Headlamp or Lantern: Which Light for Which Camp Task
Most campers end up carrying both a headlamp and some kind of area light, because each does a different job. A headlamp follows your eyes and keeps your hands free; a lantern lights a space for several people without anyone shining a beam in a friend's face.
Where a headlamp is better
Headlamps excel at tasks that need focused light exactly where you look: finding a tent stake, reading a map, cooking over a small stove or walking a dark trail. They are light enough to carry on every trip, including day hikes that might run late.
A headlamp with a red mode is useful at shared campsites, since red light is less disruptive to people nearby.
Where a lantern is better
A lantern lights the whole table or tent interior evenly, which is more pleasant for conversation, meals and games. Hung from a branch, a pole or the tent ceiling, it removes shadows that a headlamp creates when you turn your head.
Groups and families usually benefit most, since one lantern replaces several headlamps pointing in different directions.
Combining them efficiently
Backpackers can turn a headlamp into a lantern by strapping it to a water bottle with the beam facing inward. Car campers might carry one main lantern and a headlamp per person.
Choose lights that share a battery size, and keep at least one headlamp in each person's pocket after dark, not left behind in the tent.