From the moment you pick it up, you know the Streamlight Siege AA Lantern means business. Rugged and dependable, this is a valuable addition to any emergency supply cabinet.

Looking at the picture above, everywhere you see black on the lantern body is a hard rubber that is very “grippy.” When you pick it up, you have little worry about it slipping from your fingers. At a bit less than 9 ounces with the batteries installed, it is very lightweight given how powerful it is.

The Streamlight Siege AA Lantern stands about 5.25″ tall and is a little less than 2.25″ wide.

Despite this compact size, I’m telling you this thing will light up an entire room with soft, even light. The cover is removable, exposing the C4 LED bulbs (one white, two red). This is handy if you need to direct the light, as you would a standard flashlight. However, I’ve found the lantern much more useful when used as an area light.

The Siege AA has several illumination settings:

High – 200 lumens (7 hour runtime)
Medium – 100 lumens (15.5 hour runtime)
Low – 50 lumens (37 hour runtime)
Red High – 0.7 lumens (8 DAYS runtime!)
SOS – Flashing red light 0.7 lumens (12 DAYS RUNTIME!)

The different modes are all accessed using the power button on the front of the lantern. Each time you click the button, you cycle through the modes, though you have to hold it down for a bit to change from white to red and back.

As the name implies, the Siege AA runs on 3 AA batteries. The battery compartment, as well as the light cover, is waterproofed using an O ring. The entire lantern is not only waterproof but with the light cover in place, the lantern floats!

At the top of the lantern is a swing out handle, great for carrying or hanging it up somewhere.

At the bottom is a folding carabiner clip, allowing you to hang the light just about anywhere.

You’ll notice that when the lantern is turned on, the power button is also lit up.

That’s a handy power level indicator. As the battery drains, the light will eventually turn from green to red then to a flashing red. Pretty cool, I think.

The red light is brighter than you might think, given it is only 0.7 lumen. It is plenty bright enough to keep you from bumping into things in the dark, plus the red light won’t mess with your night vision as much as a white light would.

I have to say, I truly love the Streamlight Siege AA Lantern. It packs a lot of light into such a small size. Unlike a flashlight, this lantern could be placed on a table or counter top and truly illuminate the entire room. You could also use it at night as a reading light in the bedroom or, of course, when you’re out camping.

You can find the Streamlight Siege AA Lantern here at Amazon for under 30 bucks.