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Petzl Tikka XP
Initial Report October 7, 2005
Tester Information:
Name: Jason Boyle
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 6"/ 1.68 m
Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg
Email address: c4jc@hotmail.com
City, State, Country: Snoqualmie, Washington, U.S.
Backpacking Background:
I have been camping and backpacking for about 17 years. My introduction to the outdoors started with the BSA and has continued as an adult. I have hiked mostly in the Southeastern and Northeastern United States. I am generally a lightweight hiker, but will carry extras to keep me comfortable. I have just moved to the Pacific Northwest and have been exploring the new area and learning new places to backpack and camp. In addition to backpacking, I am also an ultra runner and make use of a headlamp during early morning or late evening runs.
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Petzl
Model: Tikka XP
Year of Manufacture: 2005
URL: www.petzl.com
Listed weight:
Headlamp: 59 g (2.1 oz)
Batteries: 36 g (1.3 oz) (3 AAA batteries provided)
Total: 95 g (3.4 oz)
Measured weight:
Headlamp: 57 g (2 oz)
Batteries: 28 g (1 oz)
Total: 85 g (3 oz)
**Disclaimer: the closest my scale will measure is in whole ounces**
Measured Dimensions: 2 ¼" wide by 1 ¼" deep by 1 3/8" tall (5.72 cm x 3.2 cm x 3.2 cm)
MSRP: Not available
Country of Manufacture: France
Expected Field Conditions:
Rain, Rain, and more Rain. The average precipitation for October is 6+ inches (15+ cm) and the average rainfall increases from there over the next couple of months. Most of my hiking takes place in the foothills of the cascades in places such as Tiger Mountain State Park, Cougar Mountain State Park, and the Mt. Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest. Average temperatures for the late fall to early winter range from highs in the 60's F to lows in the 30's F (18 C - 1 C) Elevation may vary from sea level to 14,000 ft (4267 m) although a winter summit attempt of Mt Rainer is highly unlikely.
Product Description:
The Petzl Tikka looks like an ordinary single strap headlamp.
It has the following features:
- 1" (2.5 cm) elastic adjustable strap
- Swivel head complete with a gear and tooth system to hold the headlamp in a desired position
- A plastic housing that holds the holds the battery and LED
- A second removable plastic housing that holds the sliding filter that changes the light from a focused beam to a wide angle beam
- Two rubber operation buttons
- Battery life indicator light
- A 1 watt LED bulb
Initial Impressions/Use:
Wow what a nifty headlamp! That was my impression when I received the blister pack holding the lamp. It was in pretty standard packaging; a plastic blister attached to a cardboard backing so that it could be prominently displayed in the store it was being sold in. The card has all of the standard information, weight, uses, etc… Directions for use in multiple languages also came inside of the blister pack.
When I look at the face of the headlamp it mostly looks like a camera, where the sliding lens is similiar to the shutter on a camera
 
Otherwise it is like most other headlamps with a couple of cool exceptions.
The first exception is that there are two buttons to operate the headlamp. If I am wearing the headlamp, the button on the left operates the light. It turns the light on and cycles it through the different settings; maximum, optimum, economy, blinking strobe. The button on the right operates the boost function. A quick burst of increased light output that lasts for 20 seconds or until I let go of the button whichever is shorter. The boost function works in all of the headlamp settings and even when the headlamp is off, which I think is very cool. I can remember times previously that I would have liked a little more light while doing something and have either just suffered through with less light or cycled my headlamp until it reached a brighter setting. The boost function is limited to 20 seconds by a power limiter to keep the LED from overheating.
The second exception is the battery life indicator light. On new batteries the indicator light blinks green, then when the batteries are at 30% it is supposed to blink orange, then at red at 10% remaining.
A third exception is the sliding wide angle lens. It takes the focused beam of the LED and diffuses the beam to cover a wider area. Petzl makes three different color lenses that can replace the clear lens that comes standard with the headlamp. The other colors available are red, blue, and green.
Website:
The Petzl website provides detailed pictures and information on the Tikka XP. I felt like I knew what to expect based on the information they provided. When I received the headlamp it was exactly what I expected to receive.
Improvements:
None at the moment.
Testing Plan:
I will look for the following characteristics in this headlamp over the next four months:
My answers are in parenthesis and italics.
Durability:
- How durable is the "optic system" that changes the lamp from a wide angle lamp to a focused lamp?
- If this piece breaks the lamp will only be able to be used in the focused position? (Yes, until a replacement lens is purchased)
- Petzl lists an alternate wide angle lens kit, is the system easy to change? (Yes the outer housing easily pops off through a pull tab on the bottom)
- How durable is the tilt screw that allows the lamp to be adjusted? (Actually not a screw but a gear and tooth method that seems pretty durable on initial inspection)
- Are the on/off/boost buttons made of hard plastic or soft rubber? (Soft rubber) Are the buttons able to take multiple thousands of uses before wearing out?
- Petzl lists multiple burn times at 20 C (68 F), what are the burn times for the lamp in real world conditions?
Fit:
- Is the single headband easy to adjust and comfortable when worn for an extended time frame?
- Can I wear a ball cap over the headlamp?
Lighting:
- Does the light prove its usefulness when night hiking?
- Will it actually light up 35 m (115 ft) in high power mode / 50 m (164 ft) in boost mode?
- Is the economy mode useful around camp or will I have to use the optimum setting?
- How useful is the battery indicator light?
- Does the Tikka maintain consistent light output until it is dead or does it drop off like most other lights?
Ease of Use:
- Can the batteries be easily changed in the dark?
- Petzl does not make any claims on the lamps waterproofness, if I use it in a rainstorm will the lamp continue to function normally?
- Are the buttons easy to find while wearing the lamp? Does the optic system lens slide smoothly?
Thanks to BackpackGearTest and Petzl for the opportunity to participate in this test.
Read more reviews of Petzl gear
Read more gear reviews by Jason Boyle
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