Initial Report

INITIAL REPORT
SEATTLE SPORTS LEDHEDZ CRUIZER 10

Seattle Sports Logo

October 6, 2005

Tester Biography:

Name:                            Russell Curry
Age:                           58
Height:                           6'0" (1.83 m)
Weight:                        182 lbs (83 kg)
Email:                      mrqcace@yahoo.com
City, State, Country:       Orange, Texas, USA

Backpacking Background:

My hiking experiences began in the 1960s. My experiences include hikes in Europe, the Mediterranean, Canada, Alaska, and most Eastern and Western states in a variety of terrain. I hike in all seasons, in temperatures as low as 5 F (-15 C) to as high as 110 F (43 C), in rain, shine and snow and from desert to forest to mountain. My pack weights vary from 25 lbs (11 kg) to 10 lbs (5 kg).

Product Identification:

Item: Micro Hat Lamp Model Cruizer 10
Manufacturer: Seattle Sports
Website: http://www.seattlesportsco.com
Year of Manufacturer: 2005
Warranty: 90 day limited warranty to repair or replace unit, at manufacturer's choice, and only to original purchaser.
MSRP: $7.95

Product Properties:

Rubberized housing
Super Bright lamp
Hands free design
Bulb: 0.4 in (10 mm) LED
Weight: 0.5 oz (14 g)
Batteries: Two 3V Lithium Cell CR2025 (included)
Total Weight: Light with keychain 0.8 oz (23 g)

Product Description:

The Seattle Sports LedHedz Model 10 Cruizer is a "micro hat lamp" that is designed to clip onto my hat, shirt or jacket zipper or any other convenient place that will accomodate the clip on the back of the light. It is black in color with a red gasket between the two halves. It is made of a rubberized type material that is slip resistant. The bulb protrudes from the front of the lamp housing and is controlled by a push button that can be intermittently pressed on/off, or pressed firmly to operate the light continuously. There is a clip on the underside of the light that is used to secure the light to my hat, coat, or similar apparel or other convenience. There is also a removeable keychain on the light. A single screw can be removed from the underside of the lamp to allow changing batteries.

Key and LedHedz Lamp

The LedHedz and my car key. The size of the lamp suits my keychain and
fits nicely on my hats, jackets or other similar apparel as well.

Initial Observations:

This little lamp has a great feel to it. It was more than I expected from an LED type of lamp. The on/off button is of a sufficient size and protrudes enough from the housing to make it easy to discern in the dark. The housing is a non-slip rubberized material. The beam coming from the lamp is circular in nature, and casts a line through the glow. The center of the beam is brighter and then dims towards the outside perimeter of the beam when projected onto a flat surface. I fastened the lamp to the brim of my baseball cap, and my two Tilley hiking hats with no difficulty. The clip accomodated all of the brims, although it did cause the wide brim of my Tilley LT6 Lighterweight hat to dip a little. This caused the beam to throw shorter than I desired, but this would still be suitable for brief escapes at night from my tent. There is no way to adjust the angle of the beam, other that to set my hat to a slightly different angle depending on where I want the beam thrown.

I was able to take a walk through the woods adjoining my home on a dark night using just this lamp. There are no trails, so walking among the fallen limbs, debris, vines and other woodsy things can be a little difficult. I found that the light threw a sufficient beam up to 10 paces, about 30 ft, (9 m), that allowed me to discern what I was walking into. Anything beyond that was not clear. I took a walk down my darkened street and could easily see to walk my dog, look for my cat, find my day old newspaper, etc. The light works exceedingly well for close up situations, it is bright and when focused on something within just a few feet illuminates it completely.

I read the card that came with the lamp, and reviewed all of the information I could find on the Seattle Sports website to determine if the lamp was waterproof in any way. I could find no claims to the lamp being waterproof or water resistant.

Test Plan and Expectation of Usage:

My test plan will have me using this lamp on all of my upcoming hiking trips, as well as carrying it as part of my keychain for everyday use when necessary. I intend to use it on my hat, especially in inclement weather, to determine how it fares in wet conditions. I will also be using it for night walks around camp, in town and elsewhere. Determining the amount of light under varying conditions such as fog, cold, confined areas, open spaces, nature breaks at night, and other unforseen situations will be reported on in the field test. Additionally, I will be monitoring this product to its durability, whether the button stays on, how the batteries hold up to extended use, the ease in changing the batteries, how the lamp adapts as a zipper pull and more. Field use will also determine how well the light can be used around camp, making adjustments to my tent, finding gear in my pack or tent, and whether I can read by the light. I expect field conditions to vary from 40 F (4 C) to 95 F (35 C), at various elevations from sea level to 6000 ft (1800 m). Some of these tests will be in a tropical climate, some in arid desert, and some in dense forests with high humidity conditions.

I expect to have substantially more time using this light than is required under the guidelines for gear testing. I expect some use practically everyday as well as multi-day use on my hikes.

Likes:

Comfortable in my hand
Easy to turn on/off
Lightweight
Many uses
Bright beam at short distances
Beam spread at longer distances allows large overview of subject area
Adapts easily to my keychain or as a zipper pull

Dislikes:

Causes the brim of my favorite hiking hat to droop in front
Water resistance is suspect

Conclusions:

I have found the Seattle Sports Ledhedz Lamp to be a handy lamp for many uses. It is easy to carry or place on my hats, and provides me with high quality lighting for situations requiring short range illumination.

Russell Curry

Read more reviews of Seattle Sports gear
Read more gear reviews by Russell Curry

Reviews > Lighting > Flashlights - LED > Seattle Sportz LEDHedz > Russell Curry > Initial Report

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