Black Diamond Moji camping lantern review: a bargain gem

Meet the Black Diamond Moji – this little camping lantern is small and simple, but still packs in a respectable 100 lumens (the measure of a lantern's brightness) of light. With a super-cheap price tag, it's one of Black Diamond's most popular designs, but can it hold its own against the best camping lanterns around? Here's our Black Diamond Moji camping lantern review. 

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Black Diamond Moji camping lantern review: design and features

Designed to hang in small backpacking tents, and to fit easily into a backpack or a pocket when you're on the go, this little light is firmly aimed at wild campers, bike packers, backpackers and anyone else travelling without bulky camping equipment. The Moji is a simple, battery-powered light with a dimmer mode, and its dinky size and light weight at 123g make it an easy lantern to pack in a hiking backpack pocket and then forget about until it's time to set up camp. The pearly globe lantern gives off a functional white light with a max of 100 lumens – enough to illuminate a small tent. Various colourways are available – we tested out the battery-charged version of this light, but a rechargeable version, the more expensive ReMoji, is also available. 

Black Diamond Moji camping lantern review: performance

The Moji is as simple as it looks to use – turn it on, use the dimmer switch to control the intensity of the 100 lumen light, or turn it off. The top of the lantern has two metal hooks that unfold, making it easy to hang up in your tent or from a tree branch, or to tie up around camp with string. The light is perfect for one or two-man backpacking tents, and offers enough light when you're setting up sleeping bags, or for reading or playing cards before bedtime. In a big family tent or a glamping tent its light will get lost, and you'll need a bigger and brighter lantern. 

The only downside for us is that the Moji takes AAA batteries – we usually prefer USB-charged lanterns, which are better for the environment. That said, a battery-charged lantern is handy if you're off on expedition or camping in the backcountry, far from electricity, provided you take plenty of spares. Black Diamond reckons this lantern has a battery life of 70 hours – we found it worked well for a whole week of camping before the light started to dim and it needed a battery refresh.

Black Diamond Moji camping lantern review: verdict

The small but mighty Black Diamon Moji camping lantern is perfect if space and weight are at a premium when you're wild camping or backpacking, but still want the practicality and comfort of a cheery little light come bedtime. This pocket-sized lantern comes at a pocket-friendly price, too, so we reckon adding one to your camping kit list is a bit of a no-brainer.