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Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - LED > Streamlight Enduro > Test Report by Chuck CarnesSTREAMLIGHT
ENDURO LED  Headlamp Initial Report: October 11, 2007 Field Report: January 8, 2008 Long Term Report: February 19, 2008 BIOGRAPHICAL
INFORMATION
Name: Chuck Carnes Age: 37 Gender: Male Height: 6 ft. 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 175 lb (79 kg) E-mail address: ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com City, State, Country: Greenville, South Carolina USA BACKPACKING
BACKGROUND
I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking since then. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20 – 30 pounds (11-13 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 kph). I am a one-man tent camper for now. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can. PRODUCT
INFORMATION
 Manufacturer: Streamlight Model: Enduro LED Year of manufacture: 2007 Color: Orange and Black (Realtree design available) URL: http://www.streamlight.com Listed Weight: 2.75 oz (78.5g) Listed Dimensions: Facecap Diameter: 1.3 in (3.25 cm) Maximum Headlamp Width: 2.25 in (5.70 cm) Maximum Headlamp Depth: 1.60 in (4.0 cm) Actual Weight: 2.9 oz (82.0 g) (w/ 2-'AAA' batteries) MSRP: Not listed on web site PRODUCT
DESCRIPTION (taken from web site)
One of the lightest, brightest, most comfortable head-lamps available today. Features High and Low lighting modes and a runtime up to 24 hours. Features:
I N I T I A L R E P O
R T
October 11, 2007  Size comparison with a quarter The Streamlight Enduro LED Headlamp is a great little lightweight headlamp (here on out referred to as the 'light'). It arrived in a plastic, form shaped container along with the batteries. After removing the light from the container I was very surprised how small it was. Viewing it on the web site, it appeared to be bigger. I got the batteries removed from the plastic container and started trying to figure out how to put them in. Of course I did not try to read directions, it's a headlamp, how hard can it be? Well, behind the light housing is where the batteries go. Both ends have small tabs as if to push up on these tabs to open the compartment for the batteries. I pressed and pushed and pulled on both ends and I could not get it open. So my next attempt was to twist, bingo, that was it. I have never come across this type of closure but after trying it a couple of times it made sense. I believe this could be done even in the coldest temperatures with thick gloves on, but I will test this to make sure. After finally placing the batteries in the compartment and twisting the lid back on, it was show time. The headband for the light comes with the size as small as it can get, which was pretty small. I slid the buckles out and was amazed at how large of a diameter that the headband can get. It appears to be big enough to be placed on a helmet or someone with a really large head. The on/off button is situated right on top of the light housing. Fairly large rubber button and I found it to be easy to press to turn on or off. I walked into a dark room to view the beam width and the brightness of the light. The thing I was most impressed with was the width of the beam. It seemed to almost cover a complete 180 degrees of viewing area; from left to right and from top to bottom. I felt like I didn't have to move my head much to be able to see beside, above or below me. The light body is able to be rotated forward 90 degree from horizontal. This could be used to put the bright part of the beam in a more accurate position in front for walking. As the body rotates it has a series of clicks so that it stays where it is positioned. The light has a brighter spot directly in front at a good sized diameter to see directly in front and then it's a bit softer for the rest of the area. I pressed the on/off button again and there is another setting that appeared to be a little bit brighter but it wasn't a huge difference. One more press of the button and the light goes off. The light feels very comfortable on my head and on the back of the housing is a simple piece of foam rubber that would rest on the forehead for comfort. This is a very simple little lightweight light but the beam diameter makes a huge impact for me. I look forward to getting this one out in the dark woods to see how well it lights up the trail. I'm anxious to see how comfortable it stays on my head and if the foam rubber backing gets sweaty and nasty feeling. This is going to be a fun test. F I E L D R E P O R T January 8, 2008 The Enduro has been fun to have as a headlamp. I have enjoyed using it on my over night trips and on several occasions around the house. It comes in handy when I need to walk the dog in the cold and I can put both my hands in my pocket and still be able to see him. But this report is about using it in the backwoods which I have enjoyed also. I used it on a one nighter with my son on his Boy Scout trip to Camp Old Indian and during a two night trip to Pisgah National Forest. The temperature for the Camp Old Indian trip ranged from 30 F to 40 F (-1 C to 4 C) at night and 75 F to 85 F (24 C to 30 C) during the day. The elevation was about 1,600 ft (488 m) where our camp site was. The weather that night was very clear where we could see the stars and the moon lit up most of the place. I used the Enduro mostly to get fire wood and in our tent because the moon was bright enough to walk around by. It worked great during the times I did get to use it. I wore a baseball cap that night so I had to keep my cap turned around backwards so the light would shine where I needed it to. The light is very lightweight and the bands are comfortable enough so that I don't feel it on my head. The beam was bright enough to spot good pieces of fire wood and wide enough so that I didn't need to turn my head much. I mostly left it on the 'high' setting because I don't see much difference in the two settings. We stayed up quite late that night so I didn't use it after I got in the tent, I went to bed immediately. I also used it on a two night trip to Pisgah National Forest. The temperature there ranged from 30 F to 40 F (-1 C to 4 C) at night and 60 F to 75 F (15 C to 24 C) during the day. The elevation ranged from 3,500 ft to 4,200 ft (1,067 m to 1,280 m). The weather was very clear and cold at night with no precipitation. I used the Enduro, along with another Streamlight light, every night of the trip. I used it for night walking to get fire wood and for potty trips, cooking and reading my book in the tent. At night it got to where it was a permanent fixture to my head from sundown to 'lights out'. Which was fine with me because the light is very comfortable while wearing it during long periods of time. I thought the strap over the head would be uncomfortable but in reality, it's not noticeable to me. Again the beam of light performed great and lit up the area that I needed to see. I didn't find it to be a very good 'spot' light but it worked great while I was walking and illuminating the trail. Around the camp site, it worked great for getting food prepared and cooking. I usually kept it pointing down so that as I talked to someone it wouldn't shine in their face; but it was easy to rotate up when I needed to. While in the tent before bed I would use it to read by and at that point I would put the setting on 'low'. I didn't have place to hang it by in the tent except for a small loop so I used another light to illuminate the interior of the tent and the Enduro to search through sacks and reading. When it was time to turn in, I placed it in the gear pocket of the tent for easy access if I needed it during the night; luckily I didn't. The durability of the Enduro seems to be very good. I have not had it in the rain or submersed it in water yet so I can not comment on the waterproofness of it. I have gone through one set of batteries since I received it and I would say that I got about 10 - 12 hours of full burn time on the alkaline batteries. The bulb is still the original bulb and has not burned out. Everything still seems in good shape on the Enduro. I will continue to use it on all of my nightly outings while backpacking or anywhere that I need a flashlight. I am anxious to see how waterproof it is in the rain and if the water will have any effect on it. L O N G T E R M
R E P O
R T
February 19, 2008 Unfortunately I have not been on another overnight trip since my Field Report. However I have used it around the house while walking my dog at night and other household projects where I needed a light but also needed both hands to work with. I am very pleased at the functionality and lightweight of the Enduro. It has served me well in the times that I have used it. The top on/off button is easy to press and is very easy to find while the light is in place on the head. I would recommend this light to anyone who is looking for a simple, lightweight headlamp. This concludes this test
series
Thank you Streamlight and
BackpackGearTest.org for this
opportunity.
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