Name:     Josh Dunning
Age:        28
Gender:   Male
Height:    5’10” (1.7 m)
Weight:   190 lb (81 kg)
Email:     dunning_josh@yahoo.com
Locale:   Northern Connecticut
Date:       9/29/04

Background:

I've been spending as much time outdoors as possible for as long as I can remember. I tend to gravitate towards all manner of outdoor recreation with hiking, camping, backpacking, kayaking, and mountain biking topping off the list. I've been camping all my life, summer vacation as a kid was a weeks worth of car camping at the beach. Friends of my parents used to take us hiking in the mountains with an occasional overnight trip. Since then I've been hooked. I'll hike or camp in any weather, in any season. That can range from 10 below zero F (-23 C) in the snow to 100 F (38 C) plus heat. That's the beauty of living in New England. I try to hike at least twice a week, more if I can make time for it.

Item Information:

Company:	Petzl
Item:	Tikka Plus
Weight: (Claimed)	2.75 oz. (78 g) (with batteries)
Weight: (Actual)
LED	Four
Settings	Three Brightness, (maximum, optimum, economic) One Blinking Mode
Illumination:	Maximum Mode: 15 M (49') Optimum Mode: 10 M (32'9") Economic Mode: 5 M (16'3")
Batteries:	Three AAA (included)
Battery Life: (Claimed)	Maximum Mode: 80 Hr. Optimum Mode: 120 Hr. Economic Mode: 150 Hr. Blinking Mode: 400+ Hr.
Water Resistant:	Yes (Claimed)
MSRP:	$35.00 USD
Model Year:	2004
Box Contents:	(1) Headlamp w/ elastic headband (3) AAA Batteries (1) Instruction pamphlet

Item Description:

One of the original entries into the lightweight minimalist headlamp category, the Tikka gets a face lift and some new features to stay competitive in an ever changing market. The Tikka+ boasts an adjustable lamp, four LED's, comfortable adjustable elastic headband, four light output settings, and all with a minimal weight penalty.

Petzl Tikka + Field Review:

I've been using the Tikka + now for a few months, and I'm extremely pleased with the new features Petzl incorporated into the Tikka +. Most notable of these are the adjustable angle of the beam as well as the adjustable beam intensity.

The lamp intensity itself has shown some decline in brightness over the past few months. The highest setting is still bright enough to hike by, and the lowest setting is still more than enough to read by. I'd estimate the accumulated usage time is about 15 to 20 hours, never more than an hour at a time. Another nice feature that I found, and commented negatively on in my initial report was the switch mechanism. I was under the impression that you always needed to cycle through all of the brightness settings to shut it off, however, this is not the case. You do need to cycle through with one press of the button to select the desired intensity, each press changing the brightness setting, but one the light is left on one setting for more than 3 seconds, the next press of the button will shut the light off. Personally, this is the best functioning switch I've run across to date.

The lamp body itself is also fantastic. The pivot feature allows the wearer to select a comfortable beam angle to suit the task at hand; pointed down is great for close up work, cooking, etc., while the opposite is great for hiking or viewing things at a distance. The multiple intensity settings work well with the pivot since you can dim the light if you're working close to both save batteries and cut the glare. I do find it somewhat difficult to get into the battery compartment, but I may just need a little more practice.

The wide elastic band is comfortable and east to adjust. Personally, I'm a fan of the "tri-strap" type bands, but I haven't found a need to adjust the Tikka + once it's on.

If I could find one negative to pick on, it'd be the color scheme. Not a big fan of the 'retro' brown/orange theme. But again, that's me...

For the remainder of the test I'll be looking at things like LED and battery life, its water resistance, and how well the strap will stay on during hiking as it wears in and stretches some.

Josh Dunning

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Field Report