| |
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
|
Brunton Liberty Mantleless Lantern - Field Report
by Mike Lipay - April 29, 2005
| Description |
|---|
| Date Arrived | March 2, 2005 |
| Manufacturer | Brunton |
| Year of Manufacturer | 2004 |
| Website | http://www.Brunton.com |
| MSRP | $115 US |
| Fuel | Isobutane/Propane (IsoPro) |
| Ignition | Piezo electric |
| Light Output | 80 watts / 30 candlepower (mfg specs) |
| Light Time | 6 hours at full power (mfg specs) |
| Warranty | Lifetime, Limited to manufacturers defects |
| English | Metric |
|---|
| Weight Listed | 8.3 oz | 235.3 g |
| Actual Weight | 7.2 oz | 204.1 g |
| Weight w/case | 9.1 oz | 258 g |
| Size Listed | 4 x 2.5 x 1.25 inches | 10.2 cm x 6.4 cm x 3.1 cm |
| Actual Size (closed) | 4.25 x 2 x 1.25 inches | 10.8 cm x 4.9 cm x 3.1 cm |
| Actual Size (open) | 4.25 x 2.16 x 3 inches | 10.8 cm x 5.5 cm x 7.8 cm |
| Case Size | 5.2 x 2.7 x 1.5 inches | 13.1 cm x 6.9 cm x 3.9 cm |
| Appearance | The Liberty lantern is surprisingly small (see dimensions above), and very light weight. Ignition is accomplished by means of a piezo electric spark activated by pressing a small red button in the lower rear of the lantern (see photos). This causes a spark to be sent from the thin spark wire that rests next to the platinum screen from which the fuel emerges. Two stainless steel mirrors fold out from the upper portion of the lantern, and are used to reflect the light forward (side and rear lighting are minimal). A bail wire in the lower front of the lantern is used to control the flow of fuel, combined with an air adjustment slide in the rear, which in turn controls the brightness of the light. |
| Personal Information |
|---|
| Name | Mike Lipay |
| Age | 50 |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in / 173 cm |
| Weight | 185 lb / 83.9 kg |
| Email | hikingATwesternpaDOTus |
| City, State | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Background | I've been camping, hiking, and backpacking since the '60s, mostly with the Boy Scouts though I've put on quite a few miles solo, and with my kids. I am, by no means, an ultralight backpacker (my pack weighs in at 29-33 lb / 13-15 kg). I prefer an external frame pack because I like to have places to attach "things". I prefer a hiking staff to trekking poles, compass to GPS, film to digital, fire to fuel. My backpacking is pretty much limited to weekends, and one full-week per year (usually in the summer), with a long weekend canoe trip tossed in. I pretty much stick to the Allegheny Mountains (Pennsylvania and West Virginia); temps here range from a winter average of 20 F / -7 C to a summer average of 75 F / 25 C; elevation runs from sea level to 3,213 ft / 979 m; rains are heavy from late March through early June averaging 14 inches / 35.5 cm during that period.
|
| Field Test 1 - 03/11/2005 - 03/13/2005 |
|---|
| Length of trip: |
3 days |
| Location |
Laurel Highlands, Southwest Pennsylvania: This is a mountainous region in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. Elevation at my site (just a few miles outside of Ligonier) averages 1800 ft (549 m), with gradual rises to 2200 ft (671 m). This section of the Alleghenies is composed of hemlock, oak, and chestnut forests. |
| Night Temps |
Friday: 21 F (-6 C)
Saturday: 30 F (-1 C) |
| Weather |
This was a moderately snowy weekend. There was a 6 inches (15 cm) base to which was added another 3 inches (8 cm) on Friday night. |
| Day 1 |
I arrived at the campsite late on Friday night due to heavy snow slowing down driving and hiking, began setting up camp around 11 pm. The first thing I did was to dig out the lantern and fuel and assemble it, a task which took only 2 minutes. I opened the fuel flow, and set the air flow fully to the right before I started pushing on the igniter, unlike my initial test it took over 10 attempts, with adjusting the air and fuel flow, before I successfully lit the lantern (went out a couple times at first). I then adjusted the air and fuel flow for maximum brightness. I was seriously disappointed at the amount of light, unlike my backyard test, the Liberty only illuminated about 5 ft (1.5 m) well enough to see. I had to constantly move the lantern while I was assembling the tent so that I could get enough light where I was working. I then moved the lantern to just inside the vestibule (with the top of the vestibule fully open) so that I could arrange my gear. The instructions state not to use the lantern inside the tent, so after I had arranged my gear and got out my candle lantern (which I lit from the Liberty) I turned off the Liberty, closed up the vestibule and worked from the candle there after. Between the candle and the Liberty there wasn't much comparison, the Liberty put out a great deal more light, however far less than the 1-mantle lantern that I'm use to using. I really feel that the difference is in the lack of a mantle. |
| Day 2 |
The second night was a bit warmer, 30 F (-1 C) and it showed when it came to lighting the Liberty, taking only 3 pushes on the igniter to light the lantern. Unfortunately, the extra illumination wasn't that great. I placed the lantern on a standard 8 ft (2.4 m) picnic table, decent illumination (though still not enough to read easily by) only went about 2 ft (0.6 m) from the lantern - the light quickly diminished from there until, at the end of the table, there was no illumination apparent. I was even more disappointed in the cold-weather capabilities when I discovered that my 3-bulb LED headlamp provided better illumination than the Liberty. |
| Field Test 2 - 04/08/2005 - 04/10/2005 |
|---|
| Length of trip: |
3 days |
| Location |
Laurel Highlands, Southwest Pennsylvania. This is a mountainous region in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. Elevation at my site (just a few miles outside of Donegal) averages 2600 ft (792 m), second night was in a valley at 1910 ft (582 m). |
| Night Temps |
Friday: 42 F (5.5 C)
Saturday: 44 F (6.7 C) |
| Weather |
For this time of year this was an incredibly mild weekend. Daytime temps around 65 F (18 C), no precipitation. |
| Day 1 |
Made camp at 9 pm, plenty dark, with the temperature at 42 F (5.5 C). Again I unpacked the Liberty Mantleless Lantern, setup went smoothly, but the operation was much more difficult. The ignition took on the first try, impressive, but adjusting the air flow turned out to be a lot more difficult than my prior test. For some reason (possibly due to sitting for a month) each time I increased the airflow the light would go out. After 5 attempts the light finally caught so that the airflow could be adjusted to the point where the light was at it's brightest. It was bright enough this time to assemble the tent, with the lantern placed 5 ft (1.5 m) away from the front of the tent. I still needed to move the lantern around to see the far side of the tent, but not nearly as bad as the first test. I am now convinced that this is a temperature related issue, and that illumination will improve as the summer approaches. |
| Day 2 |
On my second night I experienced none of the lighting issues that I had on the first night; the Liberty Mantleless Lantern lit on the 3rd click of the igniter, and airflow adjusted to full brightness on the first try. Since the outside temp was similar to the prior night (44 F, 6.7 C) the illumination was similar. Following my first test I found a picnic table and tried the same distance test, this time the full table, plus an additional 2 ft (0.6 m) was easily illuminated to a level where faces could be seen. Reading level illumination was at a good 4 ft (1 m), and everyone at the table was able to enjoy a game of cards, although those near the end of the table did have a hard time making out some of their cards. Lighting is still dim when compared to a 3-bulb LED headlamp.
|
| General Impression |
|---|
| This is not a lantern for cold weather, once the temps drop below 40 F (4 C) the useful range of the lantern decreases rapidly. Even in the low 40's (4-5 C) I would not want to be without an alternate source of light for when detailed tasks need to be performed (fixing gear, first aid, etc.). My usage of the Liberty Mantleless Lantern will probably be confined to the warmer months (May thru September). |
Read more reviews of Brunton gear
Read more gear reviews by Mike Lipay
|
