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Petzl LED Headlamp Tikka Plus
by loveplanes I bought one of these over a year ago and it is without a doubt the best headtorch i have ever owned! At first it seems quite expensive at £30-£40 but believe me it is well worth it compare to cheaper versions. The first thing i love about this headtorch is that it is so comfortable. If your wearing a headtorch for a long time ... it is very important that it is comfortable and this really is. I used to own a headtorch that had a battery pack at the back of the head, but the problem was it kept sagging and was irritating to where. It is comfortable for two reasons. Firstly, it is extremely lightweight meaning that after a while you forget that you are wearing it. Secondly, it is very simplistic. There is just one elasticated band that fits snuggly round your head, tight enough to make it secure, but not squeezing your head, and the rest is contained in a small box at the front. There is also a very simple buckle on the strap which makes it easy to tighten or loosen. The one band strap, also means that the straps cannot get tangled, so when you really need it you do not have to try and untangle the straps, especially in the dark. This is a huge benifit over my previous torch. The torch packs down really small. The strap weighs hardly anything and the front box is the size of a small matchbox and is not heavy either. It fits very easily into small pockets etc, without weighing them down. It runs of 3 triple a batteries which are easily accesed and changed. The simplicity of the design does not only make it comfortble to wear. It also makes it extremely to use. There is just one button at the front to switch it on/ off and changing brightness. I also like that after 5 sec of being on the next time you press it, it turns it off without going through all the other functions first. It also remembers what mode you had it in last which comes in really handy. The simplicity, also makes it look modern and fashionable to wear. Even after all of this, the headlamp still beats other torches at brightness. I have a handheld maglite and it is even brighter than that, and packs to about 1/3 of the size. It produces a clear white light of 50 lumens without any dark spots, which is perfect for most outdoor activities. The only down side is that the light cannot be focussed, but this is not to be expected on a headlamp. One of the things that amazes me is the battery life when you consider how bright it is and that it only runs of 3 triple a batteries. It lasts a solid 40hrs no problem - amazing! Read the complete review |
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Petzl LED Headlamp Tikka Plus
by Thony We've all been there: arriving at a campsite at midnight in the pouring rain and trying to put up a tent as quickly as possible, hands getting numb, all the while trying to fumble a torch between hands, knees, teeth, ears. Whilst this headtorch won't stop the rain or make your sleeping bag any drier once you finally get in it, it will ... help speed up the process and keep your mouth free for cursing your choice not to just stay in a hotel as well as making everyday camping life that bit easier. This head torch has four modes: Maximum, bright, energy saving and flashing. The maximum mode is good for looking across terrain when navigating at night. Bright (or normal) mode is good for walking along clear paths and trails and energy saving is more than adequate for campsite activities. Afterall, you don't want a huge amount of light giving away your position when you're caught short in the middle of the night and having a sneaky pee in the bushes! The flashing mode has three main uses: 1. If you're out on the hills at night and have an accident it's a useful way of getting attention and, hopefully, help. This setting could save your life! 2. When used cycling on roads it does a good job of alerting motorists to your presence. Again, this setting could save your life. 3. The less useful but more fun function this mode serves is annoying your friends. I don't need to explain further other than to say this probably won't save your life. You switch between modes by pressing the big flat button on the top of the head torch. This is an improvement over previous models which had a sliding switch as you can operate it easily when wearing gloves, a very useful feature. The torch is powered by three AAA batteries. The manufacturer claims that a fresh set of batteries will give you up to 150 hours of light on energy saving mode, although realistically I've found this to be optimistic. Whilst it would probably give out light for that long by the end of the 150 hours the light will be dim. This torch does not maintain a constant light level regardless of battery life, rather the light gradually gets dimmer as the batteries age. All this said I have never had a problem with the battery life and have only had to replace them once in a year of ownership. Batteries are changed by removing the back of the torch. The action of opening pushes out the old batteries, making room for the new. Unfortunately this means pushing the new batteries in can be tricky. Not too bad when you're sitting on the sofa, but quite a bit trickier when you're in the middle of nowhere, your hands are numb and you've suddenly been plunged into darkness. The headband is adjustable from quite big to quite small and is elasticated so really is suitable for everyone. It's roomy enough to fit over bulky climbing or cycling helmets and provides a secure, snug fit. I have never found it uncomfortable to wear or use and there are no sharp plastic corners to dig in anywhere. Overall, I would say this is an excellent torch. It's sturdy, plenty bright enough and batteries seemingly last forever. It has useful settings, a comfortable headband and is built to last. If a friend were looking for a head torch I would happily recommend this one. Selling at about £30 this torch is excellent value for money. Read the complete review |
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Petzl Myo XP Head Torch
by freediveheaven One piece of kit I always check that I have and that it is in tip top working condition is my head torch and this little beauty is my second head torch made by Petzl, the first is now relegated to a back up one and this is now my primary source of light when trekking, camping or just plain old night hiking. Head torches are not just for ... camping they are useful for any activity where you need a light source which also gives you use of both hands, unlike a conventional torch and where there is no other alternative source of light. So for all you car booters and doggers (sorry that should read dog walkers) it can be a useful device. The reason I upgraded from my old torch to this one is primarily this one has a much more powerful beam and a longer burn time, this is in part due to the fact that rather than AAA batteries that are stored in the body of the torch this head torch takes 3 AA batteries (a set of which comes supplied with the torch ready for use) which are housed in a separate compartment which then sits on the back of your head. The rear compartment is a soft rubbery outer with a hard plastic back that is curved to allow it to fit the contour of your head and the strap slides through it. In addition to the added advantage of more power from three AA batteries I have also found two other advantages with this design, it is a lot easier to change the batteries when they need changing and if you are forced to change them in the open in wet weather then you are not opening the back of your torch to do it, secondly it reduces the weight on the front of your head and distributes it more evenly which I find makes the device a lot more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I have found that the burn time when using this torch is very impressive, with three levels of beam the most efficient will give your 150 hours of burn time and you get 80 hours from the maximum beam, most of the time unless I'm in my tent I find myself using the optimum (middle) beam and then you get 100 hours, only when inside my tent or a shelter do I have it on economic. The torch also has a simple traffic light system on the top of the casing which illuminates to indicate the amount of charge remaining in the batteries depending on what beam setting you currently have the torch running on, I have found this to be useful and also very accurate and when it hits the red you really do need to change your batteries as there is not a lot of time left before you are plunged into darkness. The three different settings that are easy to toggle through will vary the intensity of the beam and the range that the light is projected forward. There is also a small boost button on the top of the torch which allows an intense beam of light for short periods however this does use up a lot of juice if you use it a lot. It has an excellent range to it with the beam illuminating the ground 30 to 40 metres in advance when on the optimum setting, you should note that the longer the torch is in continual use the range does start to decrease, this is obviously relevant when hiking at night as most of the time in camp it will only be on for relatively short time periods. On maximum it can have a range of up to 72m when initially switched on which blows my old head torch out of the water when it comes to illumination and range. In terms of design it is a nice piece of kit, a mix of black and grey moulded plastic with bright green control buttons on the top, one that operates the boost and the second that operates the various settings and switches it on and off, to toggle through the various beam settings you simply double click to move to the setting you need and this is very easy after a couple of goes, the buttons are a different size so it is easy through touch to be able to locate them and distinguish between the two. It uses a single led bulb which is deeply recessed to protect it behind hard clear plastic and there is a reflective strip at the bottom of the torch to help cast the beam out further and wider. Another nice feature is the fact that not only does the head torch pivot easily to allow you to alter the range of the beam but when it is fully pushed back then there is a small plastic moulding that fits over the on/off button to stop it switching on while in transit, this is very useful as on my old head torch this feature does not exist and I have to remove the batteries when in transit. It has a wide strap (bearing the Petzl lettering) which makes this an incredibly comfortable head torch to wear and the battery pack is connected to the torch body by a plastic wire which is coiled at one end and runs through a retaining slot on the strap so that it does not get in the way, to ensure that the head torch stays in place there is also a strap that runs over the top of your head as well, this is detached when it arrives and it is optional whether you fit it however it does make it more secure and is good when walking at night to give you extra stability. I have been mightily impressed with this great bit of kit. I cannot find anything that I would change on it, the intensity of the beam, burn time; robust manufacture and comfort are excellent. There is one downside I guess and that is the fact that this does not come cheap, I have a 20% discount with Cotswold and it still cost me £52 at their slightly inflated normal prices (my opinion I'm sure not theirs), on Amazon you can get it for £58 which is a good price in my opinion for a product that has so many uses and is a nice piece of safety kit. Thanks for reading and rating my review and if you have any questions leave me a message. Read the complete review |
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