POSTED BY

Lisa Katayama

AT 10:09 AM
Tuesday June 23, 2009

Furniture and Lighting • Sports and Survival • Theme Post

Black Diamond • camping • Petzl • themes

Review: Three headlamps for dark nights

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Petzl Tikka Plus 2

The Tikka Plus was my favorite of the three headlamps I took with me on our camping trip, and that's why it's the headliner of my review. It emitted a soft, clear light, and at three ounces it really wasn't that weighty on the forehead. I took it with me into the bushes to pee, and had no problem seeing below and around me. It has a red light mode for preserving night vision, too.The Tikka Plus debuts in September for $40.

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Black Diamond Ion

The Ion is just a really basic headlamp made by an awesome outdoor company. It only weighs an ounce, and uses a 1/2 watt LED pivots up and down. At $20, it really doesn't hurt to have one tucked into your pack as backup. Also, it almost looks like a piece of jewelry on my forehead, and thus wins the prize for best-looking headlamp of the bunch.

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Petzl Myo RXP

Of all the different kinds of lighting we had with us on this trip, the Myo RXP was the most powerful. It uses three AA batteries, which makes it kinda heavy at just over six ounces, but the battery pack sits at the back of the head so it didn't really bother me that much. It's $100, but well worth it if you're really scared of the dark &mdash this makes you feel like you just walked into a well-lit room. Also great for night runners as it gave the most steady panoramic stream of light.

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10 Comments

gwax

#1 – 11:15 AM June 23, 2009

To throw another option into the list, I've been using and loving a Black Diamond Spot that I picked up at REI a year or so ago.

It's pretty light weight (3oz) and, to date, I'm still using the first set of batteries (3xAAA) that I put in.

The light has two sets of lights, a really bright 1-watt LED and a set of three smaller white LEDs. This provides the option of a bright spot or a milder diffused light; each having multiple brightness settings.

I would absolutely recommend the Black Diamond Spot as a headlamp to consider.

Patrick Austin

#2 – 12:03 PM June 23, 2009

Inside my tent I use an old Petzl Tikka 'cause I love the red filter. Outside, I use a Fenix L0D-CE's in a head band. They're indestructible, bright, cast 70 lumens on one AAA battery and do double duty as a key fob when I'm not hiking.

roguecnidarian

#3 – 1:47 PM June 23, 2009

It's been a few seasons since I got it, so Petzel might not make it any more, but I have a wonderful Tikka XP. It was rated highly by Backpacker a few years ago and replaced a Black Daimond Moonlight (wasn't that the first LED headlamp?)

The XP is just one superbright focused LED that makes a spotlight (overcoming a lot of the problems I've had using the LED headlamps for hiking at night), and it has a clever little filter that can slide over and diffuse the light (so, it's possible to replace the filter with other colors, too). The thing works like most Tikkas, but has an extra "boost" button, too; holding that button pumps more power to the LED, but shuts off after 20 sec so the LED doesn't overheat. The thing is great and lasted nearly a whole season on one set of 3 AAA batteries.

omnifrog

#4 – 3:29 PM June 23, 2009

I have a Petzl Zipka Plus LED headlamp in my computer bag right now. While not as comfortable as the full elastic band headlamps, it has a small string that goes into a spring loaded reel. What this does is make the headlamp incredibly compact for packing. Otherwise it's the same design as light number one above. I just find the form factor to be really nice and so this little headlamp goes with me everywhere.

Dave

#5 – 4:06 PM June 23, 2009

Forget what you thought you knew about flashlights and visit candlepowerforums. Flashlights (specifically LED based) have moved 5-6 years ahead of what you will find blister-packed in the local outdoors store. For a headlamp, do yourself a favour and look at what ZebraLight is making - the H50 specifically for less exotic batteries.

SBW

#6 – 4:12 PM June 23, 2009

Many flashlight geeks fell in love with the Chinese Fenix flashlights. Fenix uses binned Cree LEDs which are more efficient than the popular Luxeons, powered by well-designed electronics. The fans begged for a headlamp, and Fenix finally released their Zebralight series last year.

http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=89&products_id=455

I love mine.

SBW

#7 – 4:18 PM June 23, 2009

Many lashlight geeks fell in love with the Chinese Fenix flashlights. Fenix uses binned Cree LEDs with higher efficiencies than the popular Luxeon LEDs, driven by well-designed electronics. The fans begged them to make a headlamp, and they released their Zebralight line last year. Here's the US distributor's page: www.4sevens.com

I love mine.

quasiperiodic

#8 – 7:08 PM June 23, 2009

princeton tek. simple reason. no questions asked lifetime warranty.

i've sent the same headlamp back three times over eight years of extremely heavy use (i'm a farmer). full disclosure, i gave the original princton tek headlamp i had to my wife - i use the new "tactical" now, for the red filter and waterproofiness among other nice upgrades.

Stuporman

#9 – 7:45 PM June 23, 2009

None of the headlights you've reviewed have red lights. i only use red lights at night in the bush. There's nothing more annoying than having someone shine a white light around and ruining your night vision, especially when on the trail. white lights are just for reading in a tent.

devophill

#10 – 3:45 AM June 24, 2009

Stuporman- "None of the headlights you've reviewed have red lights."

Lisa- "It has a red light mode for preserving night vision, too"

Hmm.

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