Old Gear, New Flame: How the TapRack Brought a Lantern—and a Legacy—Back to Life

Some of my best memories were made on lakeshores and riverbanks— fishing, camping, helping my brother launch the paddle boat (okay, maybe I forgot to tell him to let go once and he went for a swim... sorry, Dad). Those trips were about more than just catching our limit—they were about blueberry pancakes on the cast iron, ghost stories under the stars, and whittling sticks with my first pocket knife.

But one piece of gear always stood out: my dad’s old propane lantern.

Every time he fired it up, it filled the campground with this warm, buzzing glow. That light cut through the dark like a beacon—drawing us all together around the weathered picnic table to play cards or share stories. There was comfort in that hum, in the way it lit up the night. It was part of the experience.

As I got older, that lantern made fewer appearances. Not because it didn’t work—But over time, using those green bottles just started to feel wasteful. They’d pile up in our garage, and I never really knew what to do with them. Eventually, I swapped the lantern for a battery-powered light. It was convenient, sure, but it didn’t feel the same. It didn’t buzz. It didn’t flicker with that old familiar glow.

That all changed when Ignik launched the TapRack.

The moment I saw it, I had one thought: I’m bringing that lantern back. I drove straight to my parents' place and started digging through the garage. Tucked away in a dusty old bin, there it was—almost 40 years old, still intact. I filled up the TapRack, attached one of Ignik’s refllable 1-lb propane bottles, and held my breath.

It fired up on the first try. Same sound. Same glow. Same buzz.

Now, I get to pass that memory on. I use the same lantern on trips with my own kid—lighting it up just like my dad did. The TapRack didn’t just refill a bottle. It revived a part of my childhood. And it lit the way for the next generation of memories.

- Brett