Brunton Liberty
| Date of Review: | April 9, 2004 | |
| Reviewer: | Wes Kisting | |
| Product: | Brunton Liberty lantern | |
| Cost: | $110.00 | |
| Construction: | platinum element, metal cage, mirrored reflector wings, piezo-electric ignition. | |
| Manufacturer: | Brunton | |
| Testing Conditions: | overnight camping in Midwest, calm to mildly breezy weather, 50 degrees Fahrenheit | |
| Familiarity: | two nights | |
| Best Suited For: | hi-tech gear-nuts who want the latest technology, even if it leaves them in the dark | |
| Quick Rating: | Q8 - V2 - U5 What do these numbers mean? |
Going Mantleless
Until now, fuel-fed lanterns have relied on mantles to generate light. What's a mantle? It's that little pouch of knitted fabric that you slide over the gas jet to act like the filament in a light bulb. Anyone who has used one knows that once you light a mantle, it turns ashen white and becomes very, very delicate. If the mantle remains intact, it can be used for hours and hours. However, if a once-burned mantle gets jostled around hard enough in your pack or in your hull, it flakes apart and becomes a fire hazard. Instead of a bright, concentrated source of fully-contained light, it either sends flames dancing out the top of the lantern or refuses to light at all. Enter the Brunton Liberty, the first iso-butane lantern which promises to set us free of the mantle.
How does the Liberty liberate us? Well, in place of the usual cylindrical-shaped fuel jet, it houses what appears to be a dome-shaped metal micro-screen. This screen serves the same purpose as a mantle, but being metal, it is far more durable and should never need to be replaced. Since spare mantles only cost about a dollar each, I can't say this will save you any money exactly, but it will save you a bit of hassle. When you're packing up camp, all you have to do is fold the Liberty shut and toss it in your pack. Since it's made with the usual outstanding Brunton quality, and there's no glass globe or delicate mantle, there's virtually nothing to break, bend, shatter, or flake. Think of the Liberty as the "no worries" lantern for heavy-duty abuse.
Bright Idea, Dim Product
Since I've never had much of an issue with mantles and mantle-equipped lanterns, I can't really explain why I think the idea of a mantleless lantern is so cool. Maybe it's just the feeling that the Liberty somehow simplifies an already-simple gadget. Or maybe not. It's true the Liberty simplifies by getting rid of globes and mantles, but it also complicates. The trade-off for going mantleless and globeless is the addition of an air-flow regulator. Not only do you need to adjust the fuel, but you also need to adjust the air flow to achieve a bright, consistent glow. As a result, dimming or brightening the Liberty is not a simple case of turning the fuel knob clockwise or counter-clockwise. Instead, you must learn to adjust the gas and the air flow simultaneously, fiddling with both controls in a not-so-intuitive manner until the desired light level is achieved. It's probably not as complicated as it sounds if you're content with just getting the lantern to produce light, but if you're the sort of camper who likes to have absolute control over the level of light produced, the Liberty will almost certainly frustrate and probably disappoint.
For me, the most disappointing aspect of the Liberty is its utter lack of brightness. The lantern source is nestled between two wing-like, mirrored reflectors which focus the light too much in one direction—and even in that one direction, the light still seems surprisingly dim. I tried setting a tent up in the dark with the Liberty, but where my old Markill Astro Lantern would've kicked out light like a halogen lamp, the Liberty had me tripping over cords, squinting into dark corners, and feeling around for tent stakes. Instead of a clean white light, it casts a yellow-tinted glow that makes the vision feel fuzzy and fails to push back the night. I really don't know why this is so, since looking straight into the Liberty is a lot like looking into a miniature sun. If you play with the fuel and air flow knobs long enough, you can almost manage to get enough brightness out of the Liberty to play cards or read by, but even in close quarters, the less-than-clean glow of this lantern makes the world feel dim. Brunton rates the Liberty's output at an approximate 80 watts of light, but while the platinum element certainly appears as bright as an 80 watt bulb, its light simply does not travel very far out beyond the edges of the lantern.
Final Comments
The Liberty is a brilliant idea, but a less-than-perfect realization of that idea. If you need a stove that is built tough-as-nails, the Liberty delivers in this regard. But if you want enough light to really light up the place, stick with one of the dramatically cheaper, noticeably brighter, mantle-equipped lanterns. As for me, I'm content with a campfire and an LED headlamp. Having said that, I give Brunton a lot of credit for clever innovation and I look forward to seeing whether the Liberty's mantleless, globeless technology will continue to improve until mantles and globes really do become obsolete.
[Editor's Comment: Thanks to Brunton for loaning us the equipment for this review.]
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