Being able to hang your lantern from the inside of your tent or from a well-placed tree limb can greatly increase the amount of light it can cast on your camp setup. Look for a lantern that sports some type of hook or loop that will allow you to suspend it from above and make the most of your light. The Ledlenser ML6 is particularly adept at mounting solutions, with a rubber loop for hanging at the top, a metal hook beneath the broad base, and a magnetic bottom for mounting on metal surfaces. Battery Banks and Solar Panels Another benefit of LEDs is they have a high Color Rendering Index (CRI) level, a measurement of how natural colors render in certain light. Lanterns like the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Lantern boast a CRI of 90 and produce high-quality color lighting. If you’re going with an electric lantern, battery life is a consideration, especially if you’re going to be in the woods for a few days or more. Many lanterns will give you 5-10 hours on high, with longer times in the lower settings. Among the longest-lasting lanterns in our testing were the BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Lantern at 200 hours on low, the Fenix CL30R at 300 hours, and the Goal Zero Lighthouse600 Lantern at an impressive 320 total hours of burn time. The weather isn’t always going to cooperate for your weekend shindigs, and our rain test occurs during real, day-long Pacific Northwest rain storms. After spending the day in the rain, each light was turned on and inspected for any damage. The battery test, too, sought to challenge these string lights with real-life usage, and included charging rechargeable lights fully, setting up battery-powered lights with brand new batteries, and hooking up plug-in lights with portable batteries, then running each light until they died. The nice thing about a battery-powered lantern is that you don’t need to worry about charging it up. The downside is it burns through batteries if used often. This LE LED lantern ran anywhere from 10 to 14 hours during our testing before needing a fresh set of batteries.

We found the light output particularly pleasant during our testing, yet plenty bright to complete all our camp chores. It has a max output of ~400 lumens and will run for about 5 hours in warm conditions. Similar to stoves, the run time decreases in colder weather. The benefit of running on stove fuel, however, is that you can use your depleted canisters that are too low to bring along for cooking. Genius! The Nite Ize ShineLines might take the cake for hanging features. Not only are these lights easy to wrap around objects, but they come with four rubber-covered hanging wires that can be used to attach these lights to almost anything. The attachments are super malleable and can be moved anywhere on the light where they are best fit. They also make it easy to store these lights as you can tie off the lights when they are bundled. The malleable rubber wires of the Nite Ize ShineLines were super simple to attach to nearly anything; (photo/Maddie Downie) Durability and Water Resistance Thankfully, we’ve come a long way from the simple ON/OFF button, and camping lanterns today feature many additional lighting settings for fine-tuning your lighting solution. Dimmability is one of the most important functions in our opinion, as it allows you to dial in the light output in a set range. Camping lanterns today have broad dimming ranges, with many being able to reduce down to single-digit lumens and then ramp up to full power, or even a turbo mode such as in the Fenix CL30R.Stake lights: These tend to be spiked stakes with bulbs at the top that provide low-level lighting, ideal for guiding the way along a path or softly lighting flowerbeds.

For lights that don’t come with a battery, the Light-A-Life Minis are fairly expensive. But they do come with a number of features we really enjoyed. For optimal portability, having a set of string lights with a built-in battery will allow you to bring light anywhere without further complications. These lights have the benefit of not needing anything else to work, but that means they’re another thing you’ll have to remember to charge before heading out for the weekend. These lights have two battery charging options. The solar panel on the top of the light means you can leave this light out in the sun and forget about them for a while. It does take 16 hours for this light to fully charge via solar panel, which means you’re not likely to get them to a full charge in one day. However, they also come with a USB charging port that you can use to charge these lights up in 6-8 hours.Decathlon will give you the best camping lighting for all types of campers and tents. Our lighting for camping includes solar-powered lights for the eco-conscious, rechargeable options for extended trips, and battery-operated lights for traditional use. All are designed with a focus on brightness, longevity, and energy efficiency. Camp Lighting Ideas We particularly like the way these lights store in themselves. Simply wrap the string lights into the solar base and twist closed. Pro tip from our testing: Be sure to avoid too many overlapping bulbs or it will become too bulky to close. If you have stayed in camps before, you must already know about the importance of lights and lanterns. These lights help you find your way and lights up your tent after sundown. While there are several solar-powered camping lanterns, nothing beats the good old portable USB lights for camping. We set out to find the best camping string lights on the market to give you the best recommendations for your adventures. It’s important to note, also, that string lights oftentimes will be accessories to other camp lighting solutions, such as Camping Lanterns or a good Headlamp. Our recommendation for the best camping light for tents is the Vango Light Disco. Integrating a unique and versatile design, these lights don’t only add style to your tent. Its combined 498 LEDs illuminate enough brightness for efficient lighting. Plus, due to the LED design, the lights are cost-cutting and energy-efficient to run. Conclusion

As the name implies, tent lights are more specialised in terms of hanging them up in your tent. Keep in mind, however, that you can do the same with lanterns and spotlights. Many camping string lights come with light adjustment options which can be helpful in setting a desired mood. Many come with a simple high brightness and low brightness, such as the GoalZero Light-A-Life lights that have a 110-lumen high setting and 30-lumen low setting. This setting is great for transitioning into a sleepier mood.The massive 36-foot string has 12 LED lights (and comes with two spares) with a nice yellowish color to them, which is perfect for lighting up a summer evening. They’re also great for large spaces. They’re a great option if you want lights that can keep up with a big hang out. These lights turn on with a single switch, making them easy to use and rely on.

Plug-in lights are brighter from 100 lumens (lms) to 1,000 lms. The Lightforce LED Strip Light comes in at 1,600 lms! Plug-in lights also stay brighter for longer and are less likely to dim as you use them. Either way, these lights provide the necessary illumination to light your camp. Plus, they are inexpensive and easy to carry. The best camping lights for tents are specially designed to light up large areas for long periods of time without the battery dying. The light is shone out in all directions (omnidirectional) which feels much more natural than a torch and can often replicate daylight very well. So if you plan to go camping this summer, here are some portable USB lights for camping that you can consider buying. But before that,

2. Onite USB LED Camping Light

Many of the best camping lanterns offer additional features, such as the ability to charge your electronic devices and double as a flashlight. These are perks but aren’t real game-changers when choosing a lantern. Other lights have blinking and color-changing effects, which keep the mood more energized. The color ENO Twilights have a setting that will gradually rotate through all of the colors. However, a few lights require that you cycle through these different settings to turn the light off, which can definitely be an annoyance around bedtime. No one likes a strobing light right as they’re about to fall asleep. The gradual color shift mode of some string lights certainly livens the mood; (photo/Maddie Downie) Storage These lights will generally last longer than the built-in battery lights, anywhere from three days to a few weeks, depending on how much you’re using them. It’s most likely a string light with a replaceable battery will take AA or AAA batteries, such as the ENO Twilights that take three AAA batteries. AAA batteries don’t seem to be going anywhere soon, and are a reliable power source for the ENO Twilights; (photo/Maddie Downie) Plug-In While there isn’t a single best camping lantern for everyone, we sure looked for one. We’ve tested nearly 40 different light sources across half a decade of camping seasons to pull together a list of the most worthy light sources to bring on your next wilderness outing. Our choices have traveled with us from the dark deserts of Joshua Tree to the green tunnels of the Appalachian Trail, and we weren’t gentle, either. String lights: The bigger, brighter cousin of fairy lights. Also on wire, but the bulbs of string lights are spaced out more widely than fairy lights, and are much brighter, for festival-style illumination.