The 8 Best Survival Candles
This wiki has been updated 24 times since it was first published in January of 2018. Whether you're suffering through a power outage or you're out in the elements, being able to see your surroundings is incredibly important. Lugging flashlights and expensive spare batteries around can weigh you down, and they're not always reliable. Survival candles can be a more cost-effective option that require no maintenance for long-term storage, unlike battery-powered lights. When users buy our independently chosen editorial recommendations, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Coghlan's 36-Hour
2. Emergency Essentials
3. Stonebriar 200 Pack
Editor's Notes
June 02, 2020:
When preparing for a camping trip or just prepping your house for blackouts, a bright flashlight might seem like the obvious go-to, but in reality, batteries go bad, people forget to recharge things, and flashlights can get pretty heavy. A survival candle won't put out nearly as much light as the typical flashlight, but those specially designed for survival can last a long time while requiring just a match to start. To be thoroughly prepared for emergencies, it would be smart to have both a flashlight and survival candles on hand to use depending on how well you need to see and for how long.
For this update we removed the Zombie Tinder for being more gimmicky than useful, especially compared to some of the other metal-tin style candles on our list. We replaced it with the Repel Citronella as great option for a survival in the wilderness situation. Mosquito populations are growing in most areas, and this candle will give you pretty effective bug control. It's a little larger than our top pick Coghlan's 36-Hour, but still won't take up too much precious backpack space.
The Coghlan's 36-Hour remains in the top spot for providing an excellent amount of light in relation to its compact size. In a survival situation you could actually use it to boil a small amount of water if you have some kind of portable stovetop. Plus it's cheap enough, you could keep a bunch of these in your home for power outages.
We also included in this revision the Stonebriar 200 Pack of tea lights for home power outages. They last a surprising 6 hours, nearly double the typical tea light. They can be a practical solution because you can cover a lot of the house with out worrying anything tipping over like with a large candle.
4. Uco Original Lantern
5. Exotac Candle Tin
6. Repel Citronella
7. SE 3-Wick
8. Sterno 6-Inch
Tina Morna Freitas is a writer who lives in Chicago with her family and three cats. She has a B.A. in anthropology with a minor in English, and has built a freelance career over the years in writing and digital marketing. Her passions for cooking, decorating and home improvement contribute to her extensive knowledge of all things kitchen and home goods. In addition, her 20 years as a parent inform her expertise in the endless stream of toys and equipment that inevitably takes over the homes of most parents. She also enjoys gardening, making and sipping margaritas, and aspires to be a crazy cat lady once all the children are grown.