The Liberty Lantern is a lamp that is designed to look like an old fashioned lantern while using modern LED lights to brighten up a room. It has a couple of features that separate it from the competition, so let’s see how well it works and if it’s a good buy or not.
Overview
In the case of an emergency it’s good to have a light source to help you through it. If the power goes out you’ll be left to either a flashlight or candles. Flashlights are notorious for running out of juice, and candles can present a fire hazard. There are several LED lights that have been hitting the market in recent years as a way to light things up when there’s no power.
The Claim
The makers of Liberty Lantern say that it contains 16 LED bulbs to light up the room, and that you can charge this up in a number of ways. First, it’s able to charge using indoor lighting or sunlight, so you could simply keep it out and it should stay charged. You can also plug it into a computer or wall adapter and charge it that way, and there’s also a hand crank on the bottom so that you can generate light no matter what. That’s why they say you don’t ever need any batteries to make it work. They also claim you can charge up your electronic devices with it.
The Hype
Apparently these lanterns have tested well in focus groups because there’s the Old Brooklyn Lantern that is basically the same thing. People must want an old looking lantern that’s been modernized with modern bulbs so they don’t have to mess with an open flame or worry about using bulb that gets super hot with extended use.
The Cost
They get your order total up to $40 with $20 for the actual product, and $20 in shipping. You end up with 2 lanterns so you can think of it as $20 each. They also give you the option of getting a mini popup lantern for an extra $7. This is a popular method used by many companies and it serves a few purposes. It makes it so they can display the low price of $20 in promotions, and it also means that in the event of a return they only have to credit you back the $20 original price. When you consider that there’s simply no way that these cost $20 to ship you begin to see that the company is not going to lose any money on this, and will likely make a profit, even if the product turns out to be total junk.
The Commitment
This should be an easy enough product to have around your home and could end up replacing the need for a flashlight, since it handles most situations you’d need a flashlight for. Since it doesn’t use any batteries it can reduce your ongoing costs, and can be more reliable than using a flashlight or other lights and electric lanterns that rely on batteries.
Evaluation
The Liberty Lantern is well thought out and we haven’t seen another lantern like it that doesn’t use batteries and has so many different ways to charge it up. It makes sense to have an emergency light that you can crank in order to generate enough light to see out of. This means that even if it’s is totally dead and there’s no power you can just turn the crank until it lights up. Since LED lights don’t use up a lot of power, you won’t have to continuously crank it to keep it going. It also means that if you need to use your phone and it is out of power you could keep cranking until it has enough power to make a call with.
We can’t wait for these to be sold in stores because then you can avoid the shipping nonsense and just pay a price more in line with what the product is worth. If they had these at a retail store for $15 each it would be the right price and you wouldn’t have to risk all of that money on shipping costs. If you need these now the only way to get them is through the official sales channel on the main page.
Final Liberty Lantern Review
The Liberty Lantern is getting our Try rating, based on the ingenuity of putting so many charging methods into it, and making it battery free. It’s a bit of a risk because if you return it you’ll only get half your money back and be responsible for return shipping charges, but we believe it’s worth it since you end up with two lanterns plus the mini one as well. When compared to other lanterns on the market it seems to be a better buy because of the features it has.
Our Recommendation
It’s good to have a lantern in case of emergencies, so if you don’t have one in place yet, this would be a good one to get. You can either give the extra one to a friend, or have them split the purchase with you, or you can simply keep it as a backup. They say you can use this even when it’s not an emergency, and we can see it being used on camping trips and other outdoor activities, but it’s unlikely that it will get daily use inside the home.
I bought four of them and after a short time less then six months, they will not charge with solar. Don’t waste your money.
I bought my Liberty Lantern several years ago and finally it stopped working UNTIL I remembered the bar underneath that you can turn manually to charge it. So once more it’s beauty is gracing my porch bringing light to a dark world! But, it’s got to wear out someday so I’m trying to find another to replace it.
I purchased two of these lanterns. When I received them I charged them fully, per instructions, then put them up for a few months. When I got them out to use them, I was not able to charge them. They work great when plugged into a wall outlet, but they will no longer hold a charge. When I called the company, I received the “run a round”. No one would answer my questions and I was told someone would call me. As you might guess, that never happened. If you are thinking about buying this junk, don’t.
Many reviews I read of this item say it doesn’t work unless it’s plugged in.
I would not feel confident spending money on this. It’s overpriced, and all of the reviews I’ve read say it only works when plugged in.
Got as a gift. Like the look of it. Down fall won’t charge by sunlight alone. Needs to be plugged in to charge then can put it outside.
I bought it and it works great…as long as it’s plugged in. I’ve charged it using the USB and also left it in the sun for more than the suggested hours before initial use and still, it doesn’t work. Only when I have it plugged in, does it work.
I bought these as two emergency items for the house. “Better to have and not need, than to need and not have!” is my motto. I gave them a 48 hour testing period and they both functioned as advertised. Now they are an accessory to our dining room table centerpiece, so their location are always known. There may be a temporary power failure in our area, especially during summer thunder & lighting storms, about twice a year that lasts for a few hours, so having these as a back-up is a needed necessity. Being able to charge your cell phone with it is a nice added feature. I suggest having a least one in the house for emergency situations.
What are the dimensions of the full size lantern?
I need a physical contact with the product in order to provide an accurate comment. For the moment it remains talking about a dream.
My company, The Chicbon,Inc is distributor of solar lantern from a different manufacturer/brand name.
Even though slightly more expensive, Liberty lantern seems attractive; it has no battery into it; and might have a longer life time. Therefore, Provided that it is made in U.S., I am willing to distribute and export that liberty lantern, which has the same features as the one that I distribute. I invite the manufacturer to send the distributor application to me.
Best Regards,
Lucien Y Abouya, President of The ChicBon,Inc