Finding the Best Sky Lanterns for Your Money

Everyone has seen sky lanterns at some point. Whether floating in the air or as part of a television advertising campaign, they have become incredibly popular in the past few years and their popularity can only go up. However, there are many companies that make these lanterns and not all sky lanterns are created equally. There are manufacturers who cut corners and offer less the excellent quality and while the prices are less, they present a number of dangers to those who use them as well as the surrounding area where they may land. These are the most important features any sky lantern should have to be sure that they are safe and responsible.

Fuel Cell

The first place where sky lantern construction differs is in the fuel cell. The fuel cell is the heart of the sky lantern and some companies provide fuel cells that are poorly made. In the case of these poorly made fuel cells, they are made of a cardboard or other material dipped in paraffin wax. The biggest issue with these fuel cells is that they can drip, making them a potential burn hazard for those close by when the lantern is launched. On top of this, they can sometimes come apart or come detached from the lantern itself, creating a fire risk as well as ruining the sky lantern experience.


Instead, when shopping for sky lanterns, be sure to look for lanterns that advertise a built in, no-drip fuel cell. They use the same wax but the design of the fuel cell is much better, guaranteeing a better experience for all involved.

Paper Quality

Another aspect of sky lantern construction where costs are cut is in the quality of paper. A good sky lantern will be treated with a fire retardant that works in this capacity and is also biodegradable. There are lanterns that are not treated with any type of chemical to prevent them from catching on fire and while rare, disastrous results can happen with these lanterns. On the flip side, some of the chemicals that can be used to treat the paper to make it fire resistant also hinder the biodegradability.

Sky Lantern Support Structure

Finally, not all lanterns are quickly biodegradable due to the support design. An easy cost cutting measure is to use wire for the loop as well as the supports for the fuel cell. This is thin wire that is easy to work with and lowers the cost of making lanterns. There are some big issues with this wire portion. It will eventually fall apart enough that makers can call the lanterns 100% biodegradable but this takes many months and in the mean time can be eaten by livestock grazing or can be picked up by a hay machine in a field and end up in the winter feed for the same livestock.

Quality sky lanterns can be had from various vendors such as NightSkyLanters.co.uk for English residents and they instead use bamboo or a treated wool for the support structure giving the lanterns the same strength and lightweight frame but with a truly safe and quick biodegradable frame.