I would have to say that this is the best battery operated LED lantern I've ever added to my kit. This little bugger was extremely handy at camp with the recharging options being key. I recharged the lantern via solar panel, car, portable power pack and just about any USB 5v power pushing orifice I could find. It lit up the camp-site with just the right amount of light. Hung high, under a canopy above eye level, the Mid level (50 lumen) setting was the perfect light output for chores around camp and a game of cards at a picnic table.

A power outage in the house? This thing is a really dependable no brainer. Leave it stuck on the fridge so everyone in the house knows exactly where it is. Brightly light up or power outage eye adjust the light down.

Recharge the unit the next day in your car. (Get a $3.00 car USB adaptor). 10 days without power during Sandy, wish I had one then. "Traditional" batteries, none for a 20 mile radius to be had. Gas lanterns for camping I had, in house never.

The CL25R's non glaring four white light output levels and the energy they use are task appropriate.
- low, If you want to read a map in the tent you're good to go - 600 hrs
- Mid, I found this setting to be just right for most everything around camp - 23+ hrs
- High, if you have to extract a fishing hook late at night - 5 hrs
- Turbo, if you need to do micro surgery after the hook extraction - 2 hrs

With a run time of about 23 hrs on the Mid setting having to fuss with recharging was very minimal. It only takes about 2.5 hours to fully charge from "dead" so my USB solar panel kept the battery easily "topped off" while paddling during the day. (Back at camp or on-board the canoe).

The solid on red LED's are useful, you can read in a dome tent with them but the moonlight mode is better.
(44 hrs solid red vs 600 hrs Low/moonlight mode).

* Getting up in the middle of the night without waking up your tent mate is priceless. Having "submarine eyes" for all the hungry roaming sasquatch when nature calls late at night is even more so.

My jury is still out on the usefulness of the blinking red LED's. I suppose if you stuck the magnet to the trunk of a totally dead car on a dark road it couldn't hurt.

The Only flaw I could find after kicking the tires pretty good on this thing .. the last used memory light setting only applies to the white LED's.

* Note to Fenix - apply the memory option to solid on red if that's what I turn the unit off at -

The switch design is intuitive, solid and visually practical. The switch turns red to indicate charging, turns green to indicate charge complete. A blinking red switch indicates low voltage. I have no idea at what level of low this kicks in at, but it does stop blinking if you step the lantern down to a lower white light setting. I assume it will start to blink red again at some point at the Mid level setting but I never depleted it enough to find out.

I thought the magnetic battery cap with standard tripod threads was a bit gimmicky, but it's a real deal tenacious magnet. Using a GorillaPod the "just the right place" mounting options were endless around camp, someone in our group had one for their camera and I don't think we used the bail at all afterwards.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this lantern to anyone.

3 others from our May BWCA outing have already ordered one after being so impressed with it's performance. The unit appears a bit pricey on paper, but the higher mAh 18650 rechargeable Li-ion batteries are about $20 a pop on their own (a Fenix 2300 mAh Li-ion is included). I really feel the build, design quality and "feel" of the unit are very solid and still worth the retail price.
I'm going to get an extra Fennix 3500 mAh 18650 battery from Battery Junction to kick this little mighty light up a notch.

The unit will also work with two CR123A 3V non-rechargeable lithium batteries that are pretty much available in most stores. Post Sandy they were the only Batteries left on the shelves. (Do Not try to recharge these in the unit unless you like fire).

The cold weather performance of Li-ion CR123A's are well documented. With the heat dissipating design of the units battery compartment I expect the unit will function quite well at very cold temps. Up in VT on my sled time will tell.

I was in outdoor gear sales for 15 + years. I don't get easily excited about a piece of camping gear. I've owned, tested and put the ringer to hundreds of flashlights, lanterns and headlamps over the years, but this little LED lantern really impressed me.

I do not heap praise lightly on field tested outdoor items. This thing is the real deal.

BrokenLug

PS: Battery Junction hooked me up sweet as always.

For some time I've wished I had a small camp lantern that runs on an 18650 since I've recently became a convert to lithium rechargeables for all my flashlights.
This lantern works great! It runs for a very long time on a charge even with the lower capacity battery that is included. The moonlight mode is a nice touch also.
It runs so long on moonlight mode that you can leave it on all night with no problems. The low setting seems the most used for me. The higher settings will light up an entire camp.
Having a Red setting is nice for times when you want to save your night vision or be less visible to deer and animals at night. The flashing red light could be useful for emergencies.
Having a magnet on the base makes it stick to a car hood or fender with no problems. I'm also glad it has a warning light if the battery gets dangerously low.
I have several lanterns but this one is my favorite.

This might be the best lantern available for camping and emergency preparedness. It is bright, but has low settings when needed. (I do wish Fenix has a better interface instead of having to cycle through all modes, but just my opinion) It is rechargeable. It has multiple mounting options.
Minor gripe is that the included battery could be a large capacity.

This light is awesome..! Lights up an entire room, compact and very useful on the job in tight dark places. I love the magnetic base too.

I received the product I though I would receive. It charges and works well. Nice small size.