See Jeff's Run Bio at the end of the review.
Pelican 2750 Headlamp (MSRP $37.03)
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| Pelican 2750 Headlamp: Photo Credit Jeff Valliere |
Pelican is best known and renowned for their ultra-rugged military grade storage cases and industrial, public safety and mining lighting. Like the Pelican 2780 with its powerful Downcast and Main lamps (review here), my initial impression of the Pelican 2750 upon unboxing was that of top notch quality. The materials of this headlamp feel durable, high quality and heavy duty, all while not feeling at all heavy.
The 2750 is one of the smaller lights out there and has a very simple and compact design as a singular unit consisting of the LED bulb, room for 3 AAA batteries, control button and an elasticized headband.
At a maximum of 193 lumens on the highest setting, the compact 2750 packs a powerful punch and rides the line between being a light one might choose for an all night outing, or a headlamp used for pre dawn starts when looking to save weight.
I own brighter lights and go for those when I know my entire outing will be in the dark, but I have found the 2750 to be my go to light that I will carry with me on those late day runs where there is a good chance I may get caught in the dark, use it for pre dawn outings, or just carry it in my mountaineering pack as a relatively lightweight (3.4 oz. with batteries) headlamp I know I can count on.
I found the beam of this light to be somewhat focused and localized, creating somewhat of a tunnel vision effect, but not entirely surprising. Overall projection is good on the high setting and puts off a nice hue, provides good depth perception and definition in rough terrain. The low setting is low enough that I only used it while walking slowly and was easy to overrun its projection range. Aside from testing the effectiveness of the low setting, I essentially kept this light on high for the majority of the testing.
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| Pelican 2750 Headlamp: Photo Credit Jeff Valliere |
Operation of this light is quite simple, a single button cycles through the modes. First mode is the bright setting, 193 lumens, then the second mode is the lower, energy conserving 63 lumen setting. The third push is the flashing mode and at any point, you can hold the button down for several seconds to access the separate red light that is great for not disturbing tent mates or disturbing night vision. The operation of the on/off/mode button is easy with light gloves and somewhat workable with mid weight gloves.
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| Pelican 2750 Headlamp: Photo Credit Jeff Valliere |
I found battery life to be impressive and beyond the company's advertised estimates of 3h on high and 11h on low. I was able to get closer to 4.5 hours on high with standard alkaline batteries, which means actually shining at what appears to be 193 lumens for that entire time. After 4.5 hours, the main light dimmed to a level that seems to be less than the normal 63 lumen low setting, but still enough to cautiously navigate in the dark. In case you don’t notice the drop in output, the supplemental red light flashes an alert as well. I did not test in very cold conditions, so I can only guess that cold temperatures will decrease the battery life and there are variables due to type of battery, so the advertised averages might be more accurate overall.
Changing the batteries is somewhat simple once you figure out the technique of where to grab the light and how best to pull on the plastic release tab. Once the compartment is open, the batteries pop out easily.
As is the case with most lights, the head pivots 45 degrees vertically to adjust your range of focus.
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| Pelican 2750 Headlamp: Photo Credit Jeff Valliere |
The elasticized adjustable headband is quite easy to adjust and comfortably stayed in place on my head, even when running in technical terrain at faster speeds. This is also one of the few headlamps that I have been able to comfortably and effectively wear with a hat.
Pelican also listed this light to be weather resistant, which I did not have a chance to test, but definitely appears to be sealed well enough to withstand rain and snow.
At $37.03 retail, 193 max lumens, 3.4 oz. and respectable burn time, this light is a steal.
Pros: inexpensive, bright for it’s size, durable, light, comfortable to wear, good battery life, easy operation.
Cons: contrary to the overall durability of the light, the release tab for opening the battery compartment seems flimsy and prone to breaking.
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Guest Reviewer Bio
Jeff Valliere is a former pro cyclist who now runs and climbs the mountains of Colorado. He has been top 5 Masters, top 25 overall, at the Pike's Peak Marathon several times, finishing 3d Masters this year. Jeff loves vertical accumulating more than 500,000 vertical feet per year, has climbed all the 14's and 200 of the 13's and has held FKT on several. He often runs and climbs at night. Passionate about the sport but also the gear he has reviewed hundred of shoes for various magazines and sites and participated in product testing for many brands. Formerly a bike mechanic he now works in Satellite Imagery. He has twin 5 year old daughters who keep him ever busier yet.
The Pelican 2750 provided at no charge to Road Trail Run. The opinions herein are entirely our own.
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