Lanterns, Headlamps and Batteries: Choosing an Outdoor Lighting Setup

A useful lighting setup starts with the task: illuminating a shared space, seeing nearby equipment or keeping your hands free. Compare the beam, power source and output modes together. The largest lumen number alone does not tell you which light will suit a campsite or a household lighting kit.

Use a lantern for area lighting

A lantern can stand or hang while several people use the surrounding space. Streamlight's Siege and Siege AA illustrate an important difference between similar names: they use different battery sizes and have different output levels.

• Siege AA lantern, model 44941: three AA alkaline batteries; white-light settings of 200, 100 and 50 lumens.
• The Siege lantern, model 44931: three D alkaline batteries; white-light settings of 540, 275 and 55 lumens.

Both offer white and red modes and can be placed upright or hung. Streamlight lists the alkaline batteries as sold separately. Include the correct battery size and quantity in your comparison rather than assuming similarly named lanterns use the same supplies.

Choose a headlamp around the beam you need

A headlamp follows your head movement and leaves your hands available. A broad beam for close work and a more concentrated beam for distance serve different purposes.

The Streamlight Bandit in black, model 61702, uses a broad, diffused beam. Its white-light high and low settings are 180 and 35 lumens. The rechargeable battery is built into the light, making it a different power arrangement from a headlamp with a removable battery pack.

The Streamlight ProTac 2.0 Headlamp, model 89001, uses one removable SL-B50 pack and USB-C charging. Its high, medium and low settings are 2,000, 650 and 110 lumens. Compare those modes with the job and carrying weight, rather than treating high output as the only useful setting.

Compare runtime at the same setting

Check which output mode a runtime describes. A manufacturer's low-mode runtime does not describe how long the light operates at maximum output. Beam distance is another separate specification: it should not be read as the width of an illuminated area.

Use manufacturer figures as comparison data and follow the instructions for the exact model. Keep the intended use, output setting and power source alongside the runtime when deciding what to carry.

Check the exact battery and charging arrangement

Before choosing spares, confirm the light's model number, approved battery type and included charging equipment. A rechargeable light does not necessarily use a removable battery, and a USB charging connection does not mean every battery pack is interchangeable.

The ProTac 2.0 Headlamp listing includes one SL-B50 pack. The separately listed Streamlight SL-B50 battery, model 22111, is an option for compatible models; check the manufacturer's compatibility information before ordering it for another light. Follow the manufacturer's charging instructions rather than substituting a battery by shape alone.

Review each linked product page for the current listing and package contents. For carrying and organizing your lighting equipment, see our outdoor daypack guide.

Sources checked October 30, 2026: Streamlight Siege AA, The Siege, Bandit and ProTac 2.0 Headlamp. Specifications refer to the models named above.