Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Question on lanters

I have applied for a permit this season and I am hopeful that I will get it. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice as to whether I should purchase a battery operated lantern or a butane/propane lantern as I will be there overnight and I don't think that flashlights will do.

Question,
Are you going to hike with it or use it at Whintey Portal? For me a head lamp works just fine. I look at the weight, for me I will not haul a big light up the hill. IF you are going to car camp for a one or two nights than get yourself a lantern. But for the trail and in camp get yourself a head lamp. Enjoy.

Use a small LED, Battery powered headlamp which you can hang in your tent as a lantern. It saves weight, and you'll find that your eyes will adjust just fine. In many cases, the headlamp is better when you are walking around, even in camp.

Less is more!

I'm sorry if I didn't clarify but I was talking about a lantern that I could use in a campground. I will be hiking up with it. I already have a led headlamp and was thinking that I needed a lantern for camp. Do some of you find that regular headlamps or flashlights are enough or do I need one of those fueled lanterns?

Regular flashlights and headlamps work fine at the Whitney Portal campsite. Even though the Portal is a drive-in campsite and you can bring an almost unlimited amount of stuff to make your camping "comfy", my personal bias is against overly bright lanterns as they impinge on the people in nearby campsites. Many people turn in early and don't want bright lights or loud noises in the campsites near them.

I have always carried one of the little windproof candle lanterns. In the dark of night they provide enough light to light up the inside of a tent well enough to read by and the candles last surprisingly well. You can get them in camp supply places or by mail order and they are cheap.
They fold up for storage and transport.

Adrian

Small lanterns are nice if you are with a group and in a campground, just remember(as mentioned) that there are others around you, so preferably not a flood light. Gas powered ones are more economical in the long run, though more of a hastle, battery powered lanterns are perfectly safe for indoor use(gas and candle aren't recommended inside a tent). Personally I say headlamps are enough for pretty much everything.
Eric J Lee

Keep in mind that the days are very long in the summer months......example: sunrise will be 5:46 am and Sunset will be 8:10 am on July 15, 2005 in Lone Pine CA. A camp lantern my not be necessary unless you are a night person which after spending the day hiking to Trail Camp would unique.

To check times for your trip see this URL:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html

like others said, forget the lantern. with a headlamp, you'll get by, trust us, and you won't miss the weight. weight is weight.

I appreciate the input. I guess that I won't really bother buying anything more. I just thought that a headlamp's beam would not provide adequate lighting, say, in a tent. Thanks again.