# Coleman Lantern Reflector



## jbo9 (Oct 30, 2012)

"I've gotten to the point I kind of enjoy having a lantern along when I feed and milk at night, it sits there without rolling away or batteries fading out like a flashlight. I just kind of wish there was a way to send some of the light that's shining into the barn wall this way to make it just a little brighter." (says I, to myself) "What if I made a reflector, would that work?"

I see that there are reflectors for Coleman lanterns. Are they worth it? do they work as well as you might hope?

What about covering half of the globe, on the outside, with aluminum foil? Would that do anything? Or would I just increase the likelihood of a fire?


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

I always just used aluminum foil, and I've used it a lot.  The sole light in my cabin was a Coleman lantern. However, it was stationary, and you are going to be using your's as a portable. You're going to have to figure a way to affix it. Maybe better to cut an appropriate sized piece of flashing that is the right height to go between the lower plate and the top.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

We also use alum foil on one half of the globe. We would slip the val over our arm and hold the bottom so it was at an angle when sucker spearing. Did it the same way when tracking a bow shot deer thru the woods at night. Also worked well handing from a lantern holder on the boat when night fishing for trout.

 Al


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

When I was a boy my dad and I made our living one whole summer catching flounder, using gasoline lanterns with reflectors just as you describe. We first cut open shiny tin cans, big tomato juice cans and wired that metal around the outside of the globe--on those lanterns there were two uprights that we could tie to. 

Later we were able to buy stainless steel reflectors made for the purpose. They directed the light into the water we fished, keeping the glare out of our eyes.

We tilted the lanterns by using a piece of copper wire tied around the bottom of the gas tank and to the middle of the bail, adjusting it so that when we held the bail the tilt was where we wanted it. 

When we got the stainless reflectors they came with a handle so that you could direct the light wherever you wanted it. The handles were awkward, hurt your wrist if you held them long, so we used the wire to keep the tilt where we wanted it.


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## K-9 (Jul 27, 2007)

I have used the store bought ones and the aluminum foil ones and they both work fine, just wrap the top and bottom of the aluminum foil inside the globe to hold it in place. A set up that I saw that worked even better was a fella took a piece of metal that appeared to be flashing and had polished it to a mirror finish and made a reflector out of that by sliding it between the supports and the globe, it seemed to make the lantern a whole lot brighter.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

K-9: It does two things: It keeps the light out of the holder's eyes and it reflects all the light back in one direction--It does make the beam in front brighter. We could see the bottom of the bay much better with the reflector than without it.


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## Badger (Jun 11, 2010)

I have them both with the aluminum foil and the coleman reflector - the coleman reflector is better but it won't fit in the case with it on. If you don't frequently case it I recommend the reflector - they're not that expensive. I have a 295 with the reflector and it's incredibly bright. I usually use it around the barn and fishing at night so I can sit in the dark and not get so many bugs.


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## dltasig7 (Feb 5, 2015)

We use a piece of foil on ours for night bullheadin'


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