A campfire without the S'mores.

Darkness surrounds us. The ascent of humanity is, in large measure, the fight against the darkness. It all started when that first Stone Age efficiency expert said “Hey, we could get, like, twice as much done if we could see at night. And if we stop getting eaten in the night by monsters we can’t see coming.” So began the climb toward literal enlightenment that led, eventually, to the figurative Enlightenment: fire, torches, gaslamps, electricity, then portable electricity with the flashlight.

Which brings us to these highly specialized hunks of plastic. Because flashlights suck at lighting up a room. Seriously, when the power goes out while you’re sitting at home, a little spotlight of intense light is hardly better than no light at all. It doesn’t let you see very much and it’s annoying to have someone shine it in your face and it’s just one more thing for kids to fight over.

These Eveready LED lanterns cast 21 lumens of bright white light in a 360-degree circle. They can run for 53 hours on just 4 AA batteries (not included). They don’t get hot. You can see your way around the room. Everybody can read something to pass the time. Whether you’re camping or just waiting for the electric company to pull its thumb out, it brings the light of civilization to your Dark Age.

Man, now we can’t stop thinking about S’mores. Damn, those would be good right now.