Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

The Orbit is a small,compact lantern. It gives off plenty of light for night cooking or playing some cards. It has a unique dimming switch to save the batteries life even more. The stated weight is 4.4oz with 4 AAA batteries- I used Energizer Lithium AAA batteries and the Orbit came in at 4oz. It collapses to four inches and is 5.5 inches fully extended. It also has two hooks to let you hang it in your tent. It has a 11 hour battery life on the brightest setting. (HIGH FIVE)

Rating: 5 / 5

I saw this advertised in Backpacker Magazine (yes, I still subscribe. Every once in a while I find something useful), and thought I’d check it out. I picked it up at REI since I was going on a hike with three other people and thought it would be nice to have a light source at night while we were sitting around and talking. We were going to Pt. Reyes in the San Francisco Bay Area where they actually have picnic tables at the hike-in campsites. The lantern made for a very nice centerpiece while we sat around and talked after dinner. We set the lantern up on an inverted cooking pot to give it some height off the table. There was plenty of light for reading, journal updates, etc. I suppose it might substitute (albeit poorly) for a fire in “no campfire” areas. It has both a high and low setting - the low setting is more than adequate after dark. I’ll bet it would be great on a trip with kids.

The REI website spec said 4.8 oz; my scale says 4.0 oz with lithium batteries installed. I haven’t had a chance to see how long it lasts, but the specs are 10 hours on the high setting and 25 hours on the low setting. Considering that a few years ago getting my flashlight down to 4 oz was a big deal, this seems like a nice luxury item for those UL trips with a group where one water bottle is full of wine.