|
| Home | Guest - Not logged in | |||
|
» Register
» Login
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
» Contact
|
Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - LED > Petzl Zipka Headlamp > Owner Review by Bob SandersOwner Review: Petzl Zipka HeadlampDate: 10-05-05
PERSONAL INFORMATIONName: Bob Sanders Backpacking Background: I went on my first backpacking trip as a Boy Scout at the age of 16. Over the years I have hiked the Wonderland Trail in Washington and section hiked parts of the Florida Trail and the Appalachian Trail. In 2003 during a seven week period I hiked 740 mi (1191 km) of the Pacific Crest Trail. Best vacation I ever took. I continue to backpack and hike year round in the Colorado mountains. I have evolved from a heavyweight backpacker to a lightweight backpacker. My
three day summer solo adventures (using a hammock) have me hovering around a base weight of 12
lb (6.8 kg). PRODUCT INFORMATIONManufacturer: Petzl
PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONThe Petzl Zipka is a compact and lightweight three LED headlamp. It has a retractable Spectra® cord headband that will fully expand to a 29 in (73.6 cm) circumference. Large enough for even the largest of craniums. I have a pretty large head and fully extended there is still 4 in (10 cm) of clearance when placed on my head. Plenty of room to be worn over a hat or even a helmet. The headlamp can be worn around the head, around the arm or wrist and around just about anything than can be inserted into the headband. I once used it around my Nalgene® water bottle for a steady source of light while I cooked. I have also used it on the handlebars of my mountain bike. The Zipka is listed on the Petzl website as "the most compact and lightweight model in the PETZL range". This is what attracted me to this model in the first place. I have previously owned and used both the Petzl Zoom and Micro headlamps. They are both very reliable but a little on the heavy side. I had also investigated the single LED "Photon" handheld style of lights but they just didn't meet my criteria. The Zipka is just so much more versatile. Much brighter with three LEDs and I'm able to use it on my head for reading and camp chores. I wasn't planning on doing any nighttime navigation except to answer nature's call at 2:00 am and it is plenty bright for that. And at 2.25 oz (439 g) it fits my lightweight criteria pretty well. It also takes standard AAA batteries which are easy to find and are now available in Lithium for better cold weather performance. Manufacturers Specs: FIELD INFORMATIONLocation for Testing: Southern California along 740 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. Seven weeks of continuous use. Since that trip it has been used on numerous overnight, long weekend and week long trips in the Colorado backcountry. Hiking Conditions: Southern California has varied terrain ranging from desert to high mountain passes. I experienced daytime temperatures between 100° F (37° C) and 45° F (7° C) and nighttime temperatures between 60° F (15° C) and 25° F (-4° C) Elevations were from sea level to 10,000 ft (3,048 m). Central Colorado has higher elevations and cooler temperatures. Elevations
up to 12,000 ft (3,657 m) and nighttime temperatures down to 15° F (-9° C) OWNER REVIEWThis headlamp has served me extremely well over the years. It is bright enough to handle all of my camp chores including reading, cooking, setting up my tarp, packing-up in the wee hours of the morning and staying on the trail during some long days that stretched into the night. Once my eyes adjust to the dark the Zipka is really quite bright. For example: during one very nerve-racking evening at about 10:00 pm I was awakened by sounds of tearing, grunting and thrashing in the bushes. I put the headlamp on and about 100 feet away from me I could clearly see a bear tearing someone's food bag apart. Luckily mine was hanging safely in a tree. Some yelling and screaming scared him off with what was left of the food bag. I calmly but quickly took my tarp down, retrieved my food bag, packed my bags and got the heck out of Dodge. The other unknown inhabitants of the camp didn't seem like they were in much of a hurry. The headlamp was bright enough to break camp, find the trail and hike an additional three miles until I felt I was a safe distance from Mr. Bear, or until my heart stopped beating so fast. This was all done in very dark conditions. It was a heavily forested area with very little moonlight getting through. Since that evening I have used the Zipka on every backpacking trip I have taken. I even throw it in my daypack as one of my ten essentials. The angle of the LEDs is not adjustable. The LEDs are already pre-angled about 45° downward. For me it is about the perfect angle for reading a book and walking down a trail. If I need to change the angle of illumination I just lift or lower my head a little and adjust my eyes.
Comfort: Putting the headlamp on does take some practice. If I don't follow the correct procedure I will catch my hair in the retractable headband. The correct procedure is to grasp the retractor in one hand and the lamp housing in the other. Stretch them apart far enough to accommodate my head. I always place the lamp housing on my forehead first. Then I lower the retractor to the back of my head. When removing the headlamp I always pull the retractor housing straight back and then up and over my head. This keeps my hair from getting caught up in the Spectra® cord. There is a soft foam pad on the back of the headlamp where it rests against my forehead. The retractor piece has a spring coil mechanism inside of it. When I pull it away from the headlamp it uncoils and releases the Spectra cord headband and creates tension. Releasing the retractor recoils the headband inside of the retractor housing. The tension on the headband seems just about right. Not too loose and not too tight. It is tight enough to stay securely attached to my head and is comfortable enough to wear for many hours at a time. Construction and Durability: The Zipka is well made and after 150 days of field usage it is still in excellent condition. Other than some minor scratches to the clear lens in front of the LEDs it looks brand new. The Zipka is not waterproof but it is water resistant. It would not survive a complete dunking or a sustained amount of heavy rain. But it has survived fog, heavy condensation and light rain while setting up camp. There is a single on/off switch on top of the headlamp. It is about .5 in (12.5 cm) x .25 in (6.3 cm) with deep ridges across the top. My fat fingers don't have a problem turning the lamp on and off, even in the dark. The switch is still quite usable while wearing thin glove liners but I would have trouble operating the switch with anything heavier than liners. To access the battery compartment there is a single very small ridge (bump) on the back of the headlamp that needs to be depressed before the back will swing open. With my thumb I can depress the ridge with my fingernail and pull down in one motion. Those without fingernails should use a coin. Opening the battery compartment is not possible while wearing gloves of any kind. Battery and brightness: This headlamp is a power miser. In seven weeks of daily use on the PCT I never changed the batteries once. Not surprising since it is rated at 150 hours of use. Though it was definitely not as bright as day one. On the Petzl website the performance criteria is listed as follows "Petzl defines a usable light source as one that provides at least 0.25 lux at a distance of 2 m; this is the minimum amount of light required for efficient movement in the dark" I don't have any way of measuring the lux, but at the end of seven weeks it was still bright enough to do camp chores and read. The three LEDs have a slight bluish cast and deliver a smooth light pattern. At reading distance it casts a beam approx. 6-8 in (15-20 cm) across. At walking distance pointed about 10 ft (3 m) in front of my feet the beam is approx. 6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m ) across.
The effective distance also goes down the longer the lamp is on. Petzl lists the specs as: Cold weather performance: On many mornings the temperature was in the 30s F (-1 C). I would find the headlamp, pop it into the sleeping bag with me for an extra five minutes of ZZZ's, slide it on my head and I was good to go. Switching to Lithium batteries would eliminate the prewarming ritual. But that means I would loose those extra ZZZ's. CONCLUSIONI really like this headlamp. I wouldn't use it for a predawn summit attempt, but that's not what it's made for. For me it is the perfect backpacking headlamp. It is a standard piece of backpacking equipment for me. Pros: Cons: Read more reviews of Petzl gear Read more gear reviews by Bob Sanders Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - LED > Petzl Zipka Headlamp > Owner Review by Bob Sanders | |||
