Saturday, January 12, 2013

Gear Review: Petzl Tikka XP Core Headlamp


This modern headlamp is designed for a person who is seeking reliability, durability and a variety of light sources.  Even better, the headlamp comes with a rechargeable lithium battery that is very convenient and ultimately reduces the impact on the environment by eliminating the use of disposable batteries. 


The lighting features include white and red light modes.  There are three white lighting modes: maximum, economic and strobe.  The red light modes are: maximum and stobe.  The maximum white light is excessively bright and it is my go-to mode for alpine starts that require attentive navigation. The economic mode is a great way to save battery life when maximum brightness is not required.  The red light mode offers a mild light that doesn’t cause the pupils in the eye to constrict maximizing night vision.  The stobe lighting modes are perfect for a spontaneous dance party (in my case) or more seriously they are intended for a rescue scenario. 

The CORE lithium ion polymer battery is user friendly and can recharge up to 300 times.  It takes about 3 hours to recharge.  It comes with a small USB cord and wall charger and works with most cell phone chargers, computers and car charges. The headlamp also accepts standard AAA batteries if you want back up batteries for an extended back country expedition.  For me this feature has been especially useful when traveling abroad as I don’t have to worry about packing batteries and know that I can easily recharge my battery with my laptop (which almost always comes with me overseas).

Other great features include:
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  •    Water resistant and works great in the cold
  •      OS Petzl Software allows customization of lighting modes to optimize lighting intensity vs. battery life for maximum personalization
  •      Adjustable and comfortable elastic strap fits greats on a bare head or headlamp and includes a mini emergency whistle
  •       Low battery light indicator
  •       Weighs just 2.9 oz with CORE battery
  •      3 year guarantee


I have been using this headlamp for over a year now and it is my go-to headlamp for basically every outdoor activity due to its reliability and lighting options.  The rechargeable battery is super convenient and a great way to minimize waste.  I highly recommend this product for anyone looking to upgrade their headlamp!