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:       1/24/05

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)
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 + Long Term Review:

Hard to believe 6 months have passed. Over the course of the test my Tikka + has seen a great deal of use. Some of the functions its served have been a reading lamp, work light around the house, and what it was purposed for, a hiking and camping aid.

Starting from the top, I must again praise the switch mechanism. Each time I use it I marvel at its simple yet ingenious design. Having other lamps that require you to cycle through each light mode until you find the right one then cycle through the rest to shut it off, I find the Tikka + action superb. Once you select the desired intensity, after a few seconds one more click shuts it off. The switch itself is easy to use, even with thin gloves on, and it always rewards you with a positive click. The orange rubber is a nice idea since a darker color might be difficult to see in low light situations.

The housing also receives a check in my plus column. I've always liked the minimalist design of the Tikka, and now that the Tikka + pivots it's even better. Also, not only does it pivot, but the ratcheting aspect takes the mini headlamp race a step farther than the rest. Using the pivot feature is extremely easy, making switching from close work like cooking or reading to walking very easy. More on that later. I'm still having personal issues with the batteries, can't seem to get the hang of opening that case. I'm no quite sure what my problem is, just that it takes a few minutes of wrestling with it to get it open.

The strap is also top notch, as I described in my field report. The width of the band more than makes up for the lack of an "over the head" strap. Once I adjusted and set the band comfortably I never had to adjust it, even after extended use. The best part about that was, as I mentioned before, I didn't have to move the strap to alter the beam location and direction, thanks to the adjustable housing.

Battery life is about average when compared to LED headlamps of similar size. Initial intensity is high. After about three hours the intensity declines slightly, then averages out and your usable light remains the same for many hours. So many, in fact, that I lost count. I was counting through twenty hours, average use time was around an hour, and the intensity was stable. The main use for the lamp was reading, so the beam intensity setting was always the lowest. At the highest setting, the best I found for hiking, the brightness diminished to the point where hiking with that much light wasn't easy after the 20+ hours. After a (not so) quick battery change, the intensity was back up to 100%. The nice thing about the AAA batteries is their small size and light weight. The downside is the fact that the Tikka + requires three. All the packs I buy either have two or four. Never three.

The LED's are bullet proof. In all my years I've yet to have one fail. The one thing I never used, and can't imagine a use for, was the blinking mode. I understand its function in an emergency situation, but the terrain and thickness of foliage in my neck of the woods would make it only marginally effective. Cool trick for around the campfire though.

I never deliberately tested the water resistance of the Tikka +. The unit resisted sweat and light drizzle without a hitch.

The band has stayed taut throughout the entire series as well. There's nothing worse than an elastic band losing its stretch. The Tikka + is as resilient as the day it came out of the box. The large clip makes adjusting it a snap, and stays where you put it. The wide band also keeps it comfortable on your head after long periods of wear, and keeps the lamp put when you're active.

After the six months of use I have to say that with all the lights I have, I'll continue to use the Tikka +. With its balance of weight, brightness, flexibility, comfort, and new features it does what the big guys can't and the little guys don't. Thanks to BGT and Petzl for the opportunity to test!

Josh

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Long Term Report