Energizer LED Folding 360 Area Lantern with Light Fusion Technology Review

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program First off, let me say the Energizer LED Folding 360 Area Lantern was a welcome replacement for the oil lanterns and candles we once used during power outages.

We tested this model on the late afternoon of Sunday, July 21, when Pacific Power had an equipment problem at a substation in our city, causing more than 4,500 homes to lose power for up to eight hours. Our home was one of the last to have power restored, so we had plenty of time to test the Energizer LED Folding 360 Area Lantern.

Initially, I loaded four AA batteries into the lantern but we switched to eight (as per the instructions) for maximum run time during the power outage. The smart dimming technology is fantastic. We could `tap' down the light intensity, allowing us to use the lantern at the dinner table without blinding anyone. With a couple more taps, my family could ramp up the light intensity for use down the hallway.

The caveat here is Energizer's decision to use plastic screws to hold the battery compartment. We stripped the screws on our first try, so now they fall out of place if the lantern is rotated too much to its front side. This isn't a problem so long as the textured, plastic lid is closed. The lantern has a durable, easy-grip handle and a retractable kick-stand that allows the product to sit upright on a table.

Eight AA batteries gave us all the light we needed during our eight-hour power outage. I haven't tested in for longer periods. If Energizer would come up with a better locking mechanism for the battery compartment, I would raise my rating by two stars. For now, this lantern is two screws shy of a five-star rating.

Rating: Three stars.

DISCLOSURE: This review is courtesy of the Amazon Vine program, which provides products at no cost in exchange for my independent and unbiased feedback. My objective is to test and review products fairly, providing you with helpful information that improves your shopping experience. This product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf.

ADDENDUM (Key information to share from the comments):

Snaby says:

They are not screws they are latches, if you look really carefully next to them there is an etched symbol showing to spin them a quarter turn to unlock. Reading though the reviews it seems Energizer should have made this etching a little more obvious as apparently a lot of people have made the same mistake and overturned the latches. Hope this helps anybody else that purchases this product because it really is a very nice lantern all things considered.

Jared Castle says:

Thank you. You are correct. The latches aren't intuitive and we turned them too far. Except for the latch, I have no complaints.

flyer says:

You might edit your review to incorporate this new insight -if I had not read the comment I would have avoided this light based on your otherwise excellent review.

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This lantern is really solid, great build quality, and puts out a lot of light. On the high setting, it filled a darkened bedroom, about 12x12, 10 feet high with a pleasant light, bright enough to read a book from across the room. I'm not saying it's anywhere near as bright as an incandescent bulb, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The "Fusion" technology seems to use LEDs at the edge of a sheet of acrylic that has been laser etched to distribute the light. When the light is off the acrylic is transparent. When it's on it shines from both sides of the sheet of acrylic. The acrylic lighting element can be moved 180 degrees to provide a hand lantern (like you might carry while walking), a task or desk light, or an area light. It could be hung from the handle. There also is an ingenious dimmer.

There is a nice kickstand for stability that was a little hard to use at first. I was afraid I'd break it because I had to tug it so hard. Found that it works easily if I pull on the little tab on one side instead of trying to pull both sides.

Note that it comes with a "Try Me" mode activated, which turns it off after a short time. You'll want to deactivate that by removing the batteries for 10 seconds and replacing them.

It's height and width are about the same as an ipad mini, but it is considerably thicker. Feels about like a radio of similar size and dimension, loaded with the four AA batteries that come with it. Note that it will take 8 AAs, which I haven't tried. I'm guessing 8 increases run time instead of brightness.

I think it would be suitable for emergency home or car use, or car camping. A bit heavy and big for backpacking, but might be worth the weight for the light it puts out. Might have been nice to provide a protective cover for it, as the acrylic looks like it might be susceptible to scratching etc.--not a big concern.

Overall it's a very nice piece of gear. I didn't give 5 stars because I think it's a little pricey compared to other lanterns, but I'm not an expert in lanterns and apart from price it's a 5 star item.

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This is a great, versatile product for camping trips, to keep in your car in case you're stuck on the side of the road at night, or as in my case, when the power goes out at home. And stays out for hours, since you live in a neighborhood where the power lines short out every time the wind blows.

For several years I have been using the heavy, clunky eight D battery-powered lanterns and this LED Folding Lantern is light years beyond them. Much lighter, 180 degree OR 360 degree lighting area, and you can still control the brightness. Also, operates off eight AA batteries instead of the older version's eight D-batteries.

Be warned though, upon purchasing, you must take out the existing batteries, leave out for 30 seconds, then put them back in, for the lantern to remain powered on without cutting off arbitrarily. Otherwise it stays in "store display mode" where you push the power button on the back, and it only stays lit up for about 10 seconds. Unfortunately it does not explain this in the directions, and I had to make a call to the customer service line to figure it out.

Honest reviews on Energizer LED Folding 360 Area Lantern with Light Fusion Technology

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I have one each of all the new energizer fusion technology lanterns/flashlights.

This is the biggest and the brightest of the bunch.

It is still compact even though the light is big and bright. This is because it folds up pretty flat (about an inch wide)

What I like best about this one, and I wish all the other models were the same, is that you can access the battery compartment without a screwdriver or a coin. You can turn the screws with your fingers. Thank you!

The trouble with this model is that it eats up batteries. I have changed batteries 3 times now in just a few days. I have been using the lantern for about an hour every night at bed time.

I'm starting to think that buying flashlights from a battery company might be a mistake.

Be sure to take the unit out of 'try me' mode by removing the batteries for at least 10 seconds.

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I really like this light except for one problem. It will start blinking and shutoff even though there may be plenty of life left in the batteries especially if you are using only four. This is not as much of a problem when using eight batteries.

But I found some solutions. You can switch to a lower level when it starts blinking and it will continue to work, then switch to an even lower level when it blinks again until the batteries are more completely used up. But, if it shuts off before you lower the level, you may not be able to turn it back on and make adjustments.

Another solution is to save the set of four batteries used when it shuts off, put four new ones in and use them up at the same light level, and then add the saved set for a total of eight. The combination of all eight will allow much more of their capacity to be used. Whether this is worth the trouble depends on the light level used when shutoff happens. Remaining battery life is greatest if it blinks when on high light level so it may be worthwhile then. There is not as much benefit when shutoff happens at lower levels.

Another solution is to simply use eight batteries. That will extend battery life to more than double that of four.

And one more solution is to use the batteries that have become useless with this light in another light, radio, etc. that drains the batteries completely.

The best solution for me is to use rechargeable batteries. I can simply recharge them when the light shuts off without worrying about any other strategy.

My rating would have been five stars if not for this problem.

For those that want an explanation, this light seems to try to keep the light level constant at the setting in play rather than allow the level to drop as the battery weakens. So it will shut off when the battery voltage drops below a point where the battery can supply enough power to maintain that level. That is why unused power is more at the higher light levels.