Lantern Fuel - What do you prefer?

[Zach Engle]

Whats your preference, and why?

[PaulaB]

We use White gas in this type of lantern because it burns cleaner and I can use it with the coleman stove and just carry one liquid fuel. Burns great in low temperatures. We also keep a couple battery powered lamps and headlamps too. We use them more often that the white gas.

[Greg and Debra Weller]

Did propane for years with the Scouts. Now that we are traveling light, just use the flashlights or trailer lights.

[Bobby57]

I use rechargeable batteries because I can charge them with my Goal Zero battery.

[Paul]

I have a propane one that I won as a door prize and uses the same canisters as my stove so easy to keep the same fuel for both. Fuel lights are easier on the eyes than most modern flashlights (high speed LED flickering) so I plan to use it more when with other people so they don't need to turn their lights on as much.

[George Thompson]

We use propane because it is very cheap. I refill the camp size bottle from a larger tank (like the typical ones found on a BBQ grill)
After the deep fried turkey fad went away I was given quite a few larger, full tanks. The little bottle is very easy to fill and the gas is free. Speaking of lanterns, Zach do you still collect lanterns?

[swoody126]

since you asked about "lantern" it is Kerosene

usually prefer no lantern opting for small flashlight or headlight if light is a MUST

like a headlight to read myself to sleep

sw

[dustinp]

White gas, or unleaded gasoline if you have a dual fuel lantern is usually the most economical, and if like us you also have stoves that will use the same fuel it makes more sense than propane. However as far as lights goes, the battery powered dim-able lights in our Camp-Inn teardrop are usually our first choice for lights when we need them in camp, and multi-brightness level LED flashlights/headiamps for illuminating the trail to the facilities at night.

[Scott Seyler]

Although I have used them all, I prefer naptha, white gas fuel. As an owner of a few old style coleman lanterns, it has become a nostalgia thing for me. The priming, the smell and the sound while burning evokes memories of camping from many evenings and campouts. I do agree that flash lights and the camper side lights are musts for safety on a dark night ... but there is still something about hanging the old lantern on a tree that completes the evening.

[Bob Brown]

I am like Gerg Weller, I was in Scouts for many years and used propane. A small container makes the lantern portable and the big tank with a extention pole is great for setting on a table.

[PCO6]

I've used propane for years as I like the warmth and "hiss". I've tried LED's lately and am liking them too. At home I'm all electric. 😁

[swoody126]

since you asked about "lantern" it is Kerosene

usually prefer no lantern opting for small flashlight or headlight if light is a MUST

like a headlight to read myself to sleep

sw

and while i'm thinking about it i frequently replace the kerosene w/ citronella oil in the warmer months

sw

[Owen Lindsay]

I have a few kerosene lights, but most of our evenings are lit by LED's powered by a 100 watt 12 volt roof panel and 2 RV27 batteries.

[Shadow Catcher]

We currently use battery powered lights with rechargeable batteries, they can be recharge from our solar setup. We do have a 90 + year old Coleman my parents owned that still works and is fueled with white gas (naptha) that we used in our early tenting days.

[GeorgeB]

White gas or battery-powered

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[ArtMini]

I use propane for both my lantern and stove. I have an 11lb tank. My first stove was Coleman fuel. I didn't like the idea of dealing with gas. So my next stove was propane. Both run off the same tank.

[Nick T]

... As an owner of a few old style coleman lanterns, it has become a nostalgia thing for me. The priming, the smell and the sound while burning evokes memories of camping from many evenings and campouts. I do agree that flash lights and the camper side lights are musts for safety on a dark night ... but there is still something about hanging the old lantern on a tree that completes the evening.

I almost feel "guilty" that I DON'T use the old-style fuel lanterns, given that I collect & use almost everything else that's vintage or "retro" (I've got 50's & 60's cars, a house full of 50's furniture/lamps/boomerang ashtrays, probably 15 or more vintage coolers, the teardrop hatch is full of 40's-60's dishes & kitchenware, I specifically built my teardrop to look like it had been around since the 1950's, etc). I love the look of the old Coleman-style camping lanterns. And I could really relate Scott's post, above-- I remember the priming sound, the smell, and the "hiss" from childhood camping experiences. I remember when there really wasn't much available in the realm of commercially sold camping gear--- if you had a canvas tent, one cooler, a couple of webbed lawn chairs, one metal flashlight for the whole family, an inevitably leaky air mattress or if you were more "upscale" a couple of army-style cots, and a Coleman lantern, you were considered very well-equipped!

The only two reasons I don't have the old style lanterns are 1) I figured if they were finnicky/didn't work, it would mean more items to add to the "must repair" pile (and/or I'd spend x amount of time during the camping trip working on the lanterns, and I already "work" too much when I camp, as it is), and
2) I worried about fuel spilling during storage/transit (same reason I don't transport tiki torches, though I love them).
So, I take the easy route, and use battery-operated and small solar lights. Looking at Zach's beautiful collection of vintage lanterns is giving me "nostalgia pangs" again, so I may have to buy a vintage Coleman lantern, nevertheless... .