Verdict
This is an excellent camping lantern for your caravan awning or to use when you just need a camping light outside for a while, to see what you’re eating from your barbecue during al-fresco meals after dark. It’s well made and good value for money, and the running costs are low, thanks to its use of an LED and a brilliant reflector.
Pros
The top slides down into the base, making it more compact
Medium price
Good quality
Oh yes, and it gives out a good amount of light!
Lasts for 10 hours on low, with four AA batteries
Cons
It’s a bit big to take to the washroom
There’s no torch mode as an option
Batteries aren’t great for the environment
Just like Kampa’s Zebedee, here’s another design of camping lantern that can be made smaller, so that it will become a compact unit when not in use. We think that the Outwell Morion is a little too big to be stashed in anything other than the most cavernous coat pocket, and it doesn’t have any form of torch built in, either.
So, the Outwell Morion is simply a battery-powered camping lantern, not a hybrid torch and lantern, like some rivals. You’ll find it an excellent lamp for lighting your awning, without the obvious dangers of candles or gas canister-powered lights. The SunnCamp Lantern that we also reviewed on the Practical Caravan test bench is an excellent lantern, giving out a lot of light, but some people will be put off by the need to change the little gas canister and mantle occasionally. Quite honestly, we’d recommend that you’re better off going for a battery-powered camping lantern like this Outwell Morion if you are camping with dogs whose waggly tails tend to sweep things off the table, or if your children are young, enthusiastic and full of beans.
Hang it from a tree as a beacon for your family as they return to base when you’re sitting outside at night. Sit it on top of your folding camping table and it will give you plenty of light so that you can see to eat your food. Use it while you play board games. Hang it from a tree while you’re sitting outside drinking tea with friends as you watch the stars come out. Inside the caravan, use the Outwell Morion to provide soft lighting in just one spot.
And of course, every household should have camping lights and a torch or two to fall back on during a power cut at home. We bet you’ll find this camping lantern handy finding things in the garden or shed at night, too. So it’s no single-use wonder that you buy for caravan holidays and then put to one side to gather dust.
In use, this has the smooth and well-designed feel that Outwell products are famous for. The top slides freely down into the base and notches shut. While we’re looking at the practicalities of this design it is great to discover that changing the four AA batteries couldn’t be easier, unlike the unit’s bigger sibling (the Outwell Carnelian 400 Lantern).
A 1W LED and very innovative reflector ensure that this lantern delivers an impressive spread of light. And the batteries are good for 10 hours in the lower-output mode.
If you buy one of these LED camping lights you won’t need to waste any time searching for a specialist gas canister stockist in order to keep the light on, since AA batteries are available in petrol stations, newsagents, convenience stores, supermarkets and motorway service stations everywhere.
The other battery-powered lanterns we tested were the Outwell Carnelian 400 Lantern, from £24.99 (our Practical Caravan camping lantern test winner), the Kampa Zebedee, from £4.99, Gelert 7W Lantern, from £13.50, Halfords S88899, from £19.99, Powerplus 3 in 1, from £21.99, Vango 24 LED Lantern, from £29, Gelert 7W U-Tube, from £19.99, and Vango Light Barrel, from £32.50.
We have reviewed many more camping lights and other items of camping equipment in Practical Caravan, so it’s worth browsing through our product tests before deciding what camping accessories to buy.
Hang it from a tree while you're sitting outside drinking tea with friends as you watch the stars come out.
