Outwell Opal Lantern

Review Score

Our Score: 8.4/10

We've given the Outwell Opal Lantern the Thumbs Up award.

Value for MoneyPracticalityLooksQualityFeatures

The good

• Rechargeable
• Warm light
• Dimmable
• Looks stylish

The not so good

• Using the controls is difficult in the dark

This was a hands-on product review. The product was supplied to us to test and conduct the review.

Price Guide

Outwell Opal Lantern Videos

Outwell Opal Lantern Photos

Our Review

The Outwell Opal Lantern is a modern hi-tech camping lantern, with a touch of retro charm. It certainly doesn't look like your average camping lantern, and so I asked Outwell if I could review one, and the kindly agreed :-)

We've reviewed a similar lantern to this in the past, and this latest design refines it a little further.

This is a rechargeable lantern and comes with a USB cable. We're finding USB rechargeable gadgets ideal for camping as they can be re-charged in the car, you don't have to keep buying batteries, and you don't need to be on an electric hook-up to use one.

There are also USB connections that put power out, so you can use the Outwell Opal lantern as a power bank to charge your phone. Plus, the lantern is Bluetooth-enabled, so you can pair it with your phone to play music or even take calls.

The lantern is also dimmable. You can use it is a dim night light or up to full brightness, which is 50 lumens.

Fifty lumens is bright enough for a small area of your tent, but if you want a lantern to light your tent completely, then you'll need something brighter.

It also has an 'SOS' feature. This flashes out the morse code for SOS.  Not sure how useful that would be for most family camping on campsites. Let's hope no one ever has to use it.

Verdict on the Outwell Open Lantern

This is lantern you buy for style. It puts out a lovely warm light and can charge your phone, so it is an ideal lantern for a bedside lamp in your tent.

One issue I did find was access to the controls in the dark.

When it is stood on its base, it looks very stylish and minimalist. However, if you want to adjust the brightness or turn the light off, you have to lift it and turn over to access the controls.

If this is the only light on, the controls are away from the light source, so you can't see them in the dark. I found that I needed to turn a head torch on so that I could turn the lantern off.

Making the power button more visible and easily accessible on the side would make a big difference, so although this light is practical as it is also a power bank and rechargeable, in-use I didn't find it so practical, which is a shame.

On the quality side, it looks well made and has survived a few knocks already. I don't think the USB cover will last though after a lot of regular use but ours is still attached fine, so maybe it will be OK.

I still really like the lantern though and has since been with us regularly on several camping trips since first making the video.

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