A Clothing Layer Guide for Every Outdoor Activity
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Petzl Headlamp
If you have not heard of Petzl, chances are, you're not a climber. Not to worry, most of the innovation in the outdoor gear and outdoor apparel world comes from the climbing and mountaineering field. The latest craze of LED Headlamps is no exception. Climbers have so much gear to carry with them, that they have to try to lighten the load by making items lighter or smaller. Petzl did just that with the headlamp. A typical climbing headlamp consists of a large battery pack, a large head strap, and a large lens and bulb. The batteries alone could weigh several pounds and it is a bit bulky to say the least. When the Petzl Tikka headlamp was introduced to the climbing world, climbers embraced it with open arms. And so did the rest of the outdoor industry. The headlamp is small enough to fit in the chest pocket of a shirt, and weighs only 3 oz. But, that's not even the highlight. On a single set of 3 AAA batteries, the LED in the Petzl Tikka Headlamp will last for 150 hours. That's almost a solid week. No more packing extra batteries for that old school behemoth that you used to carry. The Petzl Tikka Headlamp was first introduced to the market in 2001. The latest Tikka comes as the Tikka Plus and the Tikka XP.
Now, I don't want to sound ignorant here to those of you who know all about LED headlamps. I realize that there are now many different companies that make LED headlamps. But, for you newbies, the Petzl line of headlamps is a solid choice for a quality product.