The Streamlight Enduro headlamp is a new offering from
Streamlight. This headlamp is very small, adequately
bright (plus some) and runs a long time on two, readily
available, AAA cells.
This particular light is made of black translucent
polycarbonate with a rubberized bezel ring and a polycarbonate
lens. The elastic strap suspension system is a 3-point
design, is fully adjustable, and provides ample adjustment
room even for very large heads. The forehead plate has
a thin foam pad which rests against the user's head,
and the front is vertically click-adjustable to put
the light right where you need it. All in all it is
surprisingly well made with a rotating contact plate
inside the battery compartment cover, and the cover
itself is attached to the unit by a short lanyard to
prevent its loss.
Bezel/Head: At the front of the light you will find
the wide-angle 0.5W LED in the center of a smooth silvered
reflector. Hidden somewhere in there is a voltage boost
circuit to provide the proper voltage to drive the LED
with only two AAA cells.
Output description: The white light produced by the
LED is a high color temperature and produces fair color
rendition weighted strongly toward the blue end of the
spectrum. A significant blue tint is detectable even
during normal use. This is fairly common with the 0.5W
LEDs I have worked with and is my only real point of
contention with this little headlamp. The beam itself
is smooth with a bright center spot, wide corona, and
a very wide dim spillbeam (not seen in photo). You may
choose between "high" and "low"
output modes depending on your illumination and battery
conservation needs.
Level
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Low
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162 (12.73)
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331 (3.31)
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High
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375 (19.36)
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830 (8.30)
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All
throw readings are in Lux
at one meter. The numbers in parenthesis are for comparison
in the Comparison
Charts.
Beam at one meter at target center and at target edge
to show spill light
Runtime Plot: This runtime was completed on the "high"
setting which is advertised to last 6 hours. At 6 hours
it was essentially completely dead in my test, running
about 4½ hours before reaching 50% starting
output. Still, that's darn good runtime on just two
AAA cells. Runtime on low is advertised at 24 hours.
Runtime
completed with included batteries. More information
on runtime plots is available HERE.
Switch description: The switch is a rubber covered
clickie on top of the headlamp. Click once for low,
twice for high, and the third time turns it off.
Seals / Water Resistance: This little critter seems
well suited for a wet environment. O-ring seals protect
the bezel and the battery compartment. I'd call it "splashable"
at a minimum; likely dunkable.
If it gets wet inside, just disassemble as much a possible
without tools and let it dry before using again.
Ergonomics: There's a headlamp on my head??? It's so
lightweight you'll almost forget you're wearing it.
It's quite comfortable with the 3-point strap system
and is very easy to operate.
Batteries: For batteries, this light takes two AAA
alkaline cells.
To change out the batteries: twist the battery compartment
door until it pops off, drop out the old cells, place
in new cells observing proper polarity. Reattach the
compartment door and you're ready to go.
What I Liked: Water resistant,
Inherently impact resistant, Long battery life, Semi-regulated,
Bright, Easy battery change, Lightweight
What I Didn't Like: Significant
bluish tint to the beam.
Conclusions: If you can get past
the fairly strong blue tint in the beam, this is a great
headlamp. The fact that it only runs on two AAA cells
means that it's cheap to "feed", very lightweight,
and easy to carry replacement cells. Output is very
good and overall it is very well made. An excellent
lightweight headlamp in general.
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