I have the Brunton LED model. Too many artifacts in the light. It's good for not tripping on stuff, but it hurts my eyes to use it for reading.

Check this CPF thread about frosting the lenses on LED lanterns. It's primarily about teh Rock River lantern, but shows some pics of the Osram after frosting too.

-john

Great Post Chef,
I have many ???, but let me focus on one: What do you actually use the D Batteries for if you found that smaller flashlights were better tools for the job? I want to stock about 3 cycles of batteries for each application I have, but didn't see where D's had that much functionality for the tools I have. I appreciate knowing they are the most scarce, but any ideas why?

I think zillions of people have flashlights that use D cells. The bummer about this is that the discharge curve of D cells doesn't lend itself well to flashlights since it drops off so fast. As a result, the light goes dim and yellow fast and people switch to a new set, even though they only used the batteries for a short time.

-john

Theres an elderly expat British lady who keeps buying Digestives at the local import shop for whenever I drop in later. During El Nino she barely survived a car wreck in front of my then job working with a cockney mechanic. The presence of my vintage ' Brown Betty ' and an immediate 'hot cuppa' made a world of difference to her sitting in our glorified waiting room. Get an old fashioned speckled enamelware coffeepot and a supply of your favourite Starbucks ( shameless plug for your nieghbor Randy here.) It's simple; water,coffee, fire and settle grounds with a splash of cold water after brewing. Every culture has a few ikons of genteel and proper living. Tea or coffee seem to be a biggie. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

We have a couple of lanters that use D's. They have florscent tubes, and get a pretty good life out of a set of batteries. We just buy a stick of Duracell D's at Costco from time to time...

OK...I've taken a look at the various models mentioned....here are my observations...

The River Rock lantern from Target is a different lantern than those from the Christmas three-pack (3 lanterns for $20) that I mentioned. Those from the three pack are nearly identical to:

Osram Golden Dragon lantern
Brookstone lantern
Brunton Glorb LED Lantern

Besides a slight difference at the bottom of the base, these from the holiday Target 3-pack seem to only have on and off rather than the strobe/low/high features mentioned by folks for the others. Also, the use-sheet that came with them says there is a low and high mode but none of mine had the low mode...just on and off.

However, as noted above, John says that the LEDs in the Osram version are different...I can't comment on this. Outwardly, they're the same. Does anyone own all of these models?

What I learn every time we have a power outage and when we take the family camping:

I have way too many flashlights and lanterns! (but it is a good thing) <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The portable gas stove is awesome!

Cold showers are no problem in Hawaii.

And most importantly...the kids are fine without TV!!! I think it helps that we normally limit their TV to 30 to 60 minutes per day max. And we only let them watch a select list of programs.

SwedishChef:

Welcome to the forums, I must say that is some very good information. Others have posted information about obtaining and storing extra parts, which I agree with. But, like the fire building you mentioned, if you are not familiar with doing the maintenance on your generator, or Coleman stove / lantern, I recommend you practice changing "broken parts" now when you may not be using the equipment. Knowledge gained now is indeed vital. Again welcome and thanks for the post.

Take care,

Stargazer

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

Generator: I did select a Honda - the EU2000i. Expensive, but has some nice features. I'll look into the hook-up kit if I get a second one, although I might be tempted to diversify generator types since there are a lot of options in that price range.

Flashlights: I wasn't as clear as I could have been about this. For lighting a room from "dark" (around 5:30 pm at the time, I think) until bedtime I used two lights which each took four D cell batteries. One is flourescent with two tubes (you can use one or both), the other is designed to sit on a table or hang from above and to distribute light outward - rather than focused in a small area like a flashlight does. Those were fine for generally lighting up the room to avoid tripping on stuff, but weren't bright enough to read by for long unless I was right next to them. The one that used a small, traditional incandescent bulb didn't have terribly impressive battery life, but the flourescent one seemed to last quite a while. I'm sure most people use the D's for large flashlights, and I admit I have a big Maglite lying around somewhere. But it sure didn't turn out to be very convenient for my needs.

The small CR123A lights I mentioned were what I used to walk around the house, go outdoors with, read with, and generally get things done. I've got one with switches to control the brightness which helps make it versatile, adjustable for reading, and extends battery life.

Camp Stove: I'll look into them. I'm only familiar with the really small ones designed for lugging around, like the Jetboil system. I could get something cheaper and maybe larger for home use.

Dogs: We have Eurasiers - created in the 50's - half Samoyed, quarter Chow, quarter Keeshond. We had plenty of food. Our vet has a 24-hour emergency hospital, but I don't know what they do in the event of a power loss.

Propane Lanterns: I'll have to look into these.

Better Battery-powered Radio: Receiving TV band would be useful. Think I'll add a new radio to my list.

I am curious, though - How fast does gasoline go bad? And how do people store more than 5 or 10 gallons safely?

Thanks,