5 Mode Hand Crank Dynamo Lantern by AGPtek

What Is It






AGPtek 5 Mode Hand Crank Dynamo 36 LED Rechargeable Camping Lantern


5 CHARGING METHODS: Solar Powered, Crank Dynamo, Car Adapter,AC Adapter or 3 x AA Battery.

GREEN POWER: Hand Crank Dynamo Solar 36 LED Lantern Outdoor Super Bright Camping Work Light

LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION: Built in the Polysilicon solar panels, More brighter than the other camping light and lower energy consumption

USB OUTPUT: An universal USB charging port for charging mobile phones and other devices (output: DC 5V/1A)

2 BRIGHTNESS MODES: Bright mode [adequate for reading and most normal activity], Super bright mode [extended vision or to share]


Where To Buy

Amazon

I give this a 10 out of 10 acorns.

We bought this lantern because it has four different ways in which one can charge the batteries:  Solar, AC power, plug-in car cigarette light and a hand crank.

You can also charge a cell phone.

We bought two of these in case of an emergency situation where the electric power goes out.  Living in the boondocks has its disadvantages.

We are very pleased with the quality of these lanterns and have used them several times.

I'm not knocking this lantern, but I am raising a question that this type of technology has.....

One must get a review from someone who has used this significantly, because the battery's longevity is what needs to be questioned here.  Quite often, they lose chargability over time, but that is not the case with all of them.  Having a portable solar light and cell charger is a great benefit, and it's why I have purchased the Biolite SolarHome for my homestead (which I am sure is a good deal more expensive at around 150 dollars, and much less portable).  

As for this unit, I am impressed by several things.  It is only 25 dollars, which makes it a great camping tool for the family.  Flashlights just do not work great at dinnertime with friends.  Second, it has a 2600 mAh battery, which isn't the hugest, but it's a nice size for a budget system such as this.  

For those that like to hack things, one might attempt to put a larger battery in place of the 2600 mAh.  I would venture that all of the charging circuitry was external from the battery, and it's just two leads to the battery bank.  I would think that you could replace it with any size battery (as long as you can get it to fit inside of the lantern body).  I haven't opened one up, so these are just assumptions on my part.  

This looks like a very good product.  It has a lot of positive reviews on Amazon.
We need a new lantern for camping and it's always good to keep a quality lantern handy for power failures.
I'm going to order one and I will write a review here after a few weeks of use.

I thought I would post an update as today was the first time we had an opportunity to put the lanturn to a test even though we have used them several times for short periods of time.

I woke up about 4:45 am and notice the clock was not on but there was light coming from the other room.  When I walked into the other room the first thing I saw were these two lanterns.  Dear hubby asked who I was looking for.  I said I was wondering why there were so many lights on. He said the power was off when he woke up.  I said what are you going to do when the batteries run out.  He said it is okay they are hand cranks!

We finally got power back on at 1 pm though I am expecting with this weather we are having for us to lose electricity several more times in the near future, like maybe tomorrow.

I am so happy we have these lanterns!

I recently got a similar style of lantern

Goal Zero Lighthouse Lantern, 600 Lumens LED Lantern

It's really easy to crank, and makes a nice warm light (so many of my LED flashlights, etc, have such blue light that they hurt my eyes and I feel like I can't see even through it's bright, because the light isn't in the right color frequency for me). Anyway, I LOVE mine. We had two days without power, and it was really nice to turn the thing on and light up the kitchen table to eat easily. Mine's easily lights up a room like a normal ceiling light would. Mine's pretty expensive, though (twice the price of Anne's)!

Anne, is the light from your lantern really blue, or a warmer light (more like old incandescent)? I'd love to get more hand crank lanterns, but getting mine was already pushing my budget!

Nicole said

Anne, is the light from your lantern really blue, or a warmer light (more like old incandescent)? I'd love to get more hand crank lanterns, but getting mine was already pushing my budget!

As far as I can say the light is really bright.  That morning when I got up the brightness "hurt" my eyes.

Since having cataract surgery, I have vision problems that I did not have before.  The surgery is to make your vision better, right?  Not for me.  I had the surgery, even though I did not feel I needed it as I had not seen a change in my vision. Now my eyes are really light sensitive.

I asked dear hubby about the color of the light and he said it is just light.  I ask about blue and he said it didn't look blue to him.