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Black Diamond Apollo Lantern
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Black Diamond Apollo Lantern

Item # 768658

$49.95

Item qualifies for annual
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The Black Diamond Apollo lantern provides comfortable lighting for campsite cooking and nighttime tent reading.

  • 3-watt LED with frosted globe creates bright, non-glaring light; dual reflectors effectively capture and output light
  • Fine-tune your lighting needs with the dimming switch—simply hold down the on/off button to activate dimmer
  • Collapsible legs fold down and adjust to uneven terrain; legs fold up for compact transport
  • Small LED lights indicate battery status; green indicates 50% - 99% battery life, yellow indicates less than 50% and red indicates less than 25%
  • Top loop allows lantern to be hung from a tree branch or inside a tent
  • Operates on 4 AA alkaline batteries or the Black Diamond NRG rechargeable battery kit, both sold separately
  • Integrated charger port accepts NRG wall charger so you can recharge batteries without removing them from the lantern

Please note: Black Diamond products can only be shipped to the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Specs based on manufacturer's information.

Imported.

Item 768658

Black Diamond Apollo Lantern Specs

Specification

Description

Weight11 ounces
DimensionsOpen: 3 x 9.5 / closed: 3 x 5.2 inches
Light Intensity50 lumens
Battery life at 70 degreesLow: 60 hours
Batteries4 AA
MaterialPlastic
RechargeableNo

Black Diamond Apollo Lantern Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
Black Diamond Apollo Lantern
 
4.5

(based on 25 reviews)

96%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

  • Easy to adjust (21)
  • Easy to setup (21)
  • Compact (19)
  • Powerful light output (18)
  • Durable design (17)

Cons

    Best Uses

    • Campgrounds (22)
    • Emergencies (18)
    • Backcountry camping (17)
    • Travel (12)
    • Survival (8)
    • Reviewer Profile:
    • Casual adventurer (15), Avid adventurer (9)
    • What Is Your Gear Style:
    • Comfort driven (16), Minimalist (6)

    Reviewed by 25 customers

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    Displaying reviews 1-10

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    (31 of 34 customers found this review helpful)

     
    4.0

    Nice design but with an odd flaw

    By BJN

    from Salt Lake City, UT

    About Me Casual/ Recreational

    Site Member

    Pros

    • Durable Design
    • Even pleasant light
    • Powerful Light Output

    Cons

    • Battery level LED hidden

    Best Uses

    • Backcountry Camping
    • Campgrounds
    • Emergencies

    Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

    I haven't had this lantern long enough to verify run times, but so far I'm impressed with the product design - with one exception. On the plus side, the lantern's body collapses and the tripod legs fold up to make a nice, compact package. With the body extended, the single yellow control button is exposed. I had to read the instructions to figure out the light level adjustment, but if you press and hold the power button you have control to smoothly increase or decrease the light output to any level you like between the brightest and dimmest settings. At the dimmest and brightest levels, the lamp flickers once to let you know you're at the end of the adjustment range. The LED's light is cool white. The light isn't especially cozy but at least it doesn't have the blue/purple ultraviolet cast that can be quite unpleasant from many white LED lights. The reflector and diffuser are nicely designed and provide an even, useful light pattern. Overall, this a very nicely designed light and it has a quality feel.On the negative side of the design, I was baffled for a while trying to find the lantern's battery level indicator light. The instructions have a call-out line pointing to the side of the lantern, but there's nothing there. I finally found the three LEDs hidden behind the extended diffuser. You can't see the trio of red, yellow and green LEDs with the lantern set up for use because a gray plastic ring on the diffuser covers them. You have to slide the diffuser section down to see them, but you also have to have the diffuser extended high enough to expose the power control if you want to see the power status. This awkward access to see battery status is a relatively minor inconvenience but it's an odd design flaw for a product that's otherwise well thought-out.Although the instructions specify alkaline AA cells or Black Diamond's expensive rechargeable NRG (get it?) battery, I'm using Eneloop NiMH cells and these work just fine. Eneloops have a long self-life before self discharge unlike most NiMH cells. I really can't see what BD's [$]NRG battery offers that's worth the price and hassle of a proprietary rechargeable. The lantern has a connection so you can recharge the NRG cell without removing it from the lantern, but you'd add yet another power adapter to deal with for that minor convenience, and of course your NRG cell would be useless in other devices unlike AA cells.

    • What Is Your Gear Style:
    • Comfort Driven

    (9 of 9 customers found this review helpful)

     
    5.0

    A staple for camping or emergency kits

    By Jen (SF Bay)

    from Fremont, CA

    About Me Avid Adventurer

    Pros

    • Compact
    • Durable Design
    • Easy To Adjust
    • Easy To Setup
    • Powerful Light Output

    Cons

      Best Uses

      • Campgrounds
      • Emergencies
      • Survival

      Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

      Bought this lantern based on the excellent reviews and I'm so glad I did. Forgo the Black Diamond rechargeable kit and spring for the NiMH Sanyo Eneloop batteries instead. Let's admit it: Carrying spare batteries that you can recharge 1000 times and use for other things is better than carrying an item specific charger (heavy, too) because where are you going to plug that baby in?

      The Apollo makes its way around the entire campsite from the camp kitchen to the picnic table, sometimes to the bathroom, and even into the tent at night. We clip a carabiner onto the top loop, fold the legs back up, and hang it from one of the tent loops right above the gear loft. The dimmer is an excellent feature and easy to use--Just hold the button down until you get to the point at which you want to stop. LED battery indicator takes the guesswork out of how much juice you have left. The boys are always impressed with how bright this lantern is and how long the light output lasts for on a set of batteries. We use this lantern with the legs extended and retracted depending on the situation and place. Works well either way.

      A winner!

      • Gift:
      • No
      • What Is Your Gear Style:
      • Comfort Driven

      (6 of 7 customers found this review helpful)

       
      5.0

      great product

      By solar dynasty

      from oakland,ca

      About Me Avid Adventurer

      Site Member

      Pros

      • Compact
      • Durable Design
      • Easy To Adjust
      • Easy To Setup
      • Lightweight
      • Long Run Time
      • Powerful Light Output

      Cons

        Best Uses

        • Campgrounds
        • Emergencies
        • Survival
        • Travel

        Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

        this is a cool lantern which is easy to use. the tripod legs allow it to be placed in precarious settings. a clip on top allows one to hang it to the ceiling of a tent or a tree limb by attaching a carabiner. great for car camping.

        • What Is Your Gear Style:
        • Minimalist

        (3 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

         
        4.0

        Excellent site or working light

        By tkh -- N7ATK

        from Oregon and Washington

        About Me Casual Adventurer

        Site Member

        Pros

        • Durable Design
        • Powerful Light Output

        Cons

        • Expensive
        • Heavy

        Best Uses

        • Campgrounds
        • Emergencies
        • Outdoor office
        • Travel

        Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

        I camp for 1-3 weeks in the mountains in winter to work, and I do a lot of long-term camping in other seasons as well. When I took a chance on the Black Diamond Apollo for a work light, I was embarassed to admit how much I paid -- until I had the lantern in hand. This is an excellent small-sized site light or working lantern. It delivers light cleanly with good diffusion and no annoying horizontal bars or dark spots as you often see with other LED lanterns. It's brighter than the other battery-based lanterns of comparable size that I've tested. The tapered shape is easy to grab. Collapsed, it is well-protected by its own casing and fold-up legs, so you don't really need to pad it in the pack. One of the best features: those rubberized fold-down legs -- this lantern is stable even when tilted pretty severely on uneven ground. I don't carry it for backpacking -- it's too heavy, too big, and needs too many batteries (4 instead of 1). Controls are easy to use; battery casing is very tight -- expect to use the tip of a blade to get the batteries out. No real reservations about this lantern. I liked it so much for my working kit, that even with the price (hence the rating of 4 instead of 5), I bought another for my emergency response kit.

        (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

         
        5.0

        "Big brother to the Orbit"

        By Sussex hiker

        from Delaware

        About Me Casual Adventurer

        Site Member

        Pros

        • Durable Design
        • Easy To Adjust
        • Easy To Setup
        • Powerful Light Output

        Cons

          Best Uses

          • Backcountry Camping
          • Campgrounds
          • Emergencies

          Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

          Used it on a backpacking trip before the Orbit came along. It is bigger but you get plenty of light to see after dark around camp. Much brighter than the classic candle lanterns and much safer with no wax dripping or flame. Easy to set up, change batteries and stable. Worth the money if you do a lot of activity after dark in camp.

          • Gift:
          • No
          • What Is Your Gear Style:
          • Comfort Driven

          (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

           
          5.0

          Great light for tent camping

          By NC Explorer

          from NC

          About Me Casual Adventurer

          Pros

          • Durable Design
          • Easy To Adjust
          • Easy To Setup
          • Lightweight

          Cons

          • Expensive

          Best Uses

          • Campgrounds
          • Emergencies
          • Travel

          Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

          Bought this light because I needed a nice light for inside the tent that wouldn't blind me. I have another LED lantern that is brighter than this one, but seems to have less useable light. The Apollo has a great diffuser which spreads the light out evenly throughout the tent. The rubber feet were very handy as was the loop on top of the lantern that I used to hang it from the tent top. The controls are easy to use and very intuitive. The dimming function is really a nice touch. Overall I've been very pleased with my purchase even though it is a bit on the expensive side. But then again, I believe that you are getting what you pay for here and this is a fine lantern that I'd recommend for tent camping or emergency light at home.

          • Gift:
          • No

          (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

           
          4.0

          Nice for a Battery Operated Lantern

          By solotrips

          from Kansas

          About Me Casual Adventurer

          Site Member

          Pros

          • Compact
          • Durable Design
          • Easy To Adjust
          • Easy To Setup

          Cons

          • Heavy

          Best Uses

          • Backcountry Camping
          • Campgrounds
          • Travel

          Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

          I recently took this on a 3 day trip to the Smokies. We had 5 children with us and I thought it would be nice for the bear shelters.
          - It is easy to use and pops right open.
          - Light output was OK but the shelter was a little large for the little light. It would be very good in a confined area such as a tent.
          - It is easy to adjust by just holding the button.
          - Batteries are easy to install and comes with a battery life meter.
          - Like everything though I just wish the darn thing was lighter. It uses 4 AA batteries.
          - A rotating deflector would also be nice

          • What Is Your Gear Style:
          • Minimalist

          (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

           
          5.0

          Built to last!!!

          By ToPaDo

          from Kelso, Wa

          About Me Avid Adventurer

          Site Member

          Pros

          • Compact
          • Durable Design
          • Easy To Adjust
          • Easy To Setup
          • Long Run Time
          • Powerful Light Output

          Cons

            Best Uses

            • Backcountry Camping
            • Campgrounds
            • Emergencies
            • Survival

            Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

            We bought this little lantern at an infamous REI Used Gear Sale with a tag that said it was returned because it didn't put out enough light. Well, let me tell you, I don't know what they were trying to light, but this thing was awesome! We just got back from camping at June Lake on Mt. St. Helens, on a cloudy night, not a star or the moon in the sky, and it lit up our campsite perfectly.

            (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

             
            4.0

            Excellent lantern except one thing...

            By Shar

            from SF Bay Area

            About Me Casual/ Recreational

            Site Member

            Pros

            • Compact
            • Easy To Adjust
            • Easy To Setup
            • Lightweight
            • Long Run Time
            • Powerful Light Output

            Cons

              Best Uses

              • Backcountry Camping
              • Campgrounds
              • Emergencies
              • Survival
              • Travel

              Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

              This lantern would be perfect if the manufacturer tightens the battery cover. Several times during my two-week car camping trip the batteries popped out because the cover was that loose. Otherwise, it's everything that I was looking for in a lantern: very light-weight, compact, and fairly bright if you prop it up on its legs or hang it up. The tripod legs have grips so they don't slide off surfaces.

              • What Is Your Gear Style:
              • Comfort Driven

              (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

               
              4.0

              Nice Battery Lantern - one odd thing

              By solotrips

              from Crested Butte, CO

              About Me Avid Adventurer

              Site Member

              Pros

              • Compact
              • Durable Design
              • Easy To Adjust
              • Easy To Setup
              • Long Run Time

              Cons

              • Battery Meter Obscured

              Best Uses

              • Backcountry Camping
              • Campgrounds
              • Emergencies
              • Travel

              Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

              I really like the lantern. The light output is nice for the size.
              A little heavier than I would like since it uses 4 AA batteries but overall weight not bad.
              I carried it one night in a downpour in the Smoky Mountains and it didn't affect the lantern so it is pretty waterproof.
              It has a battery power meter which I really like but the odd thing is you have to partially close the lantern to see it. For some reason that really bugs me so I gave it 4 stars.

              • Gift:
              • No
              • What Is Your Gear Style:
              • Comfort Driven

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