Duracell Tri-Power Lantern Review: The 1 best lantern for adventure lovers

As a tech journalist, I primarily review premium gadgets, headphones, and more, but in my Duracell Tri-Power Lantern review, I’m taking a detour into something a little more practical that honestly everyone should own. This all-in-one lantern is more than just a lantern, it’s sort of the Swiss Army Knife of adventure lights. With its host of power features and a couple of nifty little tricks up its sleeve, it really is an excellent option for a variety of people.

I’ll get the most obvious part of the Duracell Tri-Power Lantern review out of the way first. The light that this thing puts out is honestly excellent. The spec sheet puts this lantern’s output at right around 2,000 lumens, and on paper that isn’t going to win any outdoorsmen innovation awards (I’ve got two flashlights, for instance, that push up towards 10,000 lumens). But the impressive reflector array and 360-degree diffusion array give it the ability to wash a space in clear, brilliant light—just like a lantern is supposed to. 

What does this mean in practical applications? Well, as I dug in to review the Duracell Tri-Power Lantern, I had to think through what it is that I look for for my use case in a lantern like this. Sure, I do a little bit of camping, but my primary use-case is as a backup light around the house. I live in the woods, so we do lose power a bit more than I’d like, so having this lantern in a pinch has been excellent. Its brightness is accentuated by a really natural lighting quality that, especially when on its lowest setting, will provide a nice, room-filling glow. You can even enable a flashing red emergency beacon mode, which would be great for using the lantern as a roadside emergency light. In short, it’s a great camping light, but it’s a lot more than that, too!

Perhaps the most iconic part of this lamp is its three methods of providing power (hence the product name). As I reviewed the Duracell Tri-Power Lantern, I was impressed with the sheer flexibility of the power options. First, you can load up four D batteries like a traditional lantern, so as long as you’ve got a battery stockpile, you’ll have light. The lantern also features an internal rechargeable battery that you can top up with the USB-A and USB-C ports on the side. Of course, it’s the solar panel on the top that really shines here, allowing you to add some juice just by plopping it out in the sun.

This flexibility makes it great for remote, off-the-grid adventures, or for my use when there’s no power coming to my house. The owners manual claims that you can get up to 200 hours of use with the low mode, and with a number that high I naturally didn’t review this aspect of the Duracell Tri-Power Lantern. But I can tell you that it takes quite a while for the rechargeable battery to be depleted. The only time I was able to do so was during a particularly long power outage where this was the primary light source in my bedroom. Thankfully, I was able to pop it outside for a couple hours during the day to get us through that last night thanks to the solar panel. A really nifty little feature!

If you’re into sleek, elegant builds, then this lantern isn’t going to win you over that easily. In fact, as I spent more time reviewing the Duracell Tri-Power Lantern Tri-Power lantern, I was struck by just how utilitarian the design is. The full chassis has lots of thick, rugged rubber around the outside to protect it from falls or scuffs. Duracell has even taken the time to secure an IPX4 water resistance rating for the lantern (as evidenced by the thick rubber flap that covers the charging ports).

This all culminates into a clear picture: The Duracell Tri-Power Lantern is meant for the outdoors. Whether it falls off the bed of your truck onto gravel, or rolls down a hill, or even gets caught in the rain, this lantern will work for the long haul. Of course, you do sacrifice some of that sleekness, and at more than a foot tall, it’s not the smallest lantern—especially when you compare it to the collapsible, more packable lights by other competitors.

When I took the time to consider all aspects of my review for the Duracell Tri-Power Lantern, the price was kind of a hard thing to consider. On the one hand, this isn’t coming in at a premium price point, so you won’t have to pay an arm and a leg for it. But a simple search on Amazon yields a variety of foreign-sourced lanterns and flashlights with similar feature sets at great prices.

What’s most promising about this light is that it’s made by Duracell—a truly well-known, reliable brand that I’m confident will stand the test of time for this lantern. Factoring in the build quality and feature set, the device’s list price of $40–50 is reasonable. But do keep your eye out for sales, because at the time of writing this, several retailers such as Wal-Mart have the light for sale at around $25. Can you get a cheaper light? Of course. But for this quality, it’s certainly worth it.