Guyot Designs Firefly

This is a great little addition to any backpacker's supply stash. Since it fits on a standard wide-mouth Nalgene that most people would already be carrying in the backcountry, it doesn't require any additional space in your pack AND it turns your water bottle into a multipurpose item.

The quality of the light is perfect for providing enough light to see around inside the tent. It's not enough light to read by, and it's not enough light to use as a task light, but I would use a small headlamp for both of those needs anyway.

It is perfect for a night light or for "mood lighting" inside the tent (or for when your 3-year-old nephew rolls off his air bed in the middle of the night and you don't want to blind everyone in the tent by turning on a bright headlamp), and it's also enough light to light your way through the woods if you don't want to kill your night vision.

Like the other reviewer said, it doesn't give off enough light for what most people want for car camping, but that's not what it's designed for. I hate the blinding light of fuel lanterns in a campground anyway. I love the Firefly for what it is. And when I need brighter task lighting, I use my headlamp.

The only cons are the added weight (though it doesn't weigh much, it's still a few additional nonessential ounces) and the fact that a tiny jeweler's screwdriver is necessary to change the batteries.

But to counter those drawbacks, I will say that I consider it a luxury and not a necessity in the backcountry, and I always check the batteries before I head out.

I have mine on a purple Nalgene, which puts off a really pretty glow.

I love this product. You have to understand its strengths and limitations before you sign on, though.

Strengths: It's light, rugged and small, which is hard to say for most lanterns.

Limitation: it's not bright. We bought ours on a trip that involved airline travel, and the conventional lantern was too big to take.

Many people will need/expect this lantern to throw more light than it does. Sorry this doesn't compete at all with a Coleman lantern, if you need to light up a whole campsite, get a propane or liquid gas lantern. The Guyot lights a circle of 4-5 feet and it's most effective when you're a long ways away from any other light source. It provides enough light to cook, wash some dishes, or walk to a latrine. In the gear loft, it can be dimmed to make a night light for the kids.

We use ours with a white polyethylene bottle which diffuses the light very nicely. Having liquid in the bottle has no effect on the light diffusion.

One other surprise: it requires a jewelers phillips head screw driver to install batteries.