Petzl Tikka XP Led Headlamp

The Petzl Tikka XP-
This review is for the Petzl Tikka XP head lamp which I bought a few months ago and have found it to an extremely useful piece of equipment. Using a head lamp can be one of the most useful, safe, and convenient things you can do while engaging in virtually any activity that requires more light. The light can ideally be used by runners, bikers, hikers, campers, climbers, or those that need to use both hands while repairing things around the house. It includes many features that most head lamps lack, while keeping the price somewhat affordable.

General Features-
The head lamp casing is constructed of a high-impact plastic that would be difficult to crack or break due to its solid construction. The light weight of the lamp also increases its strength because lighter objects fall slower and softer. Dropping the light from even a great height would probably do no serious damage. The head lamp case has only two buttons on the top that are easy to locate to turn on and off or make adjustments. The rubber buttons are yellow and have a durable solid feel when they are engaged. The buttons are nice and accessible and can most likely be felt and pressed even while wearing gloves. It can be quite bothersome to have to take off one's gloves to adjust the light. One button is to turn the light on and off and to select different brightness levels. There are three levels of brightness to choose from. There is also a flashing function that blinks for those that need a light for others to see (i.e.- drivers), instead of using it to see through the dark. This would be a good function for runners or bikers that need traffic to see them more so than for the biker to see the traffic. There is a function that is used as a quick light boost if you have to see something especially dark or further away by pushing in the second button. The light strength can be boosted to about 30-40% brighter. The low beam strength is more than enough under most circumstances because it is a white xenon color of bulb, like many bright car headlights. It is not a washed out amber bulb that blends into colors and ambient lights. It's a very clear crisp beam that has no holes or black spots in it like many less expensive head lamps or flashlights that require lateral and horizontal movement to clearly see things.

The head lamp also has a very useful diffuser over the bulb that can be pushed in front of the light and then easily moved back into place. The diffuser is a small honeycomb pattern lens that makes the light spread out to a greater distance. This gives a wide angle approach so one can see out to the side better instead of what is only directly in front. It does not go as far with the diffuser engaged, but it does make it so one doesn't have to move the head around to see things. The diffuser is easily accessed, and when it is engaged, a tiny non-functional Petzl logo appears where the diffuser appears from. The light is held on the head with a very soft and sturdy elastic apparatus that goes around the head like a headband. Some head lamps cover the radius of the head with a strap going over the top of the head. This is a nice feature however, it can mean that the lamp is heavy and requires a second strap to keep the lamp in place. It can also be difficult when you need to wear a helmet or hat, because it makes the fit more uncomfortable and more straps that need adjusting. The Tikka XP has a light weight cool strap that is easily adjusted to various lengths. Where the light meets your forehead is the soft elastic band surface instead of the hard plastic back of the lamp. Some lamps are designed so that they place a hard plastic surface up against the forehead which over time, can become very uncomfortable. This lamp can be worn for hours and one might even forget that they are wearing it.

The lamp can be tilted because it is designed with a hinge on the bottom of the case where the case meets the strap. It can be tiled almost a full 90 degrees down to the chest so you can see what is directly in front like a book, magazine, etc. If the light is turned upside down, one could tilt the lamp upward instead of downward to see above them. The lamp can operate for many hours on two AAA batteries. This is a great feature because batteries are not cheap, and it is inconvenient to have to pack extra batteries with you on trips and activities.