Is the GoPro Enduro battery an essential upgrade for your Hero action cam?

GoPro accessories are nothing new, but in November 2021 the action cam king launched an unusual one that we haven't seen before – a new Enduro battery for its GoPro Hero 9 Black and GoPro Hero 10 Black models.

The claims are that the Enduro "dramatically improves" your action cam's performance in cold temperatures, and also gives you extended recording times in normal temperatures, too.

For example, GoPro says that when shooting 4K/60p video in moderate temperatures you'll get 13% more battery life, and a massive 40% boost when recording 4K/120p slo-mo. Head somewhere cold (-10C and beyond) and you'll get similar recording times in each mode, with no major hit on your battery life.

That all sounds pretty useful, particularly as the Enduro costs $25 / £25 / AU$40, which is only $5 / AU$10 more than the standard GoPro battery for the Hero 10 Black and Hero 9 Black. In the UK, both batteries are even the same price.

So should you rush out and buy an Enduro for your GoPro? Or is it an upgrade that you should park until you really need a new battery? We put one to the test at various frame-rates, and in varying conditions, to find out.

The test results

To see how big an improvement the Enduro is over GoPro's standard 1,720mAh cell, we ran some tests over both type of batteries in a Hero 10 Black. 

These were somewhat complicated by the Hero 10 Black's tendency to overheat in static situations with no wind, but in those situations we totted up the total record times after giving each battery the same ten-minute cooling break.

For the freezer tests, we ran them after putting the GoPro into the freezer compartment (which was -15C) from room temperature, and also after leaving the batteries in there overnight. In the absence of a ski trip, the latter helped simulate what it'd be like to use the batteries on the slopes or on an extremely chilly camping trip. 

It was here that the Enduro produced the most marked difference in performance –whereas the standard battery only managed to start recording for a matter of seconds before going back to sleep, the Enduro battled through its frosty start and kept going largely as normal. Here are the full results. 

One other claim that GoPro makes about the Enduro battery is that it recharges about 13% faster than the standard battery (as long as you're charging the battery in-camera). This could be handy if you're in a rush or are hot-swapping them on a long shoot.

Again, we found this to be a fair claim, with our Enduro battery charging in 112 minutes, compared to the 125-minute wait for the standard battery to be replenished in-camera. 

Is the GoPro Enduro an essential upgrade?

From our tests, the only situation where the GoPro Enduro battery could be deemed an 'essential' buy is if you're either traveling to, or live in, somewhere with sub-zero temperatures. 

This is because it's much more reliable than GoPro's standard battery when it comes to starting up in extreme cold. For shooting snowsports, that peace of mind is likely worth the $25 / £25.

For everything else, the Enduro is a nice-to-have rather than a must-buy. It certainly does boost the battery life on the Hero 10 Black and Hero 9 Black in normal temperatures, with our tests backing up GoPro's claims for the 4K/60p mode (we got a 15% boost) and 4K/120p mode (where we found a 51% improvement). There's also a marginal improvement in charging times.

If your current battery has taken a battering and has lots some of its stamina, it's worth buying an Enduro and paying the premium over the standard battery. In the long-term, we expect it to become the action cam maker's default battery, but for now it's one of the more sensible GoPro accessories you can buy.

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