Best Lantern for a Power Outage in 2026: Battery and Solar Lanterns That Run for Days

For a multi-day outage the lantern to own is the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600: it runs for days on low, charges a phone, and has a hand crank for the day the power bank is empty. If you want something that never needs charging, the Streamlight Siege AA on three AA cells is the one that is still working on night four, and the Energizer WeatherReady 1200 takes D cells for the kitchen. For a cheap solar light you can leave on a windowsill all summer, the BioLite Luci Original is the one. Everything below was checked against the maker's spec sheet and the live Amazon listing.

What actually changes the outcome

Run time at the setting you will really use

Every maker prints the biggest run-time number, and that number is always at the lowest brightness. Goal Zero's "320 hours" on the Lighthouse 600 is one side lit, on low. Streamlight's Siege AA gives 37 hours on low and 7 on high. The honest way to compare is to look at the low setting, because that is where you will leave a lantern on a kitchen counter at 2 a.m. A low mode in the 15 to 50 lumen range is plenty to find the bathroom; 200 lumens is a lit room; anything over 500 is a work light.

Rechargeable, or AA and D cells

This is the real decision. A rechargeable lithium lantern is brighter and charges your phone, but when the outage runs past its battery you need a generator, a car, or sun. A lantern on AA or D cells takes the same batteries as the TV remote and the weather radio, and a 24 pack from the pantry is the backup plan. Our advice for a hurricane-prone house is one of each: a rechargeable with USB out for the first two days, and an alkaline lantern that is still there on day five. Black Diamond's Moji splits the difference by taking either three AAA cells or their rechargeable pack.

USB out

A lantern with a USB port is a small power bank. The Lighthouse 600 carries a 5,200 mAh cell and the Super Siege is rated by Streamlight for four or more phone charges. That is the difference between a lantern and the thing that lets you call the insurance company on day three.

Solar

Built-in solar panels on inflatable lanterns are small; LuminAID says 16 to 20 hours of direct sun for a full charge on the PackLite Max, per the listing, which is two or three days in October light. Solar is a trickle, not a charger. Treat it as a way to keep a low light going indefinitely, not a way to refill a phone.

Water and drop rating

IPX4 means rain and splashes. IPX7 means it survives a dunk in a meter of water. For a lantern that lives on a porch or in a boat, IPX7 matters; for the kitchen counter, IPX4 is fine.

The lanterns

Goal Zero Lighthouse 600

The Lighthouse 600 has two LED panels you can run one at a time or both, a dimmer, fold-out legs, a hanging handle, and a hand crank on the side. Goal Zero rates it at 600 lumens on high with both sides, 2.5 hours at that setting, and 320 hours with one side on low. The 5,200 mAh battery (18.98 Wh) charges from any USB port in about 6 hours, or from their Nomad 10 panel in about 6 hours of good sun, and the USB out is 5 V at up to 1.5 amps. One minute of cranking gives about 10 minutes of low light, per Goal Zero. What it does badly: 1.5 amps is slow for a modern phone, the light is warm and directional rather than a 360 degree glow, and it weighs 1.1 pounds. For a house in a hurricane zone it is still the first lantern we would buy. Sold by Goal Zero's own storefront.

Black Diamond Moji

The Moji is a palm-sized globe lantern that runs on three AAA cells or Black Diamond's BD 1500 rechargeable pack. Black Diamond rates it at 200 lumens on max, up to 120 hours of burn time, IPX4, and 120 grams. It dims continuously and has a double-hook loop for hanging in a tent or from a cabinet knob. The flat bottom and frosted globe make it the best reading light here. What it lacks: no USB out, and the max run time is at the dimmest setting, so on high expect hours, not days. Buy two, keep a dozen AAA cells with them. Sold by Black Diamond's own storefront.

Coleman 1000 Lumens LED Lantern with BatteryGuard

The Coleman is the big dumb lantern for the kitchen table, and that is a compliment. The listing rates it at up to 1,000 lumens with high, medium, low and flashing modes, a 16 meter beam, and impact resistance to 2 meters. The BatteryGuard feature disconnects the batteries when the lantern is off, so a set left in the lantern for a year is still good when the lights go out; that is the main reason to pick it over a generic. It uses disposable batteries, so check the listing for the count and keep spares with it. What it does badly: it is bulky, the low mode is still bright for a bedroom, and there is no USB out. We could not reach Coleman's own spec page for run times, so the figures here are from the listing.

Streamlight Siege AA

Three AA cells, 200 lumens on high for 7 hours, 100 lumens for 15.5 hours, 50 lumens on low for 37 hours, and a red mode at 0.7 lumens for 192 hours, all per Streamlight. It is IPX7, floats with the globe on, and has a spring-loaded D-ring to hang it upside down from a tent loop or a cabinet pull. The red mode is the one you use in a bedroom at night. It weighs about 9 ounces. What it does badly: 200 lumens is not a room-filling light, and there is no USB. It is the lantern to keep in the car and the bedroom because it will never be found dead. Sold by Amazon.

Streamlight Super Siege

The Super Siege is the rechargeable big brother: 1,100 lumens on high for 5.75 hours, 550 for 11.5 hours, 125 lumens on low for 36.25 hours, and red modes that run for 140 to 348 hours, per Streamlight. The lithium pack charges by USB and feeds a USB out that Streamlight rates at four or more full smartphone charges. IPX7, 2 meter impact rating, 1 pound 14 ounces. The cover lifts off for a wider throw. What it does badly: it is heavy and tall, and the low setting is still 125 lumens, so it is a work light more than a bedside light. It is the one for a garage, a porch, or a job site after a storm. Sold by Amazon.

BioLite Luci Original

The Luci (formerly MPOWERD, now sold by BioLite) is an inflatable solar lantern: 65 lumens, a 1,000 mAh cell, up to 24 hours per charge, charging by solar or USB-C, 4.4 ounces, IP67, per the listing. It collapses to an inch thick, so a stack of three lives in a drawer. Leave it on a south windowsill and it stays topped up through the summer. What it does badly: 65 lumens is a night light, not a room light, and the solar charge is slow. It is the lantern to hand to kids and to float in the bathtub. Sold by BioLite's own storefront.

LuminAID PackLite Max 2-in-1

The PackLite Max is the inflatable solar lantern with a phone charger built in. LuminAID lists a 2,000 mAh power bank, 50 hours of run time, five white brightness levels, and 12.5 ounces; the listing adds a 5 V 2.1 amp output, 200 lumens on turbo, IP67, and a 16 to 20 hour solar charge or 1 to 2 hours by USB. It twists to inflate, floats, and hangs from a strap. What it does badly: LuminAID's own spec table lists 150 lumens where the features list says 200, so take the top figure loosely, and the 2,000 mAh cell is one phone charge, not four. It is the best choice for a go bag because it weighs nothing when flat. Sold by LuminAID's own storefront.

Energizer WeatherReady 1200 Lumen Lantern

Energizer's WeatherReady runs on three D cells or three AA cells, and that flexibility is the point: when the D cells are gone you can keep it going on the AAs from the remote. The listing rates it at 1,200 lumens, six modes including dimming, a night light and red flashing, up to 42 hours on low with D cells, IPX4, 1 meter drop, and a USB out for charging a phone. What it does badly: a USB port fed by alkaline D cells is a slow, expensive way to charge a phone, so use it only when nothing else is left, and the top brightness burns through D cells fast. Energizer's 500 lumen WeatheReady sibling runs 90 hours on low per Energizer if you do not need the brightness. Sold by Amazon.

Side by side

Lantern	Max lumens	Run time (low / high)	Power	USB out	Solar	Best for
Goal Zero Lighthouse 600	600	320 h one side low / 2.5 h both high	5,200 mAh lithium, crank	Yes, 1.5 A	With a panel	Multi-day home outage
Black Diamond Moji	200	Up to 120 h (low) / not listed	3 AAA or BD 1500	No	No	Bedside and tent
Coleman 1000L BatteryGuard	1,000 per listing	Not listed	Disposable batteries	No	No	Kitchen table
Streamlight Siege AA	200	37 h / 7 h	3 AA	No	No	Car and bedroom, never dead
Streamlight Super Siege	1,100	36.25 h / 5.75 h	Lithium, USB charge	Yes, 4+ phone charges	No	Garage and porch
BioLite Luci Original	65 per listing	Up to 24 h	1,000 mAh lithium	No	Built in	Windowsill, kids, go bag
LuminAID PackLite Max	200 per listing	Up to 50 h	2,000 mAh lithium	Yes, 2.1 A	Built in	Go bag with a phone charge
Energizer WeatherReady 1200	1,200 per listing	42 h on D cells / not listed	3 D or 3 AA	Yes	No	Alkaline backup with USB

Lanterns we looked at and left off

Goal Zero's Crush Light is a good collapsible solar light at 60 lumens, but the listing showed low stock when we checked, so it did not make the cut. Black Diamond's current Apollo (250 lumens, rechargeable) was also low on stock, and the only Apollo listing with plenty of inventory is an older 80 lumen version through a third-party seller; buy the Moji instead. Streamlight's original D-cell Siege, 540 lumens on three D cells, is the lantern many people ask about and is worth it if you find it, but it was down to the last couple of units when we checked. Vont's cheap collapsible lanterns did not come up in stock under the Vont name; the Etekcity and Lepro four-packs that fill that slot are fine for closets and bathrooms but we have no maker spec sheet for them. Candle lanterns and propane lanterns are not on this list: open flame and carbon monoxide inside a house during an outage is where people get hurt.

If the outage is long enough that lantern batteries matter, you are in generator territory. Our sister site covers that at best generator for home and the battery backup vs gas generator question. Lighting is one piece of the kit; the rest of the power gear lives on the power and light page, and the car side is in our winter car kit.

Questions about lanterns and outages

How many lumens do I need for a power outage?

About 50 lumens lights a bedroom enough to move around, 200 lights a kitchen for cooking, and 500 or more is a work light for the garage or a porch repair. Most of the time you will run a lantern on its lowest setting, so the low mode and its run time matter more than the headline number.

Are the run time claims real?

They are the maker's figures at the lowest setting, usually measured until the light drops to a fraction of its starting output. A lantern that claims 100 hours will give you many nights of dim light, not 100 hours of bright light. Plan on the high-setting figure for the evenings you cook and the low-setting figure for overnight.

Rechargeable or AA batteries for a hurricane?

Both. A rechargeable with USB out for the first days, charged from the car or a power bank, and an AA or D lantern as the one that cannot be dead. Keep a 24 pack of AA cells and a few D cells with the lanterns, not in a drawer across the house.

Can a solar lantern charge my phone?

A little. The PackLite Max can put roughly one charge into a phone from a full battery, and refilling it by sun takes two or three days. For phone power during an outage, see the power bank in our bug out bag checklist or a small generator.

What about a headlamp?

Get one as well. A lantern lights a room, a headlamp lights the breaker panel while both hands are busy. Any AA headlamp in the 200 lumen range is enough.

The short version

Buy the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 for the house and a Streamlight Siege AA for the bedroom and the car, and keep a box of AA cells next to them. If you only buy one, make it the Lighthouse 600.