Welcome to the 30-Day Duro lantern review!
I’ve been using a 30 Day Duro Lantern as my main camp lantern for the last few years. I’ve also used it for night hiking, stapling attic foil in the attic to reduce solar load on the ceiling members, switching out old light switches and outlets at my place during renovation, and just walking the dogs around the block at night. I think I’ve used it enough to issue an opinion, so let’s get to it.
Power Efficiency
Of course the big feature of this lantern is that it’s super energy efficient, with the manufacture claiming it can run for 30 days on its lowest luminosity setting (30 lumens), hence the name. The other claims are a 12 hour run time on high (1000 lumens) and 30 hours on medium (400 lumens). It does this with three D sized batteries.
I’ve never tested these claims in an experimental fashion, but I can tell you that over the course of two years of using it in the multiple setting mentioned above, the batteries never discharged past the point of failure. I did change out the batteries for a recent camping trip, not because the two year old ones weren’t still going – they were; it’s just the lantern had a mild to moderately reduced luminosity at its highest setting, secondary to 2 years of power drain on the batteries. (I still kept the old batteries as a back up.) Based on this experience with the lantern, I have no reason to doubt UST’s efficiency claims.
Luminosity
Does the lantern feel as bright as the old school 1970’s, liquid fuel, Coleman lantern, that my dad would bring with us, to camp along the New River in West Virginia? No, even on its highest setting it doesn’t feel as bright in the darkness of camp, as that old beast. That thing, you couldn’t look directly at, it was so bright.
But does it do its job around camp credibly? Yes, it keeps you doing tent and food chores with no problem. And maybe that’s a good thing, as you’re less likely to suffer night blindness using it, than with the wick-and-fuel alternative.
Below is a video of me sitting at a camp site in El Capitan State Beach. For the first minute I’m sitting by the fire with no immediate artificial light aiding the video, save for my tent lights from my DIY solar battery bank in the background. At around 1 minute into the video I bring the 30 Day Duro next to me, on its highest setting, so you can get a feel for the level of brightness it can dispense in a camp setting.
I’ve even used the 30 Day Duro as a sleeping night light in the tent, on it’s lowest setting, with no fear of leaving it on for 6 or 8 hours overnight.
Durability
No problems here at the 2 year mark. I’ve dropped it multiple times, and it’s spent plenty of moments in the cargo area of my Prius Prime, being rolled back and forth, as I drive. Mine has a white colored finish on the rubber areas, which does look mildly dirty at this point, but looks like the latest lots off the production line are grey, green, or bright orange, so maybe there’s less to worry about there.
Opening up the globe, the inside of the lantern still looks clean, thanks to a rubber gasket around its screw mechanism that connects it to the lower half of the lantern. I noted a small piece of leaf related debris sitting in the inner lip of the screw assembly of this lower half, which likely made its way in there when I had it open for some reason – curiosity maybe. UST says the led bulb will last the lifespan of the lantern. I have no anecdotes to disagree with that.
The globe is made of a thick, stiff and durable hard plastic, with a conical shape in its inner top area that looks like it gives good structural strength to the lantern. The outside of the globe shows no wear. My Duro’s handle is still perfectly affixed, and has not worn loose at its attachments to the globe. There is no visible wear on the handle; though it does have a small grained, spongy black rubber coating on it that makes any wear hard to see.
The bottom screw mechanism to reach the batteries is still frictionally tight, so no fears of coming apart, or partially doing so, leaving room for dirt to enter the electronics. This thick screw mechanism is tons more durable than one of those thin plastic battery doors in some electronic devices, that rely on a small piece of such being flexible enough to work as a plastic latching spring, but which ultimately break with use or environmental externalities. The lantern is well designed in that respect.
The spring that operates the on/off button still feels brand new and tight, when activating the lantern.
Usability
The 30 Day Duro is compact enough that it fits in my plastic storage box, which holds my camping gear. It fits in little cubby-hole areas of my packed car when we’re going camping. It fits in my day-hiking pack, though its kinda a space hog in there. It’s light enough that it’s not too annoying to carry on a two mile or less hike; though a good flashlight is preferred for that exercise.
The circular top of the handle makes it more ergonomic to carry around, as it fits more naturally in the palm of your hand when your fingers are folded over to carry it.
The on/off features have a flat learning curve: press once for the brightest feature, press twice for the second brightest, etc.; and once on for a few seconds, one more press of the button turns it back off, rather than continuing to shuffle to the next luminosity mode.
Works Best For
- This lantern works best for individual lighting needs, or groups of people of three or less.
- It works best for immediate working areas, like the inside of a tent or a picnic table.
- Trying to light an entire campsite goes beyond the scope of this unit.
- The lantern works best for small car + tent camping, where space is at a premium.
Further Reading
Thanks for reading my 30-Day Duro review, and hope this article was usefully for you to plan your next lantern purchase! I’m also currently looking at the Black Diamond 400 Spot-R rechargeable headlamp in my Hiking Gear and Camping Gear sections of this site, so check out what’s up with that to continue your lighting research.