Lepro Camping Lantern 280 lm
A 280-lumen lantern with 360° output hiding a 3000 mAh battery: it lights the tent at night and brings your phone back to life in the morning.
Characteristics
- Lighting: 280 lm over 360°, 3 modes
- Battery: 3000 mAh, doubles as a power bank
- Runtime: 5 h at 280 lm, 11 h at 140 lm
- Mounting: Two magnets and two loops, IPX4
- A lantern that also recharges your phone
Detailed overview: Lepro rechargeable camping lantern 3000 mAh
The Lepro camping lantern belongs to that category of simple objects you underestimate until you need one. Unlike a flashlight or a head lamp that throws a beam in a single direction, it spreads its 280 lumens over 360°. The result is even, ambient light with no harsh cast shadows, well suited to the inside of a tent, a camping table or a hallway during a power outage.
Its distinctive feature, and the reason it sits in this category, is the 3000 mAh battery: it does not just feed the LED, it also behaves like a small power bank. A USB port lets you plug in a phone and give it roughly half a charge. Output is capped at 5W, so charging is slow, but on a campsite or during an outage, waking a smartphone up to make a call makes a real difference.
The three lighting modes are clearly separated and translate into very different runtimes: 280 lumens for around 5 hours at full power, 140 lumens for around 11 hours on the medium setting, and a flashing signal mode that lasts about ten hours. The medium mode does most of the work, and it comfortably covers two or three evenings without a recharge.
The mounting system deserves a closer look. Two magnets sit in the base: they let you clamp the lantern onto any metal surface, a car hood, a door, a shed frame or a steel table leg, and free up both hands. Two folding metal loops complete the setup so you can hang it, notably upside down from the highest point of a tent, the most effective position since the light falls from the ceiling. The IPX4 rating protects it from splashing water, so it copes with a shower under an awning or a damp night in the mountains, though it is not designed to be submerged.
At 2.8 in (7 cm) across and 6.2 oz (176 g), it slips into a side pocket of a backpack. It is a piece of camping, family holiday and household emergency kit, provided you accept its limits: for extended reading or precise task lighting a head lamp remains complementary, and to seriously recharge several devices you need a proper power bank.
This exact 280 lm/3000 mAh model appears to have been discontinued in the US: both the Amazon listing and Lepro's own US store now show the newer 410 lm/3600 mAh version under the same product page. No US retailer selling this specific model was found at the time of writing; this fiche exists for reference and will be updated if a US listing reappears.
Full specifications
Detailed characteristics
Battery
| Rated capacity?Cell capacity in milliamp-hours, as stated by the manufacturer. | 3000 mAh |
|---|---|
| Actual energy?Actual stored energy in watt-hours; what matters for runtime and air travel (100 Wh cabin limit). | 11.1 Wh |
| Battery chemistry?Cell type; LFP lasts longer, Li-ion/LiPo is lighter. | Li-ion |
Output (device charging)
| Max output power?Maximum total power delivered; above 60 W it can charge a laptop. | 5 W |
|---|---|
| USB-A ports?Number of USB-A ports and maximum power. | 1 × 5 W |
| Wireless charging (Qi)?Inductive charging of a phone placed on top, and its power. | No |
| Magnetic attachment (MagSafe)?Attaches magnetically to the back of a MagSafe-compatible iPhone. | No |
Recharging the power bank
| Recharge power (input)?Maximum input power to recharge the power bank; higher means faster. | 5 W |
|---|
Cable and interface
| Built-in cable?A cable is permanently attached to the power bank (nothing extra to carry). | No |
|---|---|
| Retractable cable?The built-in cable retracts into the housing. | No |
| Cable included?A cable is included in the box. | Yes |
| Display?Level display: simple LED indicators or a digital screen (%, watts). | LED indicators |
| LED light?Built-in LED torch / light. | Yes |
Form factor
| Weight?Weight of the power bank, in grams. | 6.2 oz (176 g) |
|---|---|
| Dimensions (L × W × D)?Length × width × depth, in millimetres. | 2.8 × 2.8 × 2.5 in (70 × 70 × 63 mm) |
Availability and warranty
| Market launch?Date the model first became available on the European market. Useful to place its generation: technology moves fast in this segment, and a device several years old may be at the end of its commercial life. | January 2016 |
|---|
⚡ How many charges with this power bank?
With 11.1 Wh of capacity, the Lepro Camping Lantern 280 lm power bank recharges iPhone 16 ~0.6 times or Samsung Galaxy S25 ~0.5 times.
| Smartphone | Charges |
|---|---|
| iPhone 14 | ~0.6 |
| iPhone 17 Pro | ~0.5 |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | ~0.4 |
| Xiaomi 17 Pro Max | ~0.3 |
| Tablet / console | Charges |
|---|---|
| iPad mini (A17 Pro) | ~0.4 |
| iPad Pro (M5) | ~0.3 |
| Xiaomi Pad 7 | ~0.2 |
| Asus ROG Ally X | ~0.1 |
Rough estimate: real-world losses (conversion, cable, heat) are around 25 to 35%.
Comparison
The Lepro lantern competes with rechargeable camping lanterns that double as backup batteries, through searches such as "rechargeable camping lantern" or "tent light power bank". Here is how it stacks up against three alternatives: the Olight Olantern Classic 2 Pro, the Nitecore LR70 and the Nitecore NWL30 work light.
| Criterion | Lepro 280 lm | Olight Olantern Classic 2 Pro | Nitecore LR70 | Nitecore NWL30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brightness | 280 lm | 300 lm | 3000 lm | 3000 lm |
| Capacity | 3000 mAh | 11,200 mAh | 10,000 mAh | 18,000 mAh |
| Power bank function | Yes, 5W | Yes, 18W | Yes, 18W | Yes, 20W |
| Water resistance | IPX4 | IPX5 | IP67 | IP66 |
| Observed price | Not currently sold in the US | ≈ $100 | ≈ $80 | ≈ $108 |
In short, the Lepro is the only one in the group to combine 360° lighting and a power bank function under $35. The Olight Olantern plays in a completely different register, that of atmosphere and design, while also carrying a genuine 18W rescue output and nearly four times the capacity. The Nitecore LR70 and NWL30 are far more powerful and store three to six times the energy, which makes them genuine backup batteries, but at two and a half to three and a half times the price. If you want a compact tent light able to rescue a phone without weighing down your bag or your budget, the Lepro covers exactly that need.
Related video
Video: LE® USB Rechargeable LED Camping Lantern 280lm/3000mAh Power Bank Review - Published on 18/03/2016
Our tester's review: Guillaume Hoarau
We took this little Lepro on several overnight trips, and it occupies a category of its own: it is neither really a lamp nor really a battery, it is a small backup that does both jobs properly. Its 280 lumens are not impressive on paper, but spread over 360° inside a two-person tent they are more than enough to read, cook or rummage through a bag without dazzling anyone. The medium 140-lumen mode is the one we used 90% of the time, and it runs for eleven hours, which covers two or three full evenings. The two magnets in the base are the genuinely clever part: stick it to the hood of a van or the frame of a garden shed and your hands are free, which beats any hook. The two folding loops are still there to hang it from the top of a tent, the ideal position for even lighting. Treat the power bank function for what it is: 3000 mAh is roughly half a charge for a recent smartphone, and the output tops out at 5W, so it is slow. It is a safety net to wake a phone up and make a call, not a replacement for a proper power bank. Two reservations: the housing, an aluminum ring closed by a plastic diffuser, shows its age next to recent lanterns, and micro-USB charging still means carrying a specific cable. For the price, the package remains very coherent.
In-depth review Lepro 280 lm: our full review 3.7/5 Read our full review → Capacity and runtime 3.8 Output power 3.4 Size and weight 4.2 Ports and cables 3.0 Recharging 3.7 Build and endurance 4.0Frequently asked questions: Lepro rechargeable camping lantern 3000 mAh
Yes, and that is its distinctive feature. Its 3000 mAh battery feeds a USB port and returns roughly half a charge to a recent smartphone. Output is limited to 5 W, so it is slow: think of it as a way to wake a phone up rather than a true power bank.
Around 5 hours at full power, at 280 lumens. On the medium 140-lumen setting it runs for close to 11 hours, which covers two or three evenings of camping. The flashing signal mode lasts about ten hours.
Two folding metal loops let you hang it upside down from the highest point of the tent, the most effective position since the light falls from the ceiling. Two magnets in the base offer an alternative on any metal surface.
Its IPX4 rating protects it against splashing water from any direction. It therefore copes with a shower or a damp night under an awning, but it is not designed to be submerged or exposed to a powerful jet.
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