so... which are better?

are tilley lamps safe in a tent? do they honestly give out warmth? do new recharageable ones really hold their charge that well? in the long run which works out better?

my rechargeable one has given up the ghost and i'm not sure which one to replace it with.

it's for tent camping only, probably only in summertime, likely to have usage for 2-3 hours a night. budget is pretty lean..

thoughts please people :)

x

i have a coleman lantern that runs on petrol this gives off heat

thanks... think i'll keep scouring ebay and see what comes up... :)

I always use glow sticks for in-tent illumination. I'd be pretty circumspect about having any kind of burning thing in my tent.

Small glow sticks (1") are good for guy lines too - avoid nasty trips in the dark.

glow sticks? you raver you :)
can you get reuseable ones?
i'm pretty reluctant to have anything burning in the tent too, but i wasn't sure if that was just me being over-careful..

No they're not reusable. Snap one when it gets dark and you have illumination for 8 hours, with the first two being really bright.

I love chemical lights. They are cold, inert, always on, and have a predictable and infallible lifespan. They've got good shelf life and they're not terrifically expensive.

For just moving around in the dark, get the tricolor glow necklaces - they're the same principle (chemical lights). These glow red green/yellow and blue, one third of the circle in each colour.

If you use them as a headband, you can switch between red light and green/yellow (blue is too dim to be of use) by rotating them around your head. They provide perfect low ambient light for rolling cigarettes or operating cameras in the darkness without burning out your night vision (red) or enough light to read by (green yellow).

These are available in packs of 100 for around a tenner.

Take a torch, and a lantern too, but no camping trip is complete without glowsticks for both fun and safety.

Anything that reduces the risk of your tent catching fire, like not having a source of ignition inside, is recommended.

your definition of chemical lights sounds remarkably like my mate's mother in law, excepting the last sentence.

i will stock up. i will also be keeping an eye out for you on site, i only hope that the dim red glow i follow will indeed be you rolling a smoke, rather than someone else indulging in less salubrious activities. thanks for the advice :)

Tilley lamps (paraffin) or Coleman (petrol) are superb for outdoor use.
Both give off heat as welll as a good light for those evenings socialising with friends outsideyour tent.

For in tent use stick to battery powered.
Led lighting is the most economical.

http://www.heinnie.com/product.asp?P_ID=4581

Though in my little one man tent i use the mini version (http://www.jackson-sports.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5786&PartnerID=23&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=Google-Shopping-UK).

cool. thanks :)

I'd never use a naked flame inside a tent, after seeing a tent go up. A guy was lighting his second tilley, the first was already on, and the second sprayed gas and the flame reached the first, already lit, tilley! Not pretty.

I don't like any gas inside tents, either.

Tilleys are fantastic for outside, unbeatable, I think, but you have to be very careful with them.

For inside, I love my rechargeable/plug in lanterns that are remote control. It's great to light your tent up on the way back from the pub, as you're trying to navigate across the dark field. As Phanorytheme said, glow lights are great for guys and for inside tents when you're ready for sleeping, they are also brilliant for giving the kids to wear when you're walking back in the dark on country lanes.

I'll give you one of my best tips: for kids at night (big and little!), buy one of those colour change, led lights, that take the little watch batteries, they absolutely love them, and they look great in tents at night.