Black Diamond Orbiter 650 Lantern – Powerful Rechargeable Light for Camping and Outdoor Use

Great light. Its three color options are great, run time is good, and durable. I recommend buying the extra battery to extend the run time and so you can charge other devices.

Was shopping for a lantern and noticed no local shops had rechargeable lanterns - most had cheap $9 AA battery harsh white lanterns. I picked up a Coast EAL50R at REI and really liked it. I wanted a rechargeable lantern with warm light and the ability to power it by batteries if needed. This lantern fit the bill completely. The lantern comes with a coupon for an additional expansion li-ion battery. So I ordered the ZX910 to double the run time. But I noticed there's no way to tell the lantern to use additional or the internal battery. All documentation states that it'll use the additional battery when the internal runs down. That's where I found out about the EAL55R on Amazon. This has a switch at the bottom to tell the lantern to use the internal or additional battery. Note the lantern does NOT come with the additional battery (but a coupon to buy it). It does come with an AA battery cylinder to use AA batteries. I bought the EAL55R thinking I could use my ZX910 battery in it. There is little to no documentation on this stuff... I tried using the ZX910 in the EAL55R and no luck. It refused to turn on. I tested AA batteries and they worked so the lantern was not at fault. The ZX910 DOES work in the EAL50R. I noticed the ZX915 expansion battery is required for the EAL55R and it is a little more expensive than the ZX910 expansion battery. I could find no documentation on this anywhere. So now I have the EAL50R and the EAL55R - and each with their own additional expansion batteries. Note, you can charge these lanterns while using them. So theoretically, you can use an external battery bank to charge these things while they're lit up - significantly increasing their run time (no need for the expansion battery). The ZX910 expansion battery is 4400mAh at 7.4v. Beefy thing. Hopefully this review helps those who hit the same things I did. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some notes: I ran the EAL50R on max brightness (Warm light setting) (360 setting) and it ran for 4.5 hours before starting to get dim. Putting in the ZX910 expansion battery IMMEDIATELY brightens the lantern which tells me the manual stating it has to drain the embedded battery first before using the expansion battery isn't exactly accurate. The power on button of the EAL50R is significantly harder for me to press than the EAL55R. Both lanterns (minus the switch at the bottom) seem 100% identical. The EAL55R is maybe a little brighter? And supposedly runs longer... Plugging in power to the USB C in port on the lantern will charge the lantern AND the ZX910 expansion battery. But be aware, it will take a very long time to charge. USB C Out and In: Out: I have a hard time pulling more than 2.5w for my Apple devices regardless of cable being used. I am able to pull 5w from it to power a string of LED lights. In: The device charges itself rapidly and slows down as it gets closer to 100% full (seeing ~7w going in when half full). Nice to see that as that will help the longevity.

This is a very impressive, if somewhat expensive, dual-powered lantern with a number of other great features! Dual power remains one of the features that I value the most in any portable light. According to the manufacturer, this lantern will remain lit for up to 82 hours (3.4 days or “10+ nights of light”) at its lowest light output setting of 12 lumens (warm low and 180° zone) with the provided rechargeable battery (not tested). In addition, the lantern I received came with a 25%-off coupon to purchase Coast’s higher-capacity ZX915 battery (which I did). Even with the coupon, the battery is expensive. I was surprised that I could not find any information on how long this additional battery would power the lantern – still it provided me with a backup rechargeable battery that can be added to the built-in battery. Also, this battery can be recharged outside of the lantern. If all else fails, i.e., you forget to charge the battery(ies) or they are depleted, you can always insert six AA batteries to power the light. The lantern will not remain lit as long nor can it serve as a power source, but it is a very useful feature in my opinion. Some other unique features include: 1) a “zone selector” (360° or 180°), 2) dimming lever, 3) the USB-C charging cable stows in the base of the lantern, and 4) the lantern serves as a power source with two USB-C output ports. While this lantern is very good, it is not perfect. According to ChatGPT, the Ingress Protection rating of IP54 means that “an IP54-rated emergency lantern is reasonably durable for use in moderately dusty and damp environments but should be kept out of areas with heavy dust or water exposure, such as prolonged rain or submersion.” The base plate, which must be removed to access the stowed charging cable, insert the ZX915 rechargeable battery, or the 6-AA “alkaline cartridge”, can be difficult to unscrew. Also, while it comes with printed instructions that are well written and in good English, they do not explain everything. The charging status lights remain a bit of a mystery, at least to me. There are four status lights (one red, one yellow, and two green). I expected the lights to all turn green on the lantern (and the ZX915 battery) when fully charged but based on my observations and, according to the manual, “[w]hen the final green light is illuminated, the battery is fully charged”, i.e., the red and yellow lights remain lit even when fully charged. Finally, the instructions and the Coast website do not explain how long the ZX915 rechargeable battery (if purchased) extends the illumination time at various settings. PROS • Well designed, dual powered lantern with some unique features. • The lantern can be powered with a built-in rechargeable battery, an optional ZX915 battery, or six alkaline batteries. • There is a 360-degree and 180-degree zone selection button. • The lantern has a dimming lever that works with warm- and cool-white and steady red-light modes. • At the lowest light mode (12 lumens and 180° zone) and using the provided built-in battery, the light will supposedly operate the lantern for 82 hours (not tested). • The lantern also has a single intensity, flashing red light mode. • The lantern can serve as a power source with two USB-C output ports. • The USB-C charging cable stows in the base of the lantern. • The lantern has a removable handle and a pop-up carabiner for suspending the lantern. CONS • This is a relatively expensive, but full-featured lantern. • Base plate can be difficult to remove. • The optional ZX915 rechargeable battery is expensive. • Charging status lights were a little confusing in that the red and yellow lights remain lit when either rechargeable battery is fully charged.