The lamp was fine when I arrived but the next evening I took the lamp out of my pack and I noticed the battery pack was very hot. The next winter I was working in Sweden again for a couple of weeks in February, so I took the Myo. ![]() This made the lamp feel balanced on the head, rather than heavy.Īfter using the Myo in the winter, I liked its utility more than the Tikka so, despite the extra weight, I started taking it for more regular use in the UK. There was, however, the extra power of an external battery pack, which sat on the back of the head strap. The downside of this was it still used as much battery power as throwing the beam a good distance. If you needed something more diffuse, then there was a diffuser on the front, which could be flipped up. It had a bright beam, which was more directional than the Tikkas. This was used for winter walking in the UK as well as in northern Sweden. So, I had bought a Petzl Myo XP for serious winter use, where night navigation was more likely and more critical. Travelling by night was a bit more difficult though as these torches did not cast a strong beam particularly far into the distance The Petzl Tikka headlamps had been bright enough for general use and certainly illuminated the immediate area. Photo: Paul Kirtley The elastic of the headband disintegrated, so I tied a knot in the band to hold it on my head. The second Petzl TakTikka after about 18 months of use. The immediate solution was to tie an overhand knot in the head band so it would sit on my head. It seemed to be biodegrading before my eyes… What happened in the end was that I went to put the torch on my head one Winter evening in the woods but the head strap did’t grip my cranium. It had a new, improved rubberised pushbutton switch, which was almost impossible to find, let alone successfully depress whilst wearing gloves.ĭespite the shortcomings of the improvements, this lamp lasted a reasonable while – at least a year and a half. I blamed myself for carelessness and bought another TakTikka. It still works but only if you squeeze the crack closed, which in turn puts enough pressure on the battery contacts. It came out cracked, seemingly due to my having had the lid closed all day (the lamp was in the inside mesh pocket of the rucksack lid – my standard place for stowing my headlamp). The plastic body cracked due to some mysterious rucksack event. Apart from the fact that Ordnance Survey maps have contours shown in brown and are very, very hard to see in red light.īut that wasn’t the main issue with the TakTikka headlamp. This Petzl headlamp had a hinged red filter “for night use”. All that remains of my first Petzl Tikka. All that remains of it in my box of Petzl bits is the strap and backplate. I don’t recall exactly but it was over a year. The first one I had lasted a reasonable time. Lightweight, comfortable and powerfully bright in comparison to old bulb torches. The advent of LED headtorches quickly supplanted by liking of the Mini Maglite. I also became a little tired of dribbling spit on myself, and sometime even gagging, while holding it in my mouth to keep both hands free, particularly when packing/unpacking my rucksack, preparing food, operating stoves, etc., in the dark.Ī Nite Ize headstrap eventually solved the latter problem but not the former. The warm glow of its single bulb was comfortingly homely but it wasn’t very bright. My first decent quality outdoors lamp was a Mini Maglite. This allows some outdoor equipment manufacturers to sell equipment that doesn’t last very long.įor the average outdoor user, it takes a while to wear out gear, because infrequent use is spread out over an extended period. Most people who enjoy outdoor life are limited by their holidays/vacations as to how many weeks or even days per year they spend pursuing their outdoor leisure pursuits. Let’s face it, there is a lot of cheap rubbish out there. I expect that it will be reliable under regular and continuous use, under various conditions over the course of various seasons, for at least a year. I have moderately high expectations of outdoor equipment. ![]() This is particularly the case when it comes to outdoor equipment. It is less about frugality and more about reliability. I like material possessions to last as long as possible. My critics might say not to be so precious, “it’s only stuff”.īut I’ve always been careful to look after things. Generally, I look after my belongings, outdoor kit or otherwise. The quick answer is that I started using a Surefire Minimus. A mixed beam and close-range beam let you decide whether to light up a certain area or to light up the whole forest.Petzl headlamp graveyard. This increases the efficiency of runtimes and conserves battery life. The Tikka R+ Headlamp from Petzl is a light which features Reactive Lighting Technology, maximizing performance of the standard Tikka light and adapting instantly to the surrounding environment and light levels.
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