I’m going to show you how to make a cheap and easy lantern for camping that you can use with isopropyl alcohol or lamp oil. Lamp oil will freeze in the winter into wax. This lantern is great for camping because it will have a lid that you can screw on so you can toss the lantern in your pack.

Tools needed: Drill (hand or electric, super glue, scissors)

First off you need a wick.

The Wick

Then you are going to need something that is non-flammable and that won’t melt. For this I used a cork and drywall molly insert. The cork should be the same size as the opening of your bottle. You want it to fit snugly. The molly’s opening should be slightly smaller than whatever round wick you found.

The Cork

Drywall Molly

Now we need a vessel for our light and heat goodness. For this, I chose the Aquapod. It sits low and squat and has less of a tendency to tip over.

The Vessel

Now comes the hard part (it’s easy).

First, fill your bottle with your fuel of choice. Second, drill a hole in the cork that is the same size as the molly you chose which in turn should have a hole the same size (just a little smaller) as your wick. Third, twist the wick into the molly the push the molly into your cork stopper. Now you should be able to push the cork into the mouth of the bottle. I super glued mine in. No Slippage!

Assembled!

Now you should have FLAMMAGE !

Gentlemen, I present: FIRE

These lantern cost less than a dollar to make each and can be made easily in batches. I use them for a backup source when I ultra-lite camp. Don’t forget fire is dangerous and we take no responsibility for the safety of this build or your ability.

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