I got a lantern not so long ago, and it's great. Twin mantle, ignition switch. Don't know how long the canister lasts but I've had several sessions with it so far, each a few hours long and it's still going. Also the ignition switch means you can easily turn it off between goes if you are resting between attempts. It's much brighter than the tube things and cheap battery things too - lights up a whole boulder, no problem. Still wise to use headtorches and other lights so you don't get too many shadows though. Portablility isn't a big issue - I just carry it by the handle, usually I use it instead of a headtorch. But I have stuffed it inside my mat before, with all my other stuff.
You can pick up lots of things between £10 and £20 but they are generally a bit disappointing - low battery life, long charging time, gradually fading light etc. Get a proper lantern, much much better, and around the same price. I tried saying this last winter:
Yeh but its £15 not a few hundred like the ones recommended so far!Of course its prob not gonna illuminate the whole crag, and its prob only gonna last an hour or two, but it serves a purpose.
Something like this looks like a reasonable compromise for £35:http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/rwl12-12v-rechargeable-fluorescent-ligDoesn't mention it on the website but the catalogue recons it's good for 5hrs
Quote from: Obi-Wan is lost... on September 03, 2008, 08:00:52 pmSomething like this looks like a reasonable compromise for £35:http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/rwl12-12v-rechargeable-fluorescent-ligDoesn't mention it on the website but the catalogue recons it's good for 5hrsLooks similar to the one Lagers picked up. Check further back in the thread for details, he seemed to rate it.