Familiar lanterns, old friends, family suppers, and leaving room for the night.
🕯️ A Christmas gift in July
My Northern Lights candle lantern came to me as a Christmas in July present from a Secret Santa when I was working on staff at Camp Liberty, Heritage Reservation. It was a small gift, but it carries an entire summer’s worth of friends and memories. Whenever I take it out, I remember the people I served with, the long days, and those evenings when camp finally grew quiet.
Perhaps that is why I have never thought of a lantern as simply a number of lumens. It lights what is in front of us, certainly, but sometimes it also illuminates what we remember.
💡 The lantern that made the darkness run away
I bought my Snow Peak GigaPower Lantern at Bill Jackson’s Shop for Adventure in Pinellas Park before December 31, 2009, the date of my earliest photograph using it on a Suwannee River expedition. I exchanged its glass globe for a metal mesh globe because kayaks can be hard on fragile gear. Over many trips I have changed the mantle only twice, and I still carry two spares.
In February 2014 I took my five year old son on his first overnight backpacking trip at Mossy Hammock in Myakka River State Park. The lantern lit with its familiar whoosh, and he giggled. Then he watched the light spread over our campsite, making the darkness run away. I have enjoyed plenty of impressive equipment over the years. Few specifications have given me a memory like that.
🎄 Another light beneath the Christmas tree
At Christmas 2021 my wife hung a small box among the branches of our tree. Inside was a Snow Peak Nocturne 2021 Edition, model FES 145, with its limited edition etched glass globe. When I wrote about camp lights in January 2022, I had not yet taken that gift into the wilderness. I have since carried it kayak camping, hammock camping and overlanding, and I have read books beside its flame.
It reminds me of candlelight under a tarp after sunset, a quiet pleasure that has followed me since my younger camping days. I value Japanese craftsmanship and the attention given to objects meant to be kept. Whether this one becomes an heirloom is a question for the years ahead.
🍲 Light for work, light for company
My GigaPower comes out when I am cooking or cleaning. If a board game is underway, two GigaPower lanterns make the pieces easier to see. After supper I prefer the Nocturne. Its gentler light belongs with a cup of coffee, a good book and the people who stayed at the table.
I have shared more lantern lit meals with my son and Sean than I could count. Food matters, but so does the love of family and friends gathered around it. I can remember a great meal without recalling every ingredient. I cannot remember the best camps without remembering who was there.
🌌 Leave some darkness for the night
There is no need to flood every tree with light. A useful lamp should help us prepare supper, move safely and see one another without disturbing every neighboring campsite. A headlamp pointed into a friend’s eyes during conversation is an excellent way to discover how quickly friendship can become squinting.
I still value battery and solar lighting for practical work and for use inside shelters. The old candle lantern and my gas lanterns are for suitable outdoor conditions only. None belongs inside a tent or other enclosed sleeping space. Fuel flames can cause fire and carbon monoxide poisoning, no matter how peaceful the glow looks.
🌀 When the power goes out
At home in Florida, dependable battery lighting comes first. During some outages I have used the Nocturne on a suitably open porch when conditions were safe, enjoying its small candlelike glow. It is not a storm shelter light, a heater or a substitute for a household preparedness plan. A sensible person can appreciate an old fashioned flame without asking it to do an unsafe job.
The part worth keeping
A lantern is a tool, and tools should be judged by what they do. Yet the candle lantern from Camp Liberty, the GigaPower that made my son laugh, and the Nocturne my wife tucked into a Christmas tree have become more than their individual parts. They are witnesses to the evenings I would gladly live again.
When the dishes are finished and everyone has settled, I want just enough light to see the faces around the table. Afterward, there should still be some night left.
📚 More from my camp lighting collection
GigaPower versus Nocturne: the field comparison | My Nocturne Mini Flame ownership review | Camp Lights: Leaving Room for the Night
Browse the equipment I actually use: Liquid Rhythm Kayaking Gear I Use and FloridaOATS Gear I Use. Some gear page links may earn me a commission at no additional cost to you. I do not claim that discontinued models are currently available.
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