Buy This, Not That Is a new review series on SPY where we recommend cheaper alternatives to expensive new products.
Millennials are famous for their design-first attitude toward life. Sure, we love things that are functional, but why can’t they look good too? As the Y2K fashion revival proves, until us Millennials came of age, the fashion of the aughts was absolutely embarrassing, and as everyone knows, Gen X took a very “Whatever, man” approach to design. You can thank millennials for the proliferation of DTC companies selling meticulously crafted home goods. Here at SPY, we would rather recommend a well-designed product that will last — even if it’s expensive — over a lower-quality alternative that lets you save a few bucks.
Snow Peak has a similar approach to outdoor gear, and the company has a design-first ethos that we admire. The outdoors company has a cult following for its “Japanese-designed, lifetime-guaranteed outdoor products”, and on Monday, March 14, the company released a gorgeous new camping lantern. Like all Snow Peak products, it’s a “legacy-grade” item that’s designed to last for as long as you go camping. In fact, it’s so well designed that you could also use this as a table lamp in your living room without sacrificing your home decor, hence the name, the Home & Camp Lantern.
Like most Snow Peak products, it’s a thing of beauty, and we would be thrilled to receive this as a gift.
It also costs $160, which is about $110 more than we’re willing to pay for a camping lantern. In this economy, we absolutely are looking to save money where we can, and while we aren’t judging anyone who does want a $160 camping lantern, we’re going with something more affordable.
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So instead, we’re recommending two alternatives to the Snow Peak Home & Camp lantern, neither of which are nearly as attractive.
Again, if you prioritize excellent design above all, and if you have some disposable income to spare on premium camping accessories, then go ahead and add Snow Peak’s Home & Camp Lantern to your shopping cart. Everyone else can keep scrolling.
LE LED Camping Lantern
This is one of the best-selling camping lanterns for sale at Amazon in 2022, and it’s got nearly 30,000 customer ratings and a stellar 4.7-star rating overall. In addition to the customer reviews, this $22 camping lantern provides up to 1,000 lumens. Compare that to the 400 lumens of the Snow Peak Home & Camp Lantern. This battery-powered camping lantern is not rechargeable, but we have included a link to a rechargeable model from the same brand if that’s important to you.
Coleman LED Camping Lantern
If you’ve ever gone camping, then you’ve probably used at least one Coleman product over the years. We’re big fans of this all-American brand, and the Coleman LED camping lantern provides 390 lumens. That’s 10 shy of the Snow Peak lantern, but Coleman also has an easy adjustment dial for controlling the brightness, which is lacking with Snow Peak’s one-button design. Like the LE Camping Lantern, this model runs on batteries.