A lamp was a basic illuminating device suited for indoors. Typical lamps consisted of a fuel reservoir (typically oil) and a wick to burn the fuel. Since the flame was unprotected, lamps could easily go out in the event of a breeze. They were also more difficult to carry than lanterns. For those reasons, lamps were more suitable for indoor illumination. They shed light as long as the supply of fuel lasted, typically 6 hours for 1 pint (473 ml) of oil.