I’ve owned many products from Coleman, always been intrigued with the lanterns since my first encounter camping as a youngster with family. Living in Florida most of my life hurricanes have been a constant reminder the need for a reliable light source, always used white gas lanterns as a source of light from the beginning. Fuel is always an issue for long term storage, degradation over time has been a problem for me. Kerosene turned out to be the answer I was looking for. Researching blogs led me to the Coleman kerosene lantern, high quality, stability, economical and reliability that I was looking for. Is it for everyone? Not really, yes it supplies reliable lighting for those fun times camping, ⛺️ but is indispensable during hurricanes. More work to light by adding alcohol to the preheat the generator, but the safety factor being harder to light kerosene over white gas. My first hurricane was Donna 1960, living in the Florida Keys, now at seventy years young Coleman still offers peace of mind I require. Thank you Coleman.

I have a few Coleman lanterns, this is my newest and my favorite. Of the propane,dual fuel,and kerosene,this model is simply the best.

I got my new coleman lantern. latest in a string of Coleman lanterns I have owned. My old one is due for some TLC so I made that an excuse for a new one. Kerosene makes sense since I keep it around for emergency heat. It arrived in one piece so I did the usual setup, filled it and put some alcohol in the cup. These days I live in a small city, so I didn't have a dozen pair of coyote eyes watching. It lit the first time without the theatrics of the gas jobs and settled into the old familiar hiss. I wanted to run it for a couple hours to burn it in. As I sat there in the circle of light I was reminded of other occasions with the comfortable light and that hiss. Ice fishing, deer camp, camping, doing chores around the property in the still of the night. I realized that Coleman lanterns have been a good part of life. I kinda hated to turn it out, but there will be more times. I thought about getting an older one, but I want spares and consumables available for a light I depend on. I won't be without one even now in the city.

This lantern is a beast! The Coleman 639C puts out a ton of light—easily enough to light up a whole campsite, backyard, or even a good-sized room during a power outage. The glow is bright, steady, and white, so it actually feels like daylight compared to smaller lanterns. Build quality is excellent. It feels heavy-duty and solid, not like the flimsy stuff you see today. With a little care, I can easily see this lasting for decades, much like other Coleman lanterns I own. One thing worth mentioning is that it does require a quick preheating step before lighting. Honestly, it’s a very minor extra step—just a quick prime with alcohol—and after that the lantern roars to life and runs smoothly. In practice, it adds less than a minute to setup and is more than worth it for the performance you get. What I really like is the flexibility of kerosene as a fuel. It’s cheaper than Coleman fuel, easy to find almost anywhere, and it stores really well. It gives me peace of mind that I’ll always have fuel on hand. Between the quality construction, impressive brightness, and the practicality of kerosene fuel, the Coleman 639C is a true workhorse. If you’re looking for a lantern that balances durability with excellent light output, this one is hard to beat. Bottom line: if you want a lantern that’s super bright, tough as nails, and fuel-flexible, the 639C is a fantastic choice. Highly recommend!