Enogear AA

Introduction Enogear

Although the brand seems to be active since 2015, it has been unknown to me until the end of 2017. The seller became a member of Budgetlightforum from where I got in touch with them.

They sent this for free as a small gesture for helping them out organizing their first Giveaway. This was never meant to be a full-blown review, so it is rather short!

What you get:

• Plastic case
• Enogear AA flashlight
• Alligator clip

This EDC light was shipped inside a clear plastic box. Nothing to complain about for a $15 SS flashlight. It was tightly wrapped in bubblewrap and a clip was included. See the pictures

Handling of the light

You can really feel the difference between a regular aluminum AA flashlight and a stainless steel flashlight. It’s heavy but fits really nice in the hand. I wouldn’t recommend using it as a keychain flashlight though.

The light consists of 2 main parts, the head and the body. You need to insert the battery by unscrewing the head and with the positive side towards the head.

Anodizing 

Being stainless steel, there is no anodizing to my understanding. It’s nice and shiny, and there is no blemish to be found.

Threads

The head is made of brass. The threads are actually really smooth in combination with the stainless steel body. They don’t cross-thread at all. And definitely one of the better threads out there.

Lens and reflector (TIR)

The enogear uses a TIR and therefore doesn’t require a glass lens. It’s a 45-degrees angle TIR, which is a medium width/medium throw. So a good all-rounder.

Dimensions and weight:

Length: 80mm
Max Width head: 19mm Empty: 70 grams
with eneloop battery: 96 grams

User Interface:

The enogear uses a reverse-clicky switch.

It goes in the order of:

• Low (8% output)
• Medium (30% output)
• High (100% output)

Firefly / moon mode

• No

SOS / Beacon / Strobe modes:

• No

Hidden modes:

• No

Mode memory:

• No, but it will have next-mode memory when you turn off the light within 3 to 5 seconds after switching modes or powering it.

PWM

Unfortunately there is PWM noticeable in Low and Medium. Nothing can be detected in High.

Performance:

For this review I tested it with an Eneloop AA standard and with the following Amps:

My measurements :

• Low: 0.15 A
• Medium: 0.6 A
• High: 1.8A

This means that the output levels are very well laid out for a 3-mode flashlight. It doesn’t come on the list of brightest AA flashlights, but for 15 or 20 dollars there isn’t much to complain. There aren’t many contenders that are made of SS and around $15.

It works on 14500 batteries as well. It doesn’t have a step-down, not by temperature and not by a timer. Of course, due to heat, the output drops about 20% in 7 minutes without cooling.

Lumen measurement:

The following table was measured using an Eneloop AA battery in my homebuilt integrating sphere. I calibrated the numbers using a Convoy S2+ light with a stable 137lumens High.

Mode	Lumens
Low	7.47
Medium	40.55
High	123.77

Next was measure with an Olight 14500 Lithium-Ion and my older Light Meter HS1010A

Mode	Lumens
Low	22.33
Med	130.76
High	406.93

Overall conclusion:

Postive points:

1. Stainless steel with brass pill
2. Safe when using ordinary AA batteries
3. Includes clip-on carry clip
4. Well machined
5. Price, for $ 15 you get a nice flashlight
6. 14500 usable (gets hot)

Negative points

1. PWM noticeable
2. No real moon mode / firefly
3. No step down on 14500, could be a pro… but gets hot.
4. Driver has no real memory (except for next mode memory when the light is turned off within 5 seconds after switching mode or turning on)