Owner Review - Petzl Tikka E43 P Ultralight Headlamp

 

Biography

 

Name: Seth Middleton

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Height: 6’0” (182 cm)

Weight: 180 lb (81 kg)

Email Address: SDMiddleton@yahoo.com

City, State, and Country: Louisville, KY, U.S.

Date: 30 December 2003

 

Backpacking Background: My first backpacking trip was probably when I was 12 or 13 years old and I’ve been hooked ever since (for the past 13 years). I generally attempt to keep my backpack fairly lightweight, but I’m not above bringing the extra comfort amenities. I mostly take weekend trips, with occasional longer trips. I’ve backpacked in many of the midwestern states and the Rockies, as well as the Adirondacks and the Appalachians. I normally hike in low altitude, hilly, woodland terrain.

 

 

Product Information

 

Manufacturer: Petzl

Year of Manufacture: 2002

URL: http://www.petzl.com/

Listed weight with batteries: 70 g (2.47 oz)

Actual weight with batteries: 70 g (2.47 oz)

Battery Type: 3AAA included

Bulb Life: LED is reportedly nearly limitless

Battery Life: None listed.

Illumination Distance: 10 m (32.8 ft)

 

Review

 

The Tikka headlamp comes in a plastic package with the headlamp, attached elastic headband, and the instruction pamphlet. The batteries are already loaded in the headlamp. To replace the 3 necessary batteries, you must press a tab on the backside of the headlamp, and pull the battery compartment open. This is a difficult maneuver that I will elaborate on later in the review. To turn on or off, you must slide the switch directly above the actual light. The switch will only turn on or off, no intermediate settings (such as strobe, high, low, etc). The light is composed of 3 LEDs and they are angled down when the headlamp is worn. Or, I suppose you could wear the headlamp upside down with the lights angled up if you are climbing a tree at night or something like that, although I am not recommending that activity. The elastic band is 1 inch (2.54 cm) wide and can be adjusted to fit your head.

 

I’ve used the Tikka in over a dozen trips over the past year in many weather conditions and temperatures ranging from hot and humid to below freezing and even in the rain. I mostly use it around my campsite to see what I’m doing while setting up my tent, gathering wood, fixing dinner, or rummaging through my pack in the dark. I’ve found in these cases that the Tikka is extremely useful because it keeps both hands free and illuminates the area around me quite well. The band is wide enough so that the headlamp feels comfortable while I'm wearing it and I've adjusted the tightness of the band so that it doesn't leave a red mark across my forehead.

 

The Tikka is the first LED light of any kind that I've owned and I've been very impressed with the light intensity at short distances. I estimate the actual effective light distance to be closer to 5 meters (16.4 ft) rather than the listed 10 meters (32.8 ft) and it is an area light, not a point light. It was not useful when I tried pointing out constellations in the sky at night to my wife or when I tried to shine the light out of my tent to identify strange noises coming from the direction of my bear bag one night (about 20 meters or 65.6 feet away). Also, it greatly annoys others when I look directly at them at night. However, it is the best light source that I’ve found for use inside my 2-person tent at night. I simply place it face down on my mesh tent loft and it provides all the light I need for changing clothes, playing cards, or even reading.

 

I’ve also used the light on 3 separate occasions while caving. I’ve found that the Tikka is a wonderful caving light. It allowed me to climb, crawl, or duck-walk freely, using both hands and seeing very well with the bright LEDs. It is also a very durable light since I’ve never had a problem with it even after accidentally hitting it (and my head) against a rock while caving, or even after dropping it in a subterranean stream once. I was handing the Tikka to a friend and it dropped between us. I quickly retrieved it and shook the water off and it still worked after that. I’ve also worn it on the outside of my rain jacket hood during a moderate rain for about 2 hours. It was unprotected from the rain during those 2 hours and I did not notice a change in its performance.

 

Although this is definitely not the advertised or intended use for the Tikka, I have also used it to keep track of my dog at night. I simply put it loosely around her neck like a collar and then I can see her puttering around the campsite or down the trail. As a further example of its durability, my dog once chewed on it for a while (without my knowledge). She managed to open the battery compartment but after replacing the batteries and closing the compartment, the headlamp worked again like new.

 

Speaking of the battery compartment … I was tempted to start chewing on it myself after trying to open it for 5 minutes. It is very difficult to push down on the tab and pull the compartment open at the same time since the tab does not push down very easily and then there is no part of the compartment to hold on to as you pull. I theorized that it might be easier to push the tab in if I had smaller fingers or longer nails but I just asked my wife to try to open it and she couldn’t open it at all. However, with the right mixture of sleight of hand and brute strength, along with a little experimentation, I’ve gotten my time down to about 10 seconds.

 

The batteries last a very long time … the headlamp did not dim enough for me to really notice until after 10 trips or so (including once or twice when I accidentally kept it on all night long). However, when I did replace the batteries, I then noticed about a 50% increase in illumination power. Even with depleted batteries, it still provided enough light to read or cook by. I mainly noticed the dimming of the light when I tried to see things at a little distance such as when I was hiking down a trail.

 

Summary

 

The Tikka headlamp is an excellent basic LED headlamp. It does not have some of the extra features that other headlamps may have like light adjustments, but it is a very solid design and multi-functional.

 

Things I like:

 

1. Bright light

2. Durability

3. Long lasting bulb and batteries

 

Things I don’t like:

 

1. No light intensity adjustments

2. No angle adjustments

3. The battery compartment is difficult to open