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Black Diamond Apollo Lantern

Item # 768658

$36.93$49.95^*

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Description
Specs
Customer Reviews

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

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Black Diamond Apollo Lantern Specs

Specification	Description
Bulb type	LED
Bulb detail	3-watt LED
Weight	11 ounces
Dimensions	Open: 3 x 9.5 / closed: 3 x 5.2 inches
Light Intensity	56 lumens
Battery life at 70 degrees	High: 15 / low: 60 hours
Batteries	4 AA
Material(s)	Plastic
Rechargeable	No

Black Diamond Apollo Lantern Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Black Diamond Apollo Lantern

4.4

(based on 42 reviews)

93%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Easy to setup (36)
Compact (35)
Easy to adjust (33)
Powerful light output (31)
Durable design (30)

Cons

Heavy (4)
Short run time (4)

Best Uses

Camping (36)
Emergencies (33)
Backcountry camping (31)
Travel (21)
Survival (20)

Reviewer Profile:
Avid adventurer (18), Casual adventurer (13), Casual/ recreational (9)
What Is Your Gear Style:
Comfort driven (27), Survivalist / minimalist (11)

Reviewed by 42 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

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Mar

2008

(38 of 42 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

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.

Apr

2009

(12 of 12 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!

Feb

2009

(8 of 9 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Excellent site or working light

By tkh -- N7ATK

from Oregon and Washington

About Me Casual Adventurer

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.

Jun

2008

(6 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

great product

By solar dynasty

from oakland,ca

About Me Avid Adventurer

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.

Sep

2008

(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Nice for a Battery Operated Lantern

By solotrips

from Kansas

About Me Casual Adventurer

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

Aug

2008

(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Built to last!!!

By ToPaDo

from Kelso, Wa

About Me Avid Adventurer

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.

Jun

2010

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Buy all three!

By Jabbakahut

from Eagle Caps, Oregon

About Me Avid Adventurer

Pros

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

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Campgrounds

Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

I started with the smallest; the Black Diamond Orbit Lantern. 5 star as well. I picked this one up to be my big light. They are small, compact really well. based on both the Orbit and the Appollo-I'm strongly considering the Titan.

Dimming is so easy, you just press and hold, let go when the light bottoms out on lums (it will give a quick flash). I've combine this with an s clip and some REI straps (see photo) and I can easily set up a lamp on the nearest tree, just bring it inside and hang it on a gear loop when turning in.

Jul

2009

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

So much light!

By Joe

from San Luis Obispo, Ca

About Me Casual Adventurer

Pros

Easy To Adjust
Easy To Setup
Powerful Light Output

Cons

Large

Best Uses

Campgrounds

Comments about Black Diamond Apollo Lantern:

The Apollo lantern is fantastic. Like all the other reviews say, it puts out lots of light and is very even. The dimming feature is invaluable and the legs are a nifty item to have as well.

This lantern works so well, I might even say it works too well. I wasn't expecting it to be as bright as it is, and if I had known better I would have gone with the Orbit because I am looking for small/light backpacking gear. I'm still keeping it however because I love it, and as a cyclo-packer, I can afford the extra luxury. So for you campers or luxury backpackers, this is a wonderful product, but for any of you perspective minimalists, I would suggest getting the Orbit.

It works great on the table as a highlight lamp for cooking, card games, finding your chocolate and marshmallows for s'mores, etc. The dimmer works great for extra battery life or in-tent reading. Also, +1 for the NiMH rechargeables; they are more versatile than the Black Diamond pack and better for the earth than single use Alkalines! If you can suspend it 8 feet in the air from a branch or something then it is an excelent flood light and will illuminate your entire camp, and functionally lights a 10 foot radius or so. No tripping on ground gremlins with this lantern!

Nov

2008

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

"Big brother to the Orbit"

By Sussex hiker

from Delaware

About Me Casual Adventurer

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.

Oct

2008

(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.