Outdoors · Head-to-head
Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern & USB Power Hub vs Black Diamond Orbiter 650 Lantern
Which should you buy? Our verdict on both, pulled from our full The Best Camp Lanterns: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) comparison.
The Lighthouse publishes runtime at four separate settings and can be cranked by hand when everything else is dead. The Orbiter is brighter, lighter on charge time and uses the connector everything else in your bag already uses.
Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern & USB Power Hub
Buy itThe most completely documented lantern here, and the only one that works with no power source at all.
- Publishes runtime at multiple settings, including 320 hours on one side at low and 5 hours on one side at high, which is the disclosure the category usually skips.
- Built-in hand crank means it still produces light when the battery is flat and there is no sun and no socket.
- Battery stated properly as 5200 mAh and 18.98 Wh at 3.65 V, so you can actually compare it to a power bank.
- Directional design lets you light one side only, which doubles runtime and stops the lantern blinding everyone at the table.
- 600 lumens is the middle of this group rather than the top.
- Six hour charge time from a USB source, which is slow next to a modern USB-C device.
- At 498 grams it is among the heavier options for what it produces.
Black Diamond Orbiter 650 Lantern
Buy itBrightest of the four, charges over USB-C, and states its runtime at both ends of the dial.
- 650 lumens is the highest stated output here, and the page gives max distance at three settings rather than just the headline figure.
- USB-C charge in, which by now is the connector everything else in the bag already uses.
- 240 hours on low is a genuinely long tail, and 4 hours on high is stated plainly rather than implied.
- IPX4 rating stated explicitly, plus folding legs and a collapsible double-hook loop so it hangs or stands.
- 4 hours on high is the shortest high-setting runtime in this comparison.
- At 508 grams it is the heaviest lantern here.
- Charging small electronics from it will eat the runtime you were relying on for light.
Side by side
| Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern & USB Power Hub | Black Diamond Orbiter 650 Lantern | |
|---|---|---|
| Our verdict | Buy | Buy |
| Best for | Camping where recharging is uncertain, and emergency kit at home where a dead battery is the whole problem. | General camp lighting where brightness matters and everything else charges over USB-C. |
| Price tier | $$ · mid-range | $$ · mid-range |
The bottom line
Our overall pick is the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern & USB Power Hub - The most completely documented lantern here, and the only one that works with no power source at all. Choose the Black Diamond Orbiter 650 Lantern instead if general camp lighting where brightness matters and everything else charges over USB-C.
Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Camp Lanterns: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).