Reviews > Lighting > Lanterns > Coleman Exponent Xcursion Lantern > Jodi Cornelius > Long Term Report

Date: February 7, 2006

My Background: I have been backpacking for 3 years now and before that I car camped quite a bit. I consider myself somewhat new to backpacking and am on my way towards becoming a lightweight packer. I tend to use a Hennessey Hammock since my only tent is a bivy tent. I prefer the hammock to a tent as the hammock leaves me swinging gently in the breeze with no hard spot from rocks on the ground. Nor do I need to dig troughs for my hips and shoulders (side sleeper) so I can practice LNT (Leave No Trace) much better.

Please see my Initial Report and my Field Report for more in-depth detail.

After having a major struggle as noted in the Initial Report, the lantern has been a nice addition to my backpacking equipment. There haven't been any further flare-ups although it does still tend to take a couple of tries to get it lit when I first light it.

Since the time of my Field Report I have lit the lantern in temps down to 0 F (-18 C) at an altitude of 1829 ft (557 m) and other than the already noted lighting problems, it has lit and stayed lit at that temperature.  This was a pleasant surprise since Coleman only states that it has "reliable cold weather performance in temperatures as low as 15 F (-9.5 C)."  The lantern ran approximately the full 6 hours (give or take a few minutes) before I needed to refill the lantern - this was my second refill and was pleased that this time (as opposed to the previous 5 hours 29 minutes) it lasted the 6 hours (or close enough) that Coleman states.  The refilling of the lantern took just under 20 seconds and lit after 2 tries once refilled.

To date I still haven't had to change the mantle. The lantern is proving to be nice and sturdy. The mantle has survived somewhat rough handling and continues to function well.

The sliding doors continue to work fairly smoothly.  They tend to be a bit "sticky" but I prefer this to sliding too smoothly as this way I know the doors are going to stay where I put them.

Temperatures ran from 30 F (-1 C) to the low of 0 F (-18 C).  I hung the lantern on the Coleman Backpacker Gear and Table System during my trips and used it once when the power went out. (See photo below showing the lantern hanging from the table system)

My usual altitude was at 1829 ft (557 m) with changes as low as 1100 ft (335 m) to a high of 2476 ft (755 m).

Once I got past the initial problems I have found this lantern to be a nice addition to my gear list. Coleman customer service was very nice and helpful in getting things straightened out and I would recommend this lantern to anyone looking for a fairly lightweight and sturdy fuel powered lighting.

Likes:

Dislikes:

Too much trouble getting it to work. The first mantle wasn't made right so it wouldn't stay on. If I had been a customer I probably would have sent it back in exchange for a different one but, as stated above, customer service was very helpful and we managed to get the lantern operational.

Overall, I enjoyed testing this piece of gear. I would like to thank Coleman and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test this lantern.

Reviews > Lighting > Lanterns > Coleman Exponent Xcursion Lantern > Jodi Cornelius > Long Term Report