this is one of my best buy's for 2012! yes, its that good.
Picked up one of those snowpeak snowminer lanaterns/headlamps a while back and just got it today
when going in groups, i really like to have a lantern so you dont blind your mates when looking at them.
Ive been using a Black diamond orbit for a lantern, and to be honest, pretty unimpressed with its battery life on high, even with lithium batteries!.
The snowminer is just simply awesome as there is a hook that hooks onto your tent roof and its actually brighter and lasts LONGER than the orbit using only 3 batteries instead of 4. Not sure how they managed to achieve this but i guess its due to an improvement in led technology.
I really like the fact that the ambient light it difuses gives it a nicer glow than the orbit too. The orbit lights well to the side, but doesnt light very well directly down.
and the best part? its also a headlamp!
by the way: order it at e-omc and use the code SHIP12 to get 25% off (only for the next 24 hours) (costs $37 bucks with discount)
BD orbit ......... vs..... snowminer10-24 hrs ........vs ..... 55-140 hrs
45 lumens ..... ..vs...... 8-80 lumens
2meter radius .. vs ..... 7-40 metres
4 AAA ............vs ....... 3 AA
both costs and weight are similar

its new technology like this that renders older stuff useless. in my opinion, the orbit now is obsolete compared to this.
ofcourse for car camping, i still use my 20 year old dual fuel coleman northstar, at 1180 lumens! nothing else comes close to this baby.
http://www.colemanaustralia.com.au/gear/lighting/lpg-and-dual-fuel-lanterns/northstar%C2%AE-ei-dual-fuel%E2%84%A2-lantern.aspx