By jhbeckman from NY on 10/22/2008

I saw this item profiled on-line somewhere and thought it would make a great lantern for camping.

When you're camping, in some ways a little light goes a very long way; in some ways, a little light is a little light.

In my formative years, I exclusively used a flashlight. Now that I am older and take my son camping, I like having a lantern along to provide light during dinner prep and eating. In fact, I realized that two lanterns would be even better, but the extra weight seemed prohibitive. This item, however, was so small and light, it seemed like just the right thing to act as the second lantern (the first is a small lantern from Black Diamond that collapses nicely and runs on 4 AAs).

However, the light this item puts out is utterly meager. What's more, it didn't even work on the second night of our recent trip to the Adirondacks (I haven't had a moment yet to determine if the batteries are exhausted, or if something really went awry with the light).

So, skip this item. Instead buy one of those collapsible candle lanterns -- they put out a suprising powerful, warm, cheery glow, and each candle lasts for our hours; it really made our lean-to homey at night. They even have a kit now that enables you to puts a little LED in the base of the candle lantern, so you get two sources of light from the candle lantern.

By Greg the Tree Skier from Watervliet, NY on 10/18/2008

I love this thing. When I go on hiking trips I worry about weight. This eliminates the need for an extra light. I'm going to carry two water bottles with me anyways, so why not attach a light on one? Sure the light isn't super bright, but that's what my headlamp is for. It certainly lights my tent up enough to be able to see around.

This was an impulse buy from EMS since I really thought it was a brilliant idea. It would allow me to avoid carring additional item since the light and my waterbottle would be packaged together. I was so excited. But my exitement was short lived.

I have 4 major problems with the design of this product that make it very unhelpful on a camping trip:

1) Accessing the battery compartment and tightening the strap around the bottle are somewhat of a nightmare. You need to have very little tools. The one to attach the strap is included in the package, but it is an extremely unnecessary addition. Some simple knobs or some other tiny innovation could get rid of a frustrating and tedious task that turns a customer off to the product right off the bat.

2) Because it uses AA or AAA batteries and because it is so big, it is pretty heavy. I was suprised at how big an issue this was. It was a good bit of extra weight to be carring around with you. However, to be fair, it was probably less weight than an additional flashlight would be.

3) The strap is too short for the bottle to stand up when it is empty and the cap is off. Usually after the bottle is empty, I like to leave the cap off for the bottle to air out (otherwise it starts to smell). With this cap the string is too short and the cap is too heavy. Therefore if you leave the cap off it falls over.

4) All of these other little frustrations could be overlooked if the product only emitted enough light to read or play cards with. When we used it on our trip to attempt to play cards, it was much to weak to serve the purpose. We all needed to pass around and hold the lantern very close to our cards in order to see them well.

While i think this is a great idea for a product, I would caution the user that I was not satisfied with this product's functionality or design.

By squirrelbait from New Hampshire on 1/18/2008

Daughter says it works great when she gets up early to swim without bothering room mates. It's great traveling at night in the car. The light is soft enough not to affect your night vision. Enough light to use in my tent after campfire to organize equipment etc.

By Seacoast from Wells, ME on 1/7/2008

I own one and have given 2 as gifts. Great idea. Works best with a clear or light-colored bottle. The batteries, however, significantly add weight. This is not an item for fly-weight backpackers. It is a good area light, useful when you need to find things in tent or camp site.

I loved it camping because, with the soft glow it emits, I was able to read at night without waking others in the tent. It also works well at home for a reading light in bed for the same reason...plus you can easily prop it on the pillow, blanket, etc. Just wish the battery compartment was easier to access.

By Auntie Beans from Cape Cod on 5/12/2007

I was disappointed that it was inconvenient to drink with, more so than a plain lid and certainly more than my lid with the handle and push-button dispenser. I mean, this is a water bottle, right?

By Gebbylove from Roseville, CA on 2/6/2007

The Firefly is really nice. The dimming action is pretty cool and it completed the pimping of my nalgene. Nice product, great for camping and at night!

By jim from buffalo on 1/2/2007

great

[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]

By Unit Y from Unity College, Unity, ME on 12/6/2006

This thing is awsome! The power went out for several hours in my dorm and we used 2 of these to light up our Monopoly board. But yes, it works great in the woods to. Just store it upside down in cold temps. so ice doesnt form in the lid. The only problem was opening the battery compartment. it needs a small screwdriver tip. Knives dont work.

[1 of 2 customers found this review helpful]

By Jon from Nebraska on 11/6/2006

A friend who went backpacking in NM had one of these and I had to get one, its so cool.