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.

Petzl Tikka +  Initial Review:

A non-descript brown box was waiting for me when I returned home from vacation, containing one Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp. The Tikka came packaged ready for display in its hang card and plastic bubble packaging. I tore into it right away, eager to get my hands on it. The construction of the packaging makes saving the hang card in one piece difficult. The printed information on the card subsequently gets thrashed, and becomes unusable. The content of the information is mainly marketing and flash.

After opening the package I gave the Tikka a 'once over'. Satisfied with the fit and finish, I started on the battery install (further destroying the packaging). Having had half a dozen headlamps and even a couple Petzl lamps I thought I could figure out how to install the batteries sans instruction. I had the concept right, but even after following the instructions I still had issues. Problem one, the instructions cover three models of headlamp. Problem two, the instructions are printed in five languages, making an already small single page less useful. Problem three, for the battery installation the instructions only offer a series of three illustrations, which aren't really clear. After a little head scratching and grunting I managed to figure it out, only to re-do it since only half the case decided to line up when I clamped the battery box shut. Gotta pay closer attention. I may sound overly critical here, and most of the problem may be attributed to spending the entire day traveling, so I was probably a little cross-eyed.

The wide elastic headband is comfortable. I'm not sold on the color choice, but according to my wife I'm colorblind anyway. The new adjustable housing is a great addition to the Tikka. Typically, adjustable housings are held by friction and a screw. Normal use generally loosens the screw allowing the lamp to flop forward. The Tikka takes a huge step forward making a ratchet type system that adjusts with positive clicks. That was one of my only gripes about the original Tikka I bought a few years ago, no adjustments in beam angle.

One thing I have to get used to is the switch operation. There's really no perfect way to handle a multiple option switch, from what I've seen. In this case, starting in the 'off' position, you press once for 'Maximum', press again for 'Optimum', again for 'Economic', again for 'Blinking', and finally again to return to the off position. That's a lot of button pressing. I wondered why a slide switch wasn't used, but assumed it was for maintaining some sort of water resistance.

Over the course of this 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. Overall, the initial impression is a very good one.

Areas that will receive special attention are; 1.) Brightness. Is this LED lamp capable of projecting enough light for night hiking? Which configuration is brightest or most energy efficient? 2.) Battery life. Are the batteries going to run out mid-trip, or run down to an unusable level? Will weather or temps affect their performance? Are the batteries to bulky for the head strap? 3.) Length of burn time. In line with points 1 & 2, at what point will the batteries and bulb intensity diminish to an unusable level? 4.) Watertight construction. Will the Tikka+ resist sweat and rain? 5.) Comfort, stability, beam angle and pattern, beam direction and location. Will the new adjustable housing remain adjustable or will it loosen up rendering itself useless?