Gear Review: Pelican Hiking Essentials
As winter begins to take hold of the Rockies, we have been testing a collection of Pelican hiking essentials against the unpredictability of shoulder season in Colorado. Built with protection in mind, Pelican is known for their insane durability and superior strength when safeguarding cameras and electronics. We chose to see how some of their lesser known products hold up on trail, and were pleasantly surprised at both their rugged design and ease of use on our fall adventures in the Rockies and beyond.
Circumstances of Review: The collection was thoroughly tested on hikes and road trips throughout both the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and desert of Utah. We pride ourselves in testing all gear on multiple outings, and putting their durability to the test in a multitude of weather, climate, and usability situations.
Pelican 2750 Headlamp
Pelican 2750 Headlamp
2750 Headlamp
MSRP: $34
Lumens: 259
Features:
Night-vision friendly red LED
Adjustable brightness
Emergency flash settings
Comfortable and adjustable strap
The 2750 headlamp is lightweight, easy to adjust, and comes with a unique glow in the dark color option to help with ease of finding in a dark tent or when buried deep in your pack. We recommend having a headlamp handy at all times – even on short day hikes, and this headlamp is great to quickly throw in your pack and have on hand for emergencies. Aside from that, we also found it perfect for sunrise hikes, or to wear around camp. Unlike a lot of headlamps, the strap stayed put – even on more intense hikes – to a point where we almost forgot it was on our heads!
It’s clear that Pelican carried their legendary durability into the headlamp, and we were excited to see the headlamp survive an accidental 20 foot fall of a cliff – the batteries popped out, but after putting them back in everything worked a good as new.
One unique feature about this headlamp is that is comes with an optional “strapless” attachment piece that can be added to a hat to ensure you’re never without light. The product comes with 3 AAA batteries included.
Pelican 18oz Insulated Bottle
Pelican 18oz Insulated Bottle
18oz Insulated Bottle
MSRP: $24.95
Material: 18/8 pro grade stainless steel
Features:
Long lasting temperature protection (for both hot and cold beverages)
Spill-Resistant Lid
Leak-proof carry handle lid
Made of durable pro grade stainless steel
Guaranteed for life
This rugged bottle is spill proof – even when tossed around in a backpack – and insane at retaining the temperature of both hot and cold beverages. The non-slip base allows you to truly take it anywhere your adventures lead you, and ensures your bottle will stay put even when snacking on uneven rocks or bumpy gravel roads.
We especially loved the wide mouth of the bottle that made it easy to insert ice cubes, effortless to clean, and enjoyable to drink out of. The spill proof lid held up well even when tossed around the campsite or in our backpacks, and we found the handle on the lid convenient to clip the bottle to a multitude of places in our car camping set up.
We found the bottle perfect for packing out hot coffee or cocoa on chilly mountain hikes, and were pleasantly surprised to still find our drinks piping hot upon opening the bottle a few hours later. We tested the 18oz, which was a tad small for all day adventures, but the bottle comes in 18oz, 32 oz, and 64 oz options that may be better suited for longer days – although will likely be somewhat heavy for hiking. Our favorite part is that Pelican guarantees this bottle for life!
Water Resistant Sport Wallet
Water Resistant Sport Wallet
Water Resistant Sport Wallet
MSRP: $27.95
Size: 5.55 x 3.27 x 0.85 in
Features:
Interior mesh organization pocket
“Crushproof” and insanely durable
Water and dust resistant seal (IP 54)
Ready to step up from using a sandwich baggie as a hiking wallet? Made from the same design used by professional photographers to safeguard memory cards, the sport wallet is great for protecting important cards, ID’s or keys while adventuring in rugged conditions. The wallet is ideal when spending time on rainy trails, or even on kayak and rafting trips. Additionally, the wallet gives piece of mind that your valuables will stay protected even in the event of a drop or fall.
We tested the wallet on a rainy hike, and were happy to find all of our cards and cash completely dry! Our tester even slipped with the wallet in their back pocket and the wallet remained seemingly unphased by the weight of a hiker suddenly being put on it.
Our favorite thing about this wallet is how streamlined and small it is – it could easily fit in your pant pocket or a smaller area in your backpack. The small size means that it could be a little too tight for car fobs or larger valuables, but the design is ideal for credit cards, ID’s, cash, and smaller keys. Overall, the Sport Wallet gave us piece of mind in adverse trail conditions and when spending time on the water – which is priceless!
Overall Value
With help from the three Pelican items listed above, we’ve been set up for rugged adventures in all sorts of conditions over the past few months. With winter on the way, we’re excited to put these pieces of gear to good use on icy hikes throughout the Rockies. From our tests, all three items seem incredibly durable, and we can foresee them being essential pieces on our packing list for years to come.
*These items were donated for purpose of review.
