Gear review: Black Diamond Orbit Lantern

April 14, 12:23 PMSalt Lake City Outdoor Recreation ExaminerJared Hargrave

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Salt Lake City Outdoor Recreation Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

The Black Diamond Orbit Lantern

Lanterns have long been an integral part of campsites for generations. Like the crackle of a campfire, the hiss of a gas lantern embodies the experience of spending the night outside. But gas lanterns are large, heavy, and require fuel, making them inappropriate for long backpacking trips. As a result, headlamps are a preferred source of light for backpackers. Although they're great for setting up a tent or making dinner in the dark, headlamps don't create the warm, glowing atmosphere that a lantern provides.

But now there is a way for backpackers to have the glow of a lantern while camping in remote places. The Black Diamond Orbit is a small, collapsible LED lantern that is lightweight, casts a bright light, and is just plain cool. According to Black Diamond, the Orbit Lantern is perfect for trekking and backpacking as it weighs in at a mere 3 ounces and is only 4 inches when collapsed. It extends to 5.5 inches and casts a six-foot radius of light. The brightness of its 1-watt LED can be adjusted with a dimming switch, and it features a frosted globe to diffuse the light which minimizes the lantern's shadow. Dual hooks on top of the unit can be used to secure the lantern to the ceiling of a tent or a tree branch. It runs on 4 AAA batteries or can be powered with Black Diamond's Orbit-specific NRG2 Rechargeable Battery Kit.

I took the Black Diamond Orbit Lantern with me on a 4 day mountain biking trip to The White Rim in Canyonlands National Park. Although not a backpacking trip, I could see how perfect the lantern would be in a pack as it is really quite small and weighs almost nothing.

For the purposes of this trip, the Orbit Lantern served me well. To test its versatility, I used it instead of a headlamp every night. From cooking dinner, to making late night trips to the bathroom, to organizing gear in my tent, the Orbit Lantern was bright enough for any task. I appreciated the fact that I could dim the light and I loved the hooks that allowed me to hang the lantern from the nylon loops in the tent.

My only gripes about the Orbit Lantern are that when it was pitch black, I found it difficult to find the power switch as it is recessed in the unit. Also, if any dirt or sand got on the battery column, the frosted globe got scratched when the lantern was collapsed. And while reading a book before bed, I needed to supplement the light with my headlamp as the Orbit Lantern didn't provide enough brightness to see small words on the page.

Overall, The Black Diamond Orbit Lantern is a clever little piece of outdoor gear that will definitely be coming along with me on future backpacking trips. Although it lacks the reassuring hiss of a gas light, and isn't as mobile as a headlamp, the Orbit Lantern is the perfect compromise for anyone who wants to light up a campsite without the size and weight of a conventional lantern.