Best camping lights: What to look for in a torch?
Brightness — Usually measured in lumens, the brightness of your torch determines to an extent, how far the beam is going to travel. The higher the lumen number, the more powerful the beam.
Housing — A high lumen number is great, but its power can be diminished by a poor housing unit, which doesn’t appropriately distribute or focus the beam how you want it. We’ve chosen torches and flashlights with the most efficient head units.
Weight and handle feel — It should go without saying that it’s a terrible day when you drop your torch down some deep crack. A lot of torches will come with heavier handle and a knurling finish, to increase feedback and grip on the torch.
Lighting a fire or bringing a gas lamp into the tent are clearly terrible ideas, and using up precious battery on your phone probably isn’t what you need, either, when you’re out in the wilderness.
LED hanging tent lights are a great alternative. They’re bright, inexpensive, safe and tend to last a long time. We’re big fans of LED camping lights, too, because they’re good to go at any extreme, hot or cold. Most the camping lights we’ve chosen to review at Camping Things, are good to go from -40 up to 60 degrees, without too much of a problem.
As always at Camping Things, we’ve chosen torches with an awesome quality to value for money ratio, so you can choose with confidence.
Camping lights summary
We take safety very seriously at Camping Things, and would never want to suggest a product we weren’t absolutely sure was great. As mentioned, we’re big fans of LED torches with knurling finishes on the handles — it makes them safer and more secure in your hand. LED torches are extremely bright and will last a long time, and we recommend them over incandescent bulb torches. The light from an LED torch is clear and crisp, and ideal for navigating at night and in caves and woodland areas.
Often with torches, you get what you pay for, and while we have included some super great value options, you’ll notice that some of our selections are a little pricey. Remember, a torch is an investment, and not something you’ll be replacing any time soon, if you pick the right one.
