Reviewer Information

Name: Becki Stacy
Age: 32
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 3" (1.6 m)
Weight: 150 lb (70 kg)
Email address: becki_s_19 at hotmail dot com
Location: Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

Background:
I got bitten by the backpacking bug in 1994 when I was a volunteer at the Grand Canyon. My first backpacking trip was the same week I arrived, with gear borrowed from trail crew supplies. My husband and I enjoy car camping and backpacking (we use a double-wall tent), mostly in Michigan. We've pared down our pack weight a little (a necessity for a recent 12-night trip with no resupply), and we are continually re-working our gear list to cut weight without giving up the luxury items we enjoy (such as food that involves more than boiling water).

Basic Product Information

Manufacturer: Seattle Sports
Website: http://www.seattlesportsco.com
Product: LEDHedz Cruizer 10
MSRP: $7.95
Listed weight: 0.5 oz (14.2 g)
Weight as delivered: 0.5 oz (14.2 g) including keychain, 0.4 oz (11.3 g) without keychain
Batteries: two 3V CR 2025 lithium (included)

Field Testing

Please see my Initial Report for a detailed description of the Cruizer 10.

I've taken the Cruizer on two-night trips at the Manistee River Trail and Nordhouse Dunes in Michigan. On my Manistee River trip I used the Cruizer primarily to find my way in the dark to dig a cathole for a late night/early morning restroom run. The light served the same purpose at the Nodhouse Dunes, although it wasn't really needed as the moon was full and we weren't under tree cover. I've also used it on an overnighter in the backyard, when I was testing my seam-sealing job on the Coleman Krypton 2 tent.

When not backpacking, I keep the Cruizer attached to the ring my car keys are on. It comes in very handy, helping me find the keyhole when I'm parked in a dark area, or to find the proper key for my front door when I forget to turn the porch light on. My husband has taken to 'borrowing' the Cruizer for his grilling expeditions, as darkness now comes before 5 pm and he needs *some* way to tell if the burgers are done.

The narrow beam of light that the Cruizer provides limits its performance in the backcountry. While it works well enough for finding my way to the latrine or rummaging around my pack at night, I would not take this as the only light if I knew there was a chance I'd have to set my tent up in the dark. The clip does come in handy, and I've attached it to the 'gear loft' type loops on the Krypton tent. This setup works fairly well, allowing me to read in the tent at night, although only a small area of the book is fully lit.

As a 'headlamp', it's useable only if the brim of my hat is sturdy enough. My baseball cap works fine, but my old full-brim hat that I typically bring backpacking on the off chance the black flies are biting enough for me to don it won't support the weight of the Cruizer.

One day, when I had the Cruizer on my keychain and I had removed the keychain from my jeans pocket, the rubber button cover fell off. For a couple of weeks I thought I had lost the cover for good, until my brother found it in the car when we were heading up to Nordhouse Dunes. The button cover does not come off easily, but I think it might have caught on the pocket seam, and the friction and the angle it was removed from my pocket caused the cover to pop off. Without the button cover the Cruizer is still operable, but very susceptible to water intrusion. A piece of duct tape made an acceptable repair. The picture below shows how the light looks without the button cover.

What I Like

1. The Cruizer 10 is lightweight.
2. The lamp uses a LED, which means long life out of one set of batteries.
3. I can use the Cruizer at home as well as on the trail.

What I'm Not Too Excited About

1. I'm used to a wider beam/area of light, and the "dark doughnut" this lamp creates when I hold it flashlight-style looks odd to me. I know this is probably due to the current technology, and the use of a single LED.
2. That the only color option for this model is black with red highlights. It's merely a cosmetic thing, but I prefer at least some choice of color.

Overall

Overall, the Cruizer 10 has served me well (considering the weight) in most of the situations I would utilize a headlamp or flashlight. I would consider it a suitable replacement for my headlamp, as long as my husband (or other hiking partner) has a light with a wider beam. For tasks where a wide beam or an area light is needed, I would have to bring a supplemental lamp.

I would like to thank Seattle Sports and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test the Cruizer 10.

Read more reviews of Seattle Sports gear
Read more gear reviews by Rebecca Stacy

Field Report

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