UCO Leschi Lantern + Flashlight

This small, lightweight, bright flashlight easily converts to a lantern. It's perfect for camping or backpacking.

The UCO Leschi is a bright flashlight in a small package, making it ideal for car camping or backpacking. It fits easily in the palm of the hand as a flashlight and the top pops up to make it a small lantern as well.

I tested the Uco Leschi light over several backpacking trips this summer, both during car camping at the trailhead and during the backpacking trip itself. I liked how the small light felt in my hand and the button on the end was easy to locate and depress even with bulky gloves on or in the middle of the night when it was pitch black.

When it was extended as a lantern it threw off a surprising amount of light at the picnic table, though less than a larger model might. If I was car camping for several days in a row a larger style might be preferable, but for a quick visit before a backpacking trip it was all I needed. It was useful for finding my way to the bathroom at night and locating lost objects in my tent. It fit easily into the small hanging pocket of my backpacking tent so it was easy to find.

I used the flashlight when backpacking on short overnights but when it came to a six-day trip I needed to maximize space and weight, choosing my UL headlamp instead.

The light comes with a small length of shockcord along the side. Apparently this is designed so the light can be affixed to a tree branch or other object. I did not find the cord useful. When I tried to hang the light in my tent, it kept shining up instead of down and I couldn’t find a way to make it more useful without bringing a carabiner or other object. The cord was too short to be used with any but the most slender tree branches and it was difficult to get the light to shine where I wanted it. This was a minor concern and I ended up removing the cord and didn’t miss it.

When collapsed, the light is 3.75 inches long compared to 5 inches when extended as a lantern. The white LED light has three modes: high intensity (110 lumens), low intensity, and flashing strobe. The maximum bean distance is 122 meters.

After pushing the soft button on the end one of the modes comes on. With the next push it turns off. Each time the button is pushed it advances it through the modes, which can be a bit confusing: turns on low, then off, then high, then off, then strobe, etc.

The light takes one AA battery. On my digital scale, with the battery installed, the light weight 2 3/8 oz. This is less weight than many headlamps (but heavier than a few UL models).

The Uco Leschi Lantern + Flashlight is a small, lightweight light that is versatile enough to shine brightly as a hand-held flashlight or upright lantern while camping or backpacking. It would also fit easily into the glove box of a car or boat as an emergency light.