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Reviews > Lighting > Lanterns > Coghlans Candle Lantern > Owner Review by Mark McLauchlin

Owner Review Coghlans Candle Lantern

17th May 2008


1
* Reviewer Information
Name: Mark McLauchlin
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Height: 1.76 m (5’ 9”)
Weight: 80 kg (176 lb)
Email: mark at swanvalleyit.com.au
City: Perth, Western Australia

* Backpacking Background
I have been hiking since 2006 with most of my hiking consisting of day walks averaging 16 - 22 km (10 - 14 mi) and short overnight trips where possible.

I consider myself to be a light hiker with an average pack weight of 13 kg (29 lbs).

My preference is for hot dinners, breakfasts of cereals with fresh fruit, and lunches usually of bars and sandwiches.

* Product Information
Manufacturer: Coghlans Ltd
URL: www.coghlans.com
Year of manufacturer: 2008
Listed Weight: 90 g (3 oz)
Verified Weight: 90 g (3 oz)
Listed Dimensions: Height 9.5 cm (3.74 in), Diameter 5.4 cm (2.13 in)
Year of Purchase: 2008
MSRP: not available

* Product Description
The Coghlans Candle Lantern is an Anodized Aluminium, single tea light holder with a well designed and functional body and comes in a brass colouring.

The Lantern is able to be hung from above by the built-in handle that folds down over the main body for storage or it can be simply placed on a flat surface.

Access to the tea light candle is via the lid which can be twisted clockwise to remove and counter clockwise to install, each only requiring approximately a 10 mm (0.39 in) of a turn.

The body has numerous shaped holes in the base, lid and side supports, for airflow.

A glass cylindrical windshield protects the flame from the elements and provides a clear path for effective light radiation.

The internal base is well formed and suited to the small tea light candles that can be purchased at any number of retail stores and ensures the tea light does not move around the lantern when being transported. When purchased new the Lantern comes with one tea light.

Key to the design of the Lantern is the burning efficiency it provides to a standard tea light candle.

* Test Locations
Western Australia is known to bushwalkers for the Bibbulmun Track2 which runs from Perth to Albany (nearly 1000 km or 621 miles long).
The many tracks that lead through this area also make up most of my walking.

The diversity of the track sections can range from well marked trails to overgrown and sometimes more challenging tracks to navigate. Old
forest tracks and Park Ranger (Conservation And Land Management) gravel roads make up the majority of the access points to the track.

Elevation is from sea level to 585 m (1,920 ft).

The Candle Lantern has been used mainly around the Bibbulmun track as this is an area great for hiking. Walks can be from a few hours to
6 weeks to complete end-to-end. All of my walking has been on this track and its surrounding areas.

I have completed several sections of the track at the northern-most end and spend several days out walking per month. The layout of the tracks
means that I have been able to walk between huts which are generally one full days walk apart, 16 – 22 km (9.94 – 13.66 mi).

This month I completed four days and nights hiking covering some 70 kms or 43.48 miles and utilised the lantern for the duration.

Although this was the longest continual hike with the lantern it was not the only trip this has accompanied me on. It has also been used on several over night hikes along the Bibbulmun track, namely Helena hut in March of this year which is approximately 22 kms (13.66 miles) round trip from the car park. In April the lantern was taken to Hewetts Hill, also along the Bibbulmun track, for an overnight hike.

* Test Conditions
As I have been testing this item of over 18 months an exact temperature, wind and rainfall pattern is difficult to monitor myself. The details in the table below are courtesy of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. This lantern has been used in all the months below.

Statistics

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Annual

 

Temperature

Mean maximum temperature (°C)

30.5

31.1

29.5

25.6

22.3

19.3

18.4

18.7

20.1

22.8

26.4

28.7

24.4

 

 

Mean minimum temperature (°C)

17.7

17.9

16.4

13.6

10.7

8.5

7.9

8.1

9.5

11.1

14.2

16.2

12.6

 

 

Rainfall

Mean rainfall (mm)

17.6

9.1

21.1

31.1

91.5

134.3

151.3

134.9

90.1

43.4

19.7

6.1

747.9

 

 

Decile 5 (median) rainfall (mm)

1.8

3.5

9.2

27.0

93.4

123.2

137.6

130.8

91.0

41.9

17.8

4.8

741.2

 

 

Mean number of days of rain ≥ 1 mm

1.4

1.1

2.8

4.5

9.2

12.9

14.7

13.7

10.9

5.5

3.8

1.9

82.4

 

 



* Review
The size and simplicity of the Candle Lantern is amazing when you consider the extra performance it provides to a standard tea-light candle.

Through my controlled testing and field trips I have seen the candle burn for up to 5 hours both exposed to the wind and elements and semi shielded by the sleeping huts that are on the Bibbulmun track. (Described in the Test Locations)

The tea lights which I have purchased weigh approximately 14 g or (0.49 oz). Shortest burn period I have tested is approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes, the longest so far has been approximately 5 hours as stated above.

I have noticed that when burning tea-lights outside of the lantern they rarely burn to the end with no wax remaining. However when the lantern is used the entire tea-light contents are used and all that remains is the casing and the small round disk that supports the wick.

Stability of the Lantern has not presented any issues so far. The tea-light sits low in the body and seems to provide adequate weight to prevent it from toppling over. I have also used the handle for hanging and found this to be another great feature.

I have been very surprised to see that the top of the lantern only experiences mild to warm temperatures after several hours of operation. The glass however does warm up past the point where you can touch it, and the handle seems to remain unaffected at all and easily picked up.

Having a glass windshield was a concern of mine initially and I felt that this would not last too long. However for the cheap cost I thought I would give it a chance. The first accident that I had with the lantern was as I walked out of the shop door, my son was carrying it and dropped it on the floor. Upon opening the box there was no damage. I suspect the shredded paper used in the lantern for packaging prevented this. The glass has not suffered any major breakages over my period of ownership. There a few very minor chips around the top and bottom edges of the glass caused by normal use.

The Lantern stores quite nicely in my cup whilst in my pack and I simply place an elastic band over the cup to hold it in place. This has proven to be an effective way to store it and the cup ensures that it cannot be crushed.

Lighting the tea-light candles is a straight forward process. The top of the Lantern is removed by turning clockwise, the candle is then dropped into the lantern so that it sits nicely in the base. I then slide up the glass windshield and light from the side with matches or a lighter. Then slide the windshield back down again then screw the lid back on in a counter clockwise direction.

To extinguish the candle I simply blow down hard on one of the top ventilation holes.

3 * Conclusion
This is a great addition to my lighting setup and I will continue to carry it with me.

The efficiency it provides to the burning of tea light candles is exceptional.

* Pro
Light, efficient, provides great output.

* Cons
Glass windshield.



Read more reviews of Coghlan gear
Read more gear reviews by Mark McLauchlin

Reviews > Lighting > Lanterns > Coghlans Candle Lantern > Owner Review by Mark McLauchlin



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