I just received this lantern yesterday, plugged it in to charge it, and gave it a try today. Although the night light worked, the main bulb didn't light. After fiddling with it a bit, I realized that the reason it didn't light was that it was still plugged in. IF IT IS PLUGGED INTO A WORKING POWER SOURCE, THAT MAIN BULB ISN'T GOING TO LIGHT UNTIL THE POWER GOES OUT!

Just a mental lapse on my part, but I wonder how many other buyers have done the same thing, then returned it because they didn't think it was working.

It would be helpful if Coleman would put a reminder on their instructions that if you want to check to see that the batteries are charged and the bulb is working, unplug it from the power first!

I agree with other reviewers that I can't see any difference between the high & low settings. I'll have to wait until I've used it during a power outage to rate it further.

I bought this lantern after being caught in two major blackouts within a single month. I was at home during the second one, but my flashlight, as is usually the case, had low batteries. I spent three hours sitting in the dark, talking with my neighbors about when the lights would come back on. Then we all went home and went to bed.
That was when I decided not to be caught in a blackout without a reliable light source again. Most people rely on oil lamps or candles in such an emergency, but I suffer from chronic athsma and cannot endure the fumes of an oil lamp. Besides, oil lamps and candles produce heat and smoke, so enough of them to light a room will soon set off my smoke detectors. Not to mention that in a blackout, there is no air conditioning, so the room soon becomes a sauna. So my obvious choice was a battery powered electric light. I saw several cheaper lights, but they all used off the shelf batteries, which tend to run low if they sit in the lamp for too long, just like my flash light. (yes my flashlight was equipped with nicads, but my experience is that these run out even faster than ordinary grocery store brands.) It had to be able to recharge itself and hold the charge for a long time. After reading the reviews, this was the one I chose.
Kudos to the seller. They shipped promptly and the lantern arrived within a week. It is a compact, easy to carry, good sized lantern with the sturdy, well built look that I've always associated with the name of Coleman. The question I was most concerned with was: How much light did it actually produce? The specifications did not say and the one review that mentioned it said "enough to read by". Well, I can read by a four watt incandescent night light if it is held within two feet of the page, so that doesn't say much.
So, my first act was to check the instruction sheet so get the wattage of the lamp. It comes with a 9 watt fluorescent u-tube lamp. using a calculation of three watts incandescence being equal to one watt of fluorescence that means the equivalence of a 27 watt incandescent bulb. (Don't be fooled by the "energy saver" peoples rate of four watts incandescence to one of fluorescent. one of those "100 watts equivalent" energy savers actually only produces as much light as a seventy watt incandescent. try it at home if you don't beleive me.) I would say that a person with normal vision would have no trouble reading a phone book within a five foot radius of this lantern. Placed in the corner between a sofa and a chair with the light reflected off a light-colored wall anyone sitting on the chair or sofa could easily read a page of normal (10 pt.) print.
One small problem with the quality of the light. It is the same color temperature as those dreary lights in the opening scenes of "Joe and The Volcano". A harshly blue light to which the human eye does not respond well. As a result, it looks much dimmer than it actually is. The makers should really go to a lamp with a lower kelvin number. They should have little trouble finding a lamp to match the color of their famous gasoline lantern. the result would be a lamp with much more usable light, but the same power use.
To sum up, I bought this lantern for emergency lighting in case of power failure. It will serve this purpose admirably so I give it five stars. If I ever go camping again, or wish to take a walk down an unlit country road, I would be glad to have it with me. It is not a decorative room light, although with a different colored tube, it could be. it is for seing by when all other lights fail, and for that purpose, its form follows it function perfectly. It is a well designed product

Bought this for our camping trip and loved it. It worked great. Light was just the right amount.

We purchased two of these lanterns because we live in a remote area that frequently experiences power outages during the stormy months. Both lanterns arrived promptly, and we immediately plugged in the pair and let them remain in the outlet for a few weeks. When it came time to use them (during a power outage), one would not even turn on (in spite of the light that had remained on for that entire time showing that it was getting juice). Because we had heard such great things about these lanterns and have trusted the Coleman brand in the past, of course we had tossed all the packaging (making a return impossible - ugh!).

The other one -- ho hum. The light that was emitted was nice and bright but the lantern itself feels very cheap and plasticy.

We will spend more the next time around -- for something so important (be it for a camping trip or power outages: It's important to have light to see), we were silly to scrimp.

I purchased two of these lanterns Coleman Family-Sized Rugged Rechargeable Battery Lantern for my screened porch to provide light for normal use (not necessarily reading). They not only work great for that but are good to have in case of power loss during hurricanes or other emergencies.