Summer is here bringing with it camping trips and time spent outdoors enjoying the summer nights. We take a look at some gear to illuminate your campsite.
1. Coghlans tent light
This LED battery lamp provides 360° of diffused light through a soft silicone lantern shell. There’s a handle with a split loop, so that you can hang it inside your tent or outdoors. It has four brightness levels and puts out 120 lumens on maximum setting, can run for 20 hours on high and 40 hours on the lowest setting. It requires three AAA batteries.
Price R259
Where Camp and Climb, www.campandclimb.co.za
2. Glow Sticks
Glow sticks are a great way to keep track of kiddies in a campsite after dark. Children generally love them and if you choose a glow stick necklace, you don’t have to worry about them dropping it. You can almost hear the peals of laughter emanating from halos of lights moving frenetically in the dark.
Price R18 for a pack of 3 x 20cm necklaces
Where The Crazy Store, www.crazystore.co.za
3. Black Diamond Apollo Lantern
The Black Diamond Apollo rechargeable non-glaring, collapsible lantern has been redesigned and now puts out 250 lumens (50 lumens more than the previous model). The light capsule has a double-hook hanging loop and folding legs that you can use to stand it up. The internal lithium-ion battery can be recharged via USB and you can use the lantern as a power bank from which to charge handheld electronics. Alternatively, the Apollo lantern can be run off three AA batteries and there are power meter displays for both batteries. When full brightness isn’t required, the dimming function helps prolong battery life.
The new Apollo will be available from the first quarter of next year.
Estimated price R1 200
Where www.rammountain.co.za
4. Coleman Twist + 300 LED Lantern
This weather-resistant lantern doubles as a power bank. It is USB compatible and has a 300 lumen output on its brightest setting. There are four modes: bright, medium, low and flash. The lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable and Coleman’s battery lock feature allows you to disengage the battery when not in use with a simple twist.
Price R989
Where www.takealot.com
5. Zartek UV scorpion detection torch
It’s never a good idea to visit camping ablutions in your plakkies at night, especially in scorpion country. Zartek have come up with this innovative, well-priced solution. Only 10cm long, this compact torch emits a 10m beam of ultraviolet light and is housed in an aluminium casing.
Estimated price R125
Where Camp and Climb, www.campandclimb.co.za
6. UST Glo 30-day lantern
The UST Glo 30-Day Lantern can run for 30 days continuously on its lowest setting and 32 hours on high. It’s capable of producing 300 lumens on high, 150 on medium and 29 on the dimmest setting. The rubberised plastic casing is robust, the lantern is water-resistant and a great feature is that it glows in the dark, so no rummaging around at night to find it. It runs on three 1.5V D cell batteries.
Price R799 (R399 on sale)
Where Cape Union Mart, www.capeunionmart.co.za
7. Luminoodle 1.5m light rope
The Luminoodle is a flexible LED strip that provides 180 lumens of bright light that can spread out over the deisired area. It’s waterproof and powered by any USB battery or power source. Luminoodle comes with ties, embedded magnets, a utility loop and a lantern bag so you can tie, stick, hook or hang it wherever you like.
Price R395
Where Outdoor Warehouse, www.outdoorwharehouse.co.za
8. LED Lenser H7R.2
Make sure you don’t drop your tjop next to the braai by keeping your hands free with a LED Lenser headlamp. This headlamp’s beam can reach a distance of 160m on full 300 lumen brightness and can be dimmed incrementally all the way down to 20 lumens (limiting the beam to 50m). It’s great for trail running and other outdoor activities, too. The H7R.2 lithium-ion battery can be recharged via USB or you can run it off four AAA batteries. The headlamp has a battery indicator and a rear safety light, too.
Price R1 200
Where Cape Union Mart, www.capeunionmart.co.za
9. LuminAID PackLite solar light
This inflatable solar LED lantern is compact to store and light to carry. If you plan on hiking, you can tie it on your backpack to charge in the sun, or you can fix it to your tent or car. The solar light has four settings: extra bright, high, low and flashing, that will provide you between six and 32 hours of light. We love that it doesn’t need batteries, but on the downside, it does require seven hours of sunlight to fully recharge.
Price R289
Where Camp and Climb, www.campandclimb.co.za
10. Maxell Mizusion Salt Water Lamp
This LED light doesn’t use batteries or solar panels to power it, but rather salt and water. The Mizusion lamp (‘mizusion’ is Japanese for salt and water) contains a magnesium cell, or power bar, that creates electrical current when in contact with salt and water – even seawater will generate electricity. Each power bar provides 2 000 Lux of light for about 80 hours and “can be replaced at a nominal cost”. The lamp itself is expected
to last 10 years.
Developed in Japan by Hitachi, the Mizusion LED salt water-powered lamps will be available in most outdoor equipment stores in SA soon.
Where For trade enquiries or further information, contact [email protected] or phone 021 975 0889/083 785 2244.
Compiled by Elise Kirsten