Barebones Living Forest Lantern

I bought the Forest Lantern because it was super cute but still very practical. I've had the lantern for 4 or 5 years now; bought it when it was first on the market. I use it basically every day for walking my giant beast dog, camping, full moon/night hiking, power outages, reading in bed. It holds a charge really long, I can get through 3 nights camping just fine as long as I don't have it cranked up to full power the whole time. It's a smooth transition to a lower light level which is really nice, so you can fine-tune the amount of light you want.I love the USB charging cable; no batteries. I've charged it in my vehicle on extended camping trips; just plug it into the USB port in the SUV when I leave the campsite to go into town, to a different hiking trail, etc.I've dropped it or knocked it over a whole bunch of times, always expecting it to break but it hasn't yet. Granted, I tend to drop it on softer surfaces like dirt, grass, etc... have never dropped or knocked it onto hard surface like granite or concrete. One time it seemed like the light didn't want to turn on, but I just turned the knob to off, then back to on and it was fine.There's 2 things I'd change about it. (1) I wish it was a warm white light (it's a cold white). (2) Sure could use a red night vision option, I get unnerved sometimes solo camping in remote areas using night-vision destroying white light.

The lighting is a bit uneven. The LED light is actually only in the base, and they're relying on a semi-transparent plastic sheath inside to disperse the light...which works well enough, but it is significantly brighter on the bottom than on the top. It's also as a whole less bright than similarly sized fluorescent lanterns.That said I'm happy with it overall, it looks nice and the ability to adjust the brightness is handy. I also love that the built in lithium batteries mean I won't have to randomly put a half dozen D batteries into it, or worse find it's suddenly not working when I need it! I haven't used the feature yet but I also like that it can be used to charge other usb devices.One design decision that is a bit questionable but not worth taking stars off for it why they opted for an integrated USB cable for recharging the lantern rather than making it work with standard microUSB cables which are at this point prolific. Another thing to note is that the manual recommends charging the lantern every couple of months whether you've used it or not, to maintain the battery. Shouldn't be a problem for me as I think I will end up using it more often than that anyway, but something that prospective buyers should be aware of.

We still have this set in my 5 year olds room for decoration. It stopped working a few months after purchase. It was a gift for my husband. I don't remember if we passed the return window or not. All I remember was that we have 3 children. At the time all were toddlers. So returning this gift was not high on my priority list, I probably meant to, just missed the window like most parents. I get mad every time I look at it, but don't want to throw it out because I hate the idea of something that looks nice sitting in a landfill or floating in our oceans someday. Buyer beware.

this one worked fine for a few days now it only turns on if i am lucky or not at all. luckily it happened within return window. my first one was DOA. my second one still works fine. cool looking product with issues... I will get another one and hope it works well...

WOW! I recently had a blackout, so of course I went scrambling for emergency lighting. I found rechargeable bulb and cheap lanterns boasting of thousands of hours runtime. Returned. And they were mostly just ugly. But then...........I saw this beauty. It fits my decor and it's just beautiful. If you have to endure a blackout, why not do it in an atmosphere that is functional and romantic. The lamp just works great, period. The light is soft unless you turn it up all the way. It is bright enough for most things. I used to think 325 lumens was dim, but lumens has to do more with area coverage than brightness. You won''t be sorry buying this. In fact, when you first get it you will put it in a place where you can lovingly stare at it, but that's just me.

The lighting is inconsistant at best, it suddenly goes out for no reason then comes back on a few minutes later! And it is not nearly as adjustable as it claims. Doesn't last very long either on high. Does look cool tho.UPDATE - The probelm with the switch has gotten worse, will rarely turn on now and when it does more often than not it goes back off. I see there's a newer review with the same switch problem. Obviously a Chinese quality control problem. For $80 you'd think they could do better.

This would not charge, so we were unable to use it at all. Even though it was defective, we still had to pay for return shipping which was almost $20 due to it having lithium batteries, perhaps? So, out $20 for having received a defective product. We bought 2 beacons at the same time - those charged and worked fine.

Originally found this lantern while' Glamping' near Glacier National Park. Holds charge a long time.Has an infinity variable output so can provide modest amount of light for a long time. Lightweightand can take some abuse. Can also charge phones and small devices. USB port on the side is for charging OTHERdevices. Charging cord for lantern is built into bottom of lantern base. I use this thing all over the house.