Black Diamond Apollo

Summary

It does weigh a bit for backpacking, but I like to car camp too. The light can be very bright, but is almost infinitely adjustable. It is built well and has a split ring mounting hook on top.

I got this as a Christmas present from my daughter. I did hint just a bit.

I love this light. I have replaced the florescent light on my desk with it. I am writing this review by Apollo light. If you want to be green buy this light, get 4 rechargeable AA batteries and a solar charger. With this setup you can replace a light in your house with a sustainable light (Very Eco friendly).

This light can easily replace a reading light or a desk light. Outdoors the light gives out very even light cast. Walking about I can see a good 20'(7m) around the light. I will add to the review after spring camping. 

I like this little compact lantern. It uses a single LED light projected up to a reflective inverted cone. Its very bright, working off four AA batteries. (I use rechargeable ones)

The silver legs in the image above create a stand for it or fold up  to protect the plastic globe. The globe slides down over the yellow switch making accidental turning it on impossible. It also has two folding hooks on top for hanging.

It is very lightweight @ 7.8 oz/220 g.

Emits 80 Lumens of bright light

It's on sale now (8/18/11) for $39.95

It's Very Tough! I bought this and its little brother about a month ago. Well I had it for a few days, and went to an outdoor party. After a few drinks, I thought let's see if I can break it (I'm bad for that.)

Anyway I threw it in ice cold water that was keeping the keg cold and even submerged it for a few seconds. Then I threw it against the ground. I did this several times and it stayed lit most of the time. My friends were amazed! A hard hit will make it turn off. But it always turned back on.

The next morning I woke up and found it on the ground, and it had been rained on most of the night. So I tried it and it worked... But later the button would 'stick', it wouldn't turn off but dim and brighten constantly, plus the globe was damp on the inside. So, I let it sit for about 3 days and dry out and voila it was good as new!

I figured instead of a how much I love it type review, I would tell my experience about the abuse I gave it. However I don't recommend abusing your equipment on purpose!

excellent gear! i bought it for backpacking and use it all the time at home! thanks to the nrg kit, sold separatley, i can use it as an adjustable night light as well!

not too heavy for the amount of light, plenty to light your whole site for cooking or cards or whatever. good run time, mine lasts three nights on low being on all night. folds up nice and small, i paired mine with the orbit for inside the tent and now have the ultimate lighting sources for a comfort driven backpacker to use!

highly recommend both the apollo and orbit lanterns! i also have the icon which takes the same nrg kit and it works great also although the light levels are very hard to adjust between.

This lantern has the smoothest and most useful beam I've seen out of all of the LED lanterns on the market. Check them out side by side at any store allowing you to turn them on. It also avoids any direct view of the LED so it's never glary.

On top of this, it's nice that it takes the BD NRG rechargeable battery pack and can be dimmed to help the batteries last even longer. The collapsible design also makes it easy to pack. I highly recommend this product to anyone wanting a truly useful lantern, not just the cheapest one they can find.

I wish that this lantern were lighter (bad pun) and less expensive, but otherwise it meets all of my requirements.

The fact that BD has made obvious efforts to minimize environmental impact of its products (reminds me of its sister company, Patagonia) is important to me- I refer to their encouraging users to employ rechargeable power systems whether for lanterns, outerwear or headlamps.

The Apollo's quality of light as well as its intensity and control is excellent. I highly recommend the Orbit, a smaller version, as well.