Ozark Trail LED Rechargeable Lantern

The box for this "LED Rechargeable Lantern" says, "20 Super Bright White LED" and adds "35 LUMENS" in all caps.

Unlike some reviewers, I had no problems charging the lantern. Both a DC (car) and an AC (house) charger were stored inside the base.

But after fully charging the unit, I found it was good for little more than a nightlight. I would not want to try to read even a large print book with this lantern.

I searched and found out that "35 Lumens" is equal to approximately 3.111111 watts.

This is not as advertised or implied.

I found this chart at 
       www clarkhoward com / watt-to-lumen-lightbult-conversion /

Incandescent     Minimum
      Bulbs        Light Output
    40 watts        450 lumens
    60 watts        800 lumens
    75 watts       1100 lumens
   100 watts      1600 lumens
   150 watts      2600 lumens

Based on this chart, I estimate that a 35 lumens lantern is equal to approximately a 3.1111111 watt lightbulb.

Unfortunately, 3.1 watts is NOT "Super Bright". I'll be returning this item to WalMart for my $20 back. 

But if you need it to dimly light a tent overnight, or a living room during a power outage of short duration, this would probably be a good alternative, but I'm betting there are better alternatives on the store shelves.

If you didn't get chargers in the base of your unit, take it back to the seller and get them replaced. Shoppers may have stolen the power supply chargers.

I would not want to try to read even a large print book with this lantern.

This is not as advertised or implied.

We bought the Ozark Trail LED Rechargeable Lantern after a camping trip to Watkins Glen State Park. I had forgotten to include our light from home and decided it was time to get one and leave it with our camping gear so it would always be there.

Took it home and charge it per the instructions, worked great when we tried it. Ran it for a little over 30 minutes the first night. The second test night it started to dim out after about 10 minutes.

Recharged it again thinking something wasn't quite right and turned it on again for another test run. 45 Minutes into the test it started to peter out again. This was after a 9-hour charge. A long way from the 8 - 10 hours of use its suppose to light for.

Was thinking of getting a replacement till I read the other reviews of this product. Now I think I'll return it for a refund. Glad we bought it from Wal-Mart should be easy to take care of.

G. H. Candor, NY

We purchased this lantern yesterday at Wal-Mart after last week's storm and power failure and wanting to be better prepared besides having candles and flashlights.

I charged the battery with the included charger last night for 12 hours and popped the battery back into the lantern this morning to test it out.

The lantern did not work. I discovered that the battery pack sits loosely inside its compartment. Even when the velcro strap is tightly fastened, the battery does not connect with the points inside the lantern unless you lay it on its side. I made a small wedge out of a couple of flat craft sticks to keep the battery snug. The lantern stays lighted as it should.

However, after reading the alarming reviews about potential dangers of recharging it, I am returning this lantern to Wal-Mart.

I will check out other models on the internet first, and buy a safe, dependable American made rechargeable lantern for my next one.

I bought this 1 year ago and done as instructions said. It was a wonderful light thru summer camping. I recharged a couple times during winter and was real dim. Went to use this summer and would not even hold charge or light. Very disapointed and think the company should replace like Coleman does.

It was easy to use and WAS going to purchase one for my family members to have when power outage.

Purchased this for a camping trip, brought it home and had no way to charge it and no instructions just like most of the other people here have said.  Made due without, shelved it with the intent of returning it but never did. 

Every once in a while I'll open it up and look at it and swear I'm missing something.  No one would manufacture and sell something so incomplete and useless. It was just too amazing to believe. 

Now after reading these reviews I guess I believe it.  Fortunately tonight is garbage night so I can toss it out in its box with the receipt taped to it, totally unused and never have to this of this utter piece of crap ever again.

Nice job, Walmart. I can't say I haven't been warned about your crappy products before....Shame on me!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS LANTERN IS NOT SOLD WITH AN AC-CHARGER.

(not that anyone is going to read this before they buy this lantern. Who really reads product reviews before shopping at Wal-mart? Instead, you'll be roped in by the all-too-cheap price that only the great Wal-mart machine can provide for garbage disposable products....end of rant.)

This in itself would not bother me. What bothers me is that the packaging is not labeled as such. Instead it's conveniently ambiguous, stating "Battery can be recharged with AC/DC adapter."

What's more, upon driving home and realizing that there is no charger included, I then drive back to the store and find that they don't sell chargers for the lantern. Nice!

You'd be better off spending a few extra bucks on a Coleman

DON'T THROW THE LANTERN AWAY! The chargers are located in the bottom of lantern, just unscrew the bottom.

Mine didn't have any instructions, so I logged on here and lo and behold someone mentioned below to unscrew the bottom. When I did so, I was thrilled to find that there is the charger and car charger to charge the lantern. I just bought it tonight and was wondering what to do with it. E

Bought it today and was ready to return it because there were no instructions and no charger....UNTIL...I decided to check it out online and POOF...I read your reviews and someone else said to not return it because the chargers were under the lamp, to just unscrew it.

REVIEWS ARE GOOD FOR SOMETHING! I still think the manufacturer should provide instructions. We'll see how it holds up for the upcoming storm next week!

We bought the lantern so that it could use it during hurricane season. Worked good at the store and I bragged on it for 1 week then put it up to use it later.

A hurricane was heading in our direction so I took it out to make sure it worked. You could turn the crank for a few minutes and then cut on the light but the battery failed. So I cut on the light and as long as you were turning the crank the light would come on, the minute you stopped it would go out. As long as you were turning the crank the light would be on, the minute you stopped it would go out.

WHAT USE IS IT? $25 DOLLARS WASTED.

the battery for anyone trying to use the unit is six (6) volt and the outside says a 9 volt house will work and a 12 volt car charger will do the trick but that means they packaged the charger etc wrong as that much juice in that battery will melt it or cause a fire.

Just fyi, they are responsible for bad packaging as most people just follow directions without voltage knowledge. I wanted to buy a charger and saw all the trouble you other folks had so looked at the unit and am trying an old 5 volt unit I cut the cord on and am charging with to see how it will do.

Don't suggest you try unless you know what you are doing.

I just purchased this lantern at WalMart and am charging it right now for the first time. The instructions that came with it specifically say in bold "Do not charge the battery by other adaptors and cigarette charger cord") Was this warning in your instructions? I'm not pointing my finger at ya, just wondering.

The one thing I find contradictory in the directions is it says the green LED light will come on while it is charging. But, the green and red light are both on so, it's kind of vague. I will be home today so I will watch it carefully. If it gives me any trouble, back to WalMart it goes! Thanks for the words of caution.

Well, I got it at a Goodwill. I'd wager that this version is not available anywhere.

It has a 6-volt 2.8 Amp Hour Lead Acid battery. No charger, but I used some gator clips to attach a 500 ma charger to the screw posts and it charges well from 7.5 volts.

Glad I have experience with these batteries or I very well could have paid attention to the instructions. Overcharging may also be responsible for others' fast loss of battery life. If you overcharge a lead acid battery it can be damaged (even if it doesn't blow up).

Hail to all who have tried this thing... I'd wager it is no longer in production with such a horse of a battery.

Had this lantern for four years, and it worked great. Took battery out after each camping trip and recharged for next time, but now battery will not charge up. BUT used it for FOUR years, I say good product.

I say good latern for the money. Just hard to find a replacement battery.

This lantern gives a wide area of light that makes it easy to do chores after dark at camp. Other than that it's junk.

We had no problems charging the lantern with the AC adapter for the first charge. Next charge was done in the truck while driving. Smelled something burning, saw smoke coming from the battery, quickly unplugged the car plug. Both the battery and the recharger were melted.

I'm going to take it back to Wal-Mart but I no longer have the receipt. I'm printing some of the other reviews for this lantern to take with me, just in case the melted items aren't enough.

i bought this lantern last summer. first one i bought would not charge at all. i took it back to walmart and got another one. was able to charge the battery but i did not think the lantern was very bright. i have tried to recharge the battery this year and it will not charge, you cannot use other batteries than the rechargable one that comes with the lantern.

after reading the reviews i will not continue to try to recharge. i wish i had seen these reviews before i wasted my money on this product.

I honestly don't know how well the lantern works since I haven't used it yet. Didn't get to. Per the directions, I placed the rechargeable battery in the battery charger in less than 5 minutes smelled something not right. I took that battery off of the charger and noticed that not only the cradle had started to melt...but so did the battery itself as well as the power plug. Luckily I was monitoring it or else the house would have easily caught fire. Walmart must be buying from the cheapest China manufacturer they can find.

The light stayed bright with four regular flashlight D batteries for over 20 hours. I finally turned it off.

If you don't like throwing stuff away you can buy the battery cradle/pack at a Radio Shack for cheap made of plastic with two wires coming off of it. I use alligators clips to make the connection and it is polarity sensitive.

I'm going to cut the plastic up to make a better cradle or you can quick fasten it up with duct tape. Now I have a conversation piece of gear.

I bought two of them. They work just fine. I've had them for over 6 months and have had no problems with them whatsoever. I think a lot of the products just get mishandled in transport from one Walmart to another. But to be honest with you I wouldn't trust any other brand besides OZARK TRAIL and Walmart will give you your money back if you return it no questions asked.

The charger comes in the bottom of the lantern, it took me a few minutes to figure that out too.

Bought this lantern to use for camping. We got it home and couldn't figure out how to charge it. We couldn't find the charger or the directions in the box. After looking around online and in the box for a half and hour, we opened the BOTTOM of the lantern and there they were. The AC adapter, the car charger and the instructions were in the bottom of the lantern so that you can take everything with you when you go. Hope this helps everyone!

Used unit 3-4 times camping. Bright adjustable light. Unfortunately, the unit will not recharge. Would not recommend the unit for this reason.

Bought this lantern as a Christmas present for my 10-year-old daughter for indoor use. Lantern is bright enough for this purpose, but I could not figure out how to charge it.

After searching online and finding these reviews, I figured out that they did not include the charging base, which is probably a good thing since I don't need to burn down my house. I will be returning this lantern and getting a different brand that just uses batteries or a hand crank charger.

We charged the battery at home first and it was okay, but later charged using the car charger provided. We left it in our truck for a few minutes and when we came back smelled something "hot", saw a faint wisp of smoke and immediately unplugged. Not only the charger cradle, but part of the battery itself had melted. Could have been very dangerous. The only good part was that since we'd gotten it at a WalMart, they took it back without a hassle.

I bought this on the way to a camping trip. I decided to charge the battery on my way to the campsite, after a few minutes I noticed a bad smell and felt the charger was getting very hot. When I took the battery off the charger I noticed it was melting and so was the charger. I would not recommend this product as it is unsafe. I'm glad I didn't charge the battery unattended as it would have resulted in a fire.

Great light for the price!!!

I bought mine about 2 years ago and it's still going strong. Haven't had any trouble with the operations with the light, just be careful in cold weather the plastic handle is fragile. It gets cracks in it then breaks after awhile.

I would recommend this light to my friends!

I just tried charging my THIRD Ozark Trail Lantern. Yes, the THIRD! I was ever hopeful of this product.

All THREE batteries blew. They did not explode to cause damage, but cracked making a sound like a gun shot
Two batteries cracked along the top, releasing an oil like substance, the first one just cracked at the edge of the top.

Please do not buy this lantern. They are dangerous and useless if we cannot even charge them.

I've bought more Ozark products and they're cheaply made also. This lantern lasted five charges, now won't hold a charge. 

Wasted money on an Ozark tent, poles bent first time using it. 

Ozark products are cheap garbage. Spend a little more and go Coleman.

i have had many problems with this lantern and do not suggest it. the charger is acting weird saying its not do is not connected and i can't move it at all or the bulbs will knock loose and i will have to shake it constantly to get it back on.

i do not suggest this product to anyone. this the only Ozark Trail product i have and i plan on sticking with Coleman.

I got the lantern for Christmas. The first charge using the household adapter worked fine. When I tried to recharge it using the car adapter; the battery and charger both melted.

I came to this website to find out how to buy replacements. Glad I read the reviews. It’s going to be recycled.

As an avid RVer, it will be a long time, if ever, before I buy anything from Ozark Trail.

I bought the lantern for my disabled son to have a light source when the power went out. He had a propane lantern before but I was worried about lighting the thing. This lantern came with the charger, both AC and DC and worked great. My son dropped the lantern twice yesterday when we was trying to get the battery out and the thing does not work anymore. The battery is shot.

I was charging the battery in my house as the instruction stated and the side blew off the battery - I heard a loud pop. It had not been on very long. Thank God we were home.

No damage to my house or furniture. I am just glad it was in a corner where no one was hit by the flying plastic.

I got this lantern for my birthday. i didnt use it for about 2 months. when i finally got the thing ready to use for a camping trip it didn't even work. i tried to see what was wrong with the thing but nothing worked. i charged it for along time to. i do not recommend this product to anyone.

I thought I was crazy until I read a similar review below. Mine didn't come with a re-chargeable base either! It came with a cigarette charger and a plug-in - but nowhere can it be plugged in!

I think I'll try and return it even though I no longer have the slip. I'm sure Walmart-made-in-China will comp me.

As far as the lantern itself there was no problems, but the DC charger does not work properly. If it would be possible I would like to get a new one sent to me by mail, as this would save a lot in gas being I don't get to WalMart all that often.

it sucks, i charged the battery, when i went to put it in nothing happened, lo and behold, the post do not line up, neg. post doesn't even touch, all i can say is keep getting your junk from China, u and Walmart has my last purchase.

Worked great for a time or so but the battery and charger are HORRIBLE. After 1 trip they just about melted and broke. I definitely won't buy one again. A true hazard as it could have started a fire. I would NOT suggest buying one at ALL.

Bought the lantern at Wal-mart and took it to West Africa. Charge it mostly in sun, though occasionally we plug it in. We love this lantern and use it all the time! Don't leave on trips without it. Was disappointed we couldn't find any more.

Got it home and couldn't figure out how to charge the battery. Got on line and read all of the other reviews... it didn't come with the charger! Or directions. Good ol' Walmart, huh? This was a waste of my time.

I picked up this thing at Wally World and it came with no AC adapter or charger. What the heck? I went back and checked the other ones on the shelf...none had any adapters or chargers either!

The instructions, car charger and AC charger are located inside the lantern's bottom. Just unscrew the black bottom cap and sho nuff there you will find the aforementioned items.

Mike in pinson

The battery from this product leaked on my counter top causing damage. I would not recommend purchase.