify the weight

and when I say serious, that's not meant to infer that someone that decided to take a lantern is not serious

I get by with a photon micro light II, tis all I really need.


for lesser duration trips or something less deep and steep, or alternative modes of transportation I find a lantern a wonderful addition to camp.

Used a Peak 1 for many years in the tent, adds warmth, lights up the whole tent etc.

I've got the Snowpeak lantern to use on my canisters with both the glass globe and the mesh, but truthfully I've used them very little. The mesh globe doesn't cast that great of light, the glass globe has to be handled like well......glass.

And it uses up my precious fuel weight that is designated for cooking.

So IF I'm taking a lantern I'm liable to take a propane full size Coleman, if I need to compromise on weight or bulk the Peak 1 still gets the nod.

That's how it shakes out for ME. as per usual YMMV

I have a propane Coleman lantern and "Grasshopper" propane stove and have for many years; these are cheap, rugged and they work, so, they are in the vehicle all season long and used in vehicle-access base camps.

I recently bought a Primus Easylight and it blows my aged mind, gawd, what a rig. I WILL be using this a lot on trips where I relap pack in a base camp for a realtively short distance and my Optimus Nova goes with it. Luxury and not a bad weight.

My buddy bought and we tried a Snowpeak Giga, a real pos, IMO, and I MUCH prefer my Outbound candle lantern, especially inside a high dollar small mountain tent. So, I usually go with a Petzl Tikka whatever headlamp on hunts, but, for winter camping, I will always pack the candle lantern and maybe the Easylite to keep cheerful in dark, cold and lonely situations.

I have a small peak 1 lantern that fits in a padded nalgene bottle container. I would say it goes on one in 20 bp trips. I usually make someone else carry it, it does not weigh much, but space is space. I have taken it when I was going into cold country under bagged and used it as a heater....great for that.

I have an UCO aluminum mini lantern that I've never used. It burns tea candles and weighs very little.

When hunting I'm usually pretty beat when the sun goes down so I just read by headlamp or listen to the iPod until I pass out.

I usually make it through about 2 pages before this happens....

When packpack hunting I take my Coleman 229 white gas lantern to help cleaning animals at night. While I have used it to light my camp because I have had it, for merely general lighting, I would not carry it and save weight.

The propane mini-lanterns intrigue me. They are lightweight and many offer light bright enough to clean deer. What I am thinking is buying a 4oz canister of isobutane fuel and using the lantern only for cleaning deer. The whole outfit should weigh less than a pound.

I'm with High Country on this one.

I seem to get by fine with a headlamp. In most cases you can dress an animal and come back in the morning to butcher. If you need to do the whole thing that night the headlamp will get you thru in a pinch.

I am going to try an isobutane lantern while backpacking into the Sierra back country this summer looking to slay trout. I do like the idea of light. But I like the idea of traveling light.

Mando,

Looking for pretty pics of Goldens? I've wanted to get in somewhere and catch Goldens for a very long time now. I've got a 3wt. that is just the ticket.

Mark

Mark,

I would love to catch one...or more. We plan of hitting some high country lakes this year to give it a try. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Where abouts you going in at and have you picked specific lakes for Goldens?

Mark

MarlinMark,

I will go on trail heads out of either North Lake (Bishop) or Lake George (Mammoth Lake). I have a couple High Sierra trail guides that I need to review. From what I understand once above 10,000', most lake have some Goldens.


Mando

Cool.

Mark