Headlamps

I've seen a couple of posts on here about headlamps. I was thinking of getting the Petzl Tikka, for general camp use, night fishing, glove compartment spare, etc... Anyone have any experience with these, and opinions on which one to get? Are they bright enough to use on SAR tasks, or just as a backup? Thanks in advance!<br><br>John McIntire

I have used the Tikka for a couple of years, and I like it a lot for general use. For SAR I would go with the Petzl Duo. There is an LED Duo, with which I have no direct experience, but I would think that would be the way to go. I have retrofitted my Duop with a single high intensity LED and it works fine.<br><br>If I were doing SAR right now, my pack would include a DUO, a Tikka, and a Photon II, possibly also a carbide headlamp.<br>

I've had one for a while now and i think they are great for close up work-reading, first aid etc. but are useless for hiking as the beam is very short but they provide a short range blast of bright white light!!! Very intense!

How about the humble new coghlan's headlamp - incandescent + 3 LEDs<br>Any experience with this ?<br><br>

I've had a Zipka for a few months. It's basically a Tikka without a head strap but uses a cord that reels into a windup module which sits behind your head. It's strength is the compact size: when reeled up, the Zipka is about the size of a jumbo egg, perfect for my car emergency kit.<br><br>Although the light is surprizingly comfortable for a headlight held around the head by a cord, it's only comfortable for short periods. I'm buying a second light, probably a Princton Tec Aurora which tilts, unlike the Tikka. <br><br>Neither light is really adequate for night hiking - LED's are still too dim, but they make good camp lights, and are great as utility lights for house repairs at night.

Well, I climbed Mt. Kenya and Kilimanjaro having only Tikka on my head. If you say that this is not enough light for hiking I really would like to hear your opinion on what adeqaute is. It may be not as powerful as Surefire beams but it sure lays a wide beam of light and lasts forever.<br><br>Picture of me using Tikka :)<br>http://brunerdog.tripod.com/africa/pages/me8.htm<br><br>Matt

I agree with Matt's assessment of the Zipka/Tikka. I've done some night hiking with the Zipka and it's perfectly adequate. I also obtained the filter kit that gives you the option of a red lens or green lens. The red lens is great around camp at night, in that it doesn't dazzle the eyes of your comrades and ruin their night vision.<br><br>Matt, your photographs are great!

I would suggest the Zipka over the Tikka. I purchased one for my wife, my daughter, and me. They are great for general everday use such as reading, cooking, first aid, and finding key holes, etc. But you still need a brighter light for anything that is not close up or when it is not dark enough for the Zipka but too dark to see without something. But for a small long life light I think the Zipka is great. I do wish it was water proof though even though I have never had a problem with water.

A good light for night hiking is not necessarily a flamethrower; I find the Tikka quite adequate for night hiking - it gives a good broad pattern and works very well, especially if you take care to dark adapt your eyes. I believe there is a very extensive, informative thread on this subject in the archives.<br><br>For my money, the Zipka is overpriced compared to the Tikka; The T is comforatble to wear for long periods

I tried one on our last night drill. It has very little throw, usable for close up work, tying knots, etc. I resorted to my Petzl incandescent light for activities where I had to view a bigger picture, like the over safety check for our rigging systems. I would not abandon a light with more throw, but will definitely use the Tikka as an additional light. Pete

Kilimanjaro! I'm truely impressed. I yield to your experience. <br><br>I based my pitiful obervations on using my Zipka around the house and back yard! But opinion seems to be divided among casual hikers who report the inadequacy of LED lights for night hiking. <br><br>Also, the Zipka isn't overpriced for me since I value it's tiny size which makes it very pocketable and convenient as an EDC light and emergency car light. For hiking though, I just ordered a Tikka for it's greater comfort.

Great, thanks for the replies! Seems the Tikka or LED Duo will be a good backup to my usual carry (Mag Lite or Sure Fire), but the Zipka's strap seems a bit too fragile for tough SAR. Thanks again.<br><br>John McIntire

In my (limited) experience, I find people tend to rely too heavily on flashlights. At a camping weekend we ran for the cadets back on the Labour Day weekend, the sleeping area was 200 yards down the hill from the kitchen where we ate. It seemed everyone, including the Boy Scout leaders, I think, had honking great maglites that they used to return to the sleeping area after supper. I found that I simply couldn't see where I was going with all those flashlights bobbing around; I was much more comfortable waiting for everyone to go on ahead and then proceeding down "in the dark". It was a dirt road, and a clear night - if they'd only turned off their flashlights and waited 5-10 minutes for their night vision to adjust, they'd probably have been astonished at how easy it was to see the road. <br><br>I'm only speculating, but testing a flashlight around the house or in the back yard, there might well be enough ambient light from the street, passing cars, or other houses, to prevent your night vision from ever kicking in. On the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, you might well find that your night vision is far better than you ever thought possible.<br><br>(My brother once dropped a roll of exposed film in the darkroom. He couldn't turn on the lights to look for it without destroying it. After about 45 minutes of fruitless groping on his hands and knees, he discovered that he could use the backlight from his digital watch as a flashlight; he found the roll of film and was able to develop it successfully.)

I now have both the Tikka and the Zipka. I managed to find the Petzl case for the Tikka, but not yet for the Zipka (it does exist).<br><br>The Tikka, in it's case, is not much larger than the Zipka for stowage, but the Zipka's cord is much more convenient to use, though I do have doubts about it's durability. One really cool thing about the Zipka is that you can wear the lamp on your wrist for close quarter hand work.<br><br>The Zipka has replaced my Mini Mag-Lites for EDC at the moment, ut occasionally I still take along a AA Mini Mag-Lite for a brighter spot light.<br><br>What would really be cool is if Petzl would build a Tikka/Zipka using AA batteries--that way I could fill it with lithiums. Alternatively, I'd like to see the battery companies come out with AAA lithium cells.<br><br>These lights are not exactly what I would call bright, but they are sufficient for many tasks. I haven't been hiking with them yet, but just walking around the backyard on a dark night is too much for them, in my opinion.<br><br>All in all, a good effort by Petzl, but really most useful for their size/weight rather than their light output--however, EDC items tend to be an exercise in compromise, anyway.<br><br>For SAR use, get a bigger hammer.

hikerdon has suggest almost exactly what I carry in my pack (with the exception of the carbide). The LED Duo works great. I use 1 hallogen for distance and the LED for most close up work. The burn life is of course really good using the LED. I also carry the Tikka for around camp and a photon II that I always have on my keychain. I also carry a surefire M3 for really big lighting. On the other hand I usually have more lighting devices then all of companions combined. <br><br>nothing like a little overkill.<br><br>-paul

For SAR I still carry my Petzel zoom in my pack. Throws great light for seeing things 30 feet away. <br><br>I have switched to a Princton TEC combo headlamp. It has two lamp assemblies, one 3 bulb LED and one incandescent. The lamp assemblies have a notch so you can only install them in the body of the flashlight one way. I am able to switch between the two assemblies with my eyes closed. <br><br>It is waterproof to 2000 feet. It uses AA batteries. I use lithium batteries. <br><br>When searching I use the incandesent lamp and around camp or command center, I use the LED. It is maybe double the size of the Tipka/Zikka but I have both incandesent and LED and waterproof.

LEDs are good for general purpose. I acquired one for extreme cold usage. They do not give the light required to do intimate work on a diameter that exceeds 1-2 feet. That is my experience with the light I used. As of today the temp is -25C. I used the LED for 10 min. It maintained a constant beam during the 10.<br><br>Mariner

I forgot to add. Next week I will change the universal joints in a 1990 Suburban using the LED. I will post how it goes.<br><br>Mariner

Another LED headlamp you may want to consider even though it is a fair bit more money is the Photon Fusion which is a bit like a 6 LED version of the Photon 3.<br><br>http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/fusion.htm<br>http://www.photonlight.com/fusion/index.html

Another one to consider is the > Princeton Tec Aurora - there is quite an extensive discussion of headlamps here .<br>