Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern for overland travel

I have a love/hate relationship with camping lanterns stemming from the olden days of kerosene fuel and brittle mantles. The bright light was always welcome but, well…everything else about those potential forest fire igniters wasn’t. Fast forward a few years and advancements in LED’s and lithium batteries have all but made those finicky lanterns of yore extinct.

The Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 may not be bright enough to navigate a ship through dense coastal fog, but it throws more than enough light to prevent you from stubbing your toe on a cactus at camp. The built in lithium battery provides up to 48 hours of light on low but, let’s be real, who uses these things on low? On high, you’ve got about two hours of brilliant white 600 lumen light. The lantern has two settings; one provides 360 degrees of dimmable light and the other half that.

Two collapsible legs provide a stable base for use on a table but it can also be hung from a small folding handle on top. A series of blue LED’s announces the battery charge status and a knob controls the light mode and output. An integrated charging cord wraps around the lantern and snaps securely into place where it remains out of the way until needed.  A USB outlet next to the control knob can be used to charge small electronics and up top you’ll find two flashing red lights and a hand crank.

Though quite good, a couple things prevent the Lighthouse 600 from achieving excellence. A six hour charge time is one of them. Also, though the USB outlet is a nice addition, it’s only outputting 1.5 amps and it takes a long time to charge a modern phone at that rate. The lantern can be charged via wall outlet (with a USB adapter, not included), solar panel or the hand crank. I didn’t test it, but Goal Zero claims that one minute of spinning the crank generates enough power for ten minutes of light. The hanging handle is quite small and I had to rig a system utilizing a couple small carabiners and climbing cord that allowed the lantern to dangle from a tree limb. Effective, but inelegant.

Overall, the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 packs quite a bit into a relatively svelte package. It’s a great size and weight for car camping but I wouldn’t haul it on a backpacking trip. At $70, I’d consider it a relative bargain despite a few minor shortcomings.

Pros:

• Very bright, multi-directional and dimmable light
• Multiple ways to charge: wall outlet, solar or hand crank
• Can be hung or used on table
• Compact size is easy to pack
• Integrated charging cord never gets lost
• USB outlet for charging small electronics
• Battery level indicator

Cons:

• Six hour charge time
• Hanging handle is too small
• USB outlet only charges at 1.5 amps

Learn more by visiting the Goal Zero website at www.goalzero.com

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