(Product Review) Suaoki Camping Lantern Led Light Flashlight Rechargeable Battery (Powered By Hand Crank and USB Charging) Collapsible Ultra Compact Great for Hiking Camping Tent Garden Patio etc (Green)

I have a few various lanterns that I use for camping as well as emergency situations like power outages. I was excited to get this Suaoki Camping Lantern Led Light Flashlight Rechargeable Battery (Powered By Hand Crank and USB Charging) Collapsible Ultra Compact Great for Hiking Camping Tent Garden Patio etc (Green) because it sounded like a perfect solution to multiple emergency preparedness needs.

This light can be used in it's compact form as a flashlight, or extended to use as a lantern. It has two brightness settings so you can vary the intensity of the light according to your needs. The light was bright enough in both settings to be quite useful for power outages or camping needs. The lantern can be charged in one of two ways. You can charge it via the included USB cable, or you can use the hand crank located on the bottom of the lantern.

I was really excited when I read that you could also use this to charge your cellphone, and had really high hopes for this. Unfortunately this doesn't work very well. First, the supplied micro USB cord does not fit any of my micro USB devices. It will only go in partially, but not completely, making it useless. Luckily, I have other USB to micro USB cords, so I used one of them instead.

I had a smartphone that had a 1% charge, so I thought that this would be a good one to test this hand cranking battery charger on. It might be just me, but after a couple of minutes of cranking, my arm got tired, and my phone was still at 1% charge. Even though I didn't expect it to charge quickly, it only charges if your cranking remains constant. If you stop for a second, or your cranking is not at an even speed, the charging stops.

I don't know if I made any progress at all but I have my doubts since my phone screen lit to tell me it was charging, then immediately shut back off several times during my 3 minute cranking session. Then the phone shut off because the power was too low to keep it going. Obviously it didn't get much of a charge and my arm was already tired. I might have one of my boys have a go at it and see if they can crank long enough to at least make a difference, but as for me, I wouldn't count on getting anything charged up in an emergency.

Even though I am disappointed in the recharging aspects of this lantern, I still really like the light. I expect that it will work well during my upcoming camping trip, and certainly come in handy for power outages. I would not, however, count on it as a battery charger.

Although I was offered this product at a discount or received a complimentary sample in exchange for my fair and honest review, all thoughts and opinions on the products I review are always my own and have not been influenced by any discounts or samples which may have been provided to me for testing purposes. Questions and comments are welcomed.

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