Duracell Floating LED Lantern 500lm - Batteries Not Included

This is a 500 lumen LED lantern from Duracell, built around a tall frosted shade that pushes light out in every direction rather than throwing a beam one way. The upper body is the diffuser, the lower body a black moulded base with a ribbed grip, and a single rubberised button sits on the front of that base. A folding handle runs across the top, so it can be carried in one hand or hung from a hook, a branch or a tent loop. The pack states 500 lumens and calls it a floating lantern; cells are not included.

It suits camping, caravanning and evenings in the garden, and it is just as useful kept in a shed, a garage or a kitchen drawer ready for a power cut. Because the light leaves the whole shade sideways, it fills a table, a tent or a small room fairly evenly instead of putting a bright disc on one wall, which makes it easier to cook, read or play cards by. Standing it on a picnic table or hanging it from the handle at head height are the two positions that get the most from it, and the fact that it floats is worth having near a pond, a jetty or a boat.

The single button on the base is the whole of the control, which is what you want when you are reaching for it in the dark. Duracell does not print a runtime figure or an IP rating for this model, so there is no weather rating to work from, and cells are bought separately. We sell it as one lantern, with a minimum order of four in multiples of four, which suits a household stocking up before winter or a group kitting out several tents. It sits alongside the Duracell 350 lumen focusing LED flashlight.

Are cells supplied with the lantern?

No, cells are not included. It is worth putting a spare set by with the lantern if you are keeping it for power cuts, because a lantern with flat cells is no use on the night you want it.

How bright is 500 lumens in practice?

Five hundred lumens is a useful working level rather than a floodlight. It is enough to cook, read or find things by across a garden table, a tent or a small shed without dazzling anyone sitting near it.

How is it switched on?

One rubberised button on the front of the black base does the switching, so it can be found by feel in the dark. Duracell does not state how many output levels the button steps through.

Does it actually float?

The pack calls it a floating lantern, so it is made to sit on the surface rather than sink if it goes over the side of a boat, a paddleboard or a jetty.

Is a weather rating given for it?

No IP rating is printed for this model, so there is no sealing figure to quote and no runtime figure either. How long a set of cells lasts depends on the cells fitted and how often it is used.