It’s a simple equation: As nights get longer, backpackers have to spend more and more time outside in the dark. If you’re a make-miles-at-all-costs kind of hiker, that may be fine with you: You hike from sun-up to sundown, maybe adding on a couple of headlamp-lit hours at the end, and then head straight to sleep. But if you’re the kind of backpacker who likes to kill some time unwinding with your friends at the end of the day, don’t want to spend it blinding each other with your headlamps, and can’t or aren’t interested in putting in the work to make a fire, having a lantern is key.
Unfortunately for ounce-counters, lanterns are extra weight. While there’s a good argument to be made for carrying one—a quality lantern can pull double-duty as both your power bank and a party light—not everyone wants to dedicate their precious pack space to carrying a secondary light source. If you’re that kind of backpacker, you still have options. Make your headlamp into a warm camp lantern with these three lightweight tricks.
Use Your Water Bottle
The big difference between a camp lantern and a headlamp isn’t power: Most headlamps on the market put out…
