UCO Leschi Lantern Flashlight Review: A Compact Two-in-One Camping Light

Introduction

The UCO Leschi is a small camping light that works two ways: as a pocketable flashlight and, once the housing is pulled open, as a lantern that spreads light in every direction. It runs on a single AA battery and generally sells for less than $20, which puts it among the more affordable two-in-one options in this category.

Out of the box you get the Leschi itself and a short user guide. No battery is included, so plan for one AA cell before your first trip. The battery compartment sits at the bottom: unscrew the base, drop the cell in, screw it back on, and the light is ready.

Everything is controlled by a single button. A firm press clicks and switches the light on or off, while a light press moves through the modes without a click. That keeps the interface simple enough to operate by feel in the dark, which is exactly what you want from a light you will mostly use at night in a tent.

Who This Product Is For

The Leschi suits casual campers who want one small light that covers two jobs rather than carrying a separate torch and lantern. It makes sense for tent camping in a one or two person shelter, where a hangable light that spreads a soft glow is more useful than a focused beam.

It also works as a backup light kept in a pack pocket or a glovebox, since it is light, compact, and runs on a common battery. Anyone who needs to light a large campsite, a group shelter, or a table for several people should look at a bigger lantern instead.

Main Strengths

Light Output and Beam Distance

UCO rates the lantern mode at 34 lumens on low and 110 lumens on high. Measured output came in slightly above the published high figure and one lumen below the low figure, so the official lantern numbers hold up well in real use.

The flashlight side is less documented. No lumen figure is published for the flashlight beam, and a rough ceiling-bounce estimate put low at around 49 lumens and high at roughly 517 lumens. Beam distance is where the Leschi genuinely surprises: more than 7 meters on low and close to 15 meters on high. For a light this small, that is more reach than most people would expect, and it is plenty for finding your way around a campsite after dark.

Published beam distance figures are far higher than what was measured here, which most likely comes down to differences in testing method rather than a difference in the light itself. Treat the measured numbers as the more realistic guide for camping use, and the results are still more than adequate for that purpose.

Build, Waterproofing, and Mounting

Most of the Leschi is made from high-grade plastic, including the lighting housing, while the battery housing is aluminium. The construction feels appropriate for the price and survives drops from hand height without issue.

The light carries an IPX5 rating, which means it can handle moderate rain. After 25 minutes in moderate to heavy rain, every mode still worked and the battery compartment stayed essentially dry. The lantern housing did get damp and needed time to dry out, which is worth remembering if you pack the light away wet.

Mounting is one of the Leschi’s better ideas. A shock-cord strap loops around tent hooks, branches, or pack straps, and there is a hook on the body itself that the strap secures to. The practical limit is about 1.5 inches of diameter on whatever you attach it to.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Memory Setting and Mode Behaviour

The mode cycle runs strobe, low, high, and back to strobe. The memory setting, however, behaves oddly: switch the light off on low and it comes back on at high, and switch it off on high and it returns at strobe. In effect it moves one step ahead of where you left it rather than returning to your last mode. It is a small thing, but it means you cannot count on the light coming back at the brightness you chose.

A few other omissions come with the low price. There is no battery indicator, no ability to charge a phone, and no proper memory function. The warranty is also short at roughly one year, so this is a light to treat as a simple tool rather than a long-term investment.

Runtime, Light Quality, and Feature Gaps

UCO lists runtimes from about two and a half to seven hours depending on the mode. Testing with older rechargeable cells produced results that varied, and the light grew dim and flickered toward the end of a run, which made a clean figure difficult to record. Brightness also drops noticeably as the battery drains, falling by 30 percent or more within roughly an hour even from a fresh cell, and continuing to decline from there.

Occasional flicker showed up on the high mode even at full charge, so high brightness is not the cleanest output in the range. As a lantern, the light covers a one to two person tent at most, and the high mode does not spread meaningfully further than the low mode does.

Buying Advice

At under $20, the Leschi is one of the few lantern and flashlight combos in that price bracket. If you want a light that hangs in a small tent, handles rain, and gives you a usable beam for walking around after dark, it covers those jobs without much fuss. The main thing is to set expectations on the lantern side: it lights a small tent, not a whole campsite.

For packing, the Leschi weighs about 2.57 ounces with the AA battery installed and 1.62 ounces without one. It measures roughly 3.9 by 1.25 inches closed and extends to about 5.15 inches when opened as a lantern, which is small enough to live in a pack pocket or a glovebox. If those dimensions and the sub-$20 price match how you camp, this is an easy light to justify carrying.

Conclusion

The UCO Leschi gets the basics right: a genuinely useful two-in-one design, a battery you can buy anywhere, dependable rain resistance, and a flashlight beam that reaches further than its size suggests. The trade-offs are all tied to the price, from the inconsistent output as the battery drains to the missing battery indicator and the odd memory behaviour.

For casual camping in a small tent, it is a sensible, inexpensive pick that will quietly do its job. Buyers who need steady output across a long night, or a lantern that lights a group area, should budget for something larger instead.