In February when ordering something else from Tilley Lamp I thought I would write a review of the mantles I bought from them. I bought ten of the X164 mantles, thinking "they're from Tilley - they must be the best", but was disappointed. So, I thought I would write (what I thought was) a fair review, and gave the product two stars (I recall). I bought 10 of these thinking they would be the best for my Tilley lamp; however, I was disappointed. These are too large to work well on my X246B Mk I. After burning-in, instead of forming a nice ball that incandesces with a bright white light, the mantle forms in drapes round the vapouriser. As a result, much of the mantle does not incandesce properly and the resulting light is yellow. I’ve since bought other mantles (the 164Pro) from “The Base Camp”; their performance is far superior, but are more tricky to fit. My review has never appeared. Make of that what you will ... However, I thought it might, at some point, be useful to someone looking here and to direct anyone seeking good Tilley mantles towards the helpful people at base-camp.co.uk
It's amazing how long a company can continue trading on its former good name. I've wondered about those 164 'Pro' mantles from Base-Camp who themselves describe them as "loose tied for the expert user..." I presume they have loose strings and wonder what's 'expert' about tying a couple of simple knots...
I have to say I have used modern tilley mantles with no problems. I have also used the base camp pro ones, with no issues. Both are still working fine after six months of being used on and off. Some mantles seem to almost randomly not form as nicely as others - even from the same maker. I am sure it will have much to do with pressure on first lighting
Exactly so... I have my own method of fully inflating new mantles the first time they're lit but it definitely is for the "expert" user! Even without using that method, I find new mantles remain 'soft' for a while immediately after they're first lit and pumping the lantern up to full pressure as soon as possible also helps. I also find it useful to stretch the mantle before fitting to relieve as much of the equatorial crease as possible...
Base camp did warn me of the difficulty, but to be honest, it may have taken me 30 seconds longer the Tilley ones, and number of mantles I have changed can be counted on the fingers of one hand, so no one should be put off by the thought.
Apparently those 164 pro mantles fit the Vapalux/Bialaddin I read somewhere here? Because those Base Camp V42 mantles are a tad disappointing.
