Petzl Tactikka XP Desert Camo Headlamp

[Summit]

Just arrived in mail today from Amazon.com. Paid $38 - retails for $55.95. It is one sweat headlamp. The camo color is great. I like it better than the red/black, or gray ones.

I have a cheap Petzl ($23) with three LEDs and basically only an on/off switch. This one has three brightness settings, a "boost" button for instant max brightness, and a battery charge indicator, plus 4 diffuser lenses: clear, red, blue, green.

Makes one want to turn the light out in your room and play "light show" on the walls!

[Tipi Walter]

Hey, I just got the Tikka XP and it's my first headlamp so I'm weaning myself away from the handhelds. What's the difference between the Tikka and the Tactikka?? Just the lenses and the camo? Is there any better headlamps out there than this baby? What's the rolls-royce of headlamps??

[bredler]

What's the rolls-royce of headlamps??

I would check out some of the stuff from Streamlight (Streamlite?). I have a pretty old model called the triton which has three LEDs and an incandescent bulb. Very lightweight, and the attachment to your head is great. It's one of the two strap systems with one going over your head. I've noticed that a lot of the petzls have just the one strap and I've found that with just one strap, the light tends to "pull" down off your head.

[Summit]

What's the difference between the Tikka and the Tactikka?? Just the lenses and the camo?

That's it. Same device and features, plus there is an extra lense holder (snaps in real snug) on the strap, so you can carry one other lense than the one you're using.

I highly recommend ditching the alkaline AAA batteries that come with it (use 'em elsewhere) and use three Lithium AAA batteries. They will last over 100 hours, probably even more if you use one of the lower power settings on the XP.

[Summit]

I've found that with just one strap, the light tends to "pull" down off your head.

I haven't had that to be a problem at all. To me, the extra strap is just extra, unnecessary weight, and would require constant adjusting when switching between nothing on your head, a hat, headsock, etc. I think the second strap over top of your head becomes important if doing technical climbing, for increased stability.

[Summit]

Hey Tipi, you ought to try out your new Petzl XP with a night hike! I did a year ago when I got my cheap one, hiked about two miles up a side trail to the AT, arriving at my campsite about midnight. Then I set up my tent. It was a blast! I'm interested to test my new one with a night hike also. Not sure if the clear diffuser lens will be better for hiking, as it spreads the light out considerably. Maybe the blue would be nice for hiking also? Red? I don't think so, but never know 'til I try.

[jlb2012]

I highly recommend ditching the alkaline AAA batteries that come with it (use 'em elsewhere) and use three Lithium AAA batteries. They will last over 100 hours, probably even more if you use one of the lower power settings on the XP.

per Petzl that is a bad recommendation : link

[Tipi Walter]

Hey Tipi, you ought to try out your new Petzl XP with a night hike! I did a year ago when I got my cheap one, hiked about two miles up a side trail to the AT, arriving at my campsite about midnight. Then I set up my tent. It was a blast! I'm interested to test my new one with a night hike also. Not sure if the clear diffuser lens will be better for hiking, as it spreads the light out considerably. Maybe the blue would be nice for hiking also? Red? I don't think so, but never know 'til I try.

I found the clear diffuser lense to be best for reading and for hiking at night, but I'm not completely positive about this.

per Petzl that is a bad recommendation : link

Hey, thanks for the head's up on this. Who knew?

[jlb2012]

Hey, thanks for the head's up on this. Who knew?

well I didn't know until I fried a PT Aurora - lessons learned the hard way always stick much better than web knowledge

[dessertrat]

I like my Ever-ready brand headlight, at 12 bucks, better than any other headlight I have.

Also, if that sucker is camoflage, you better not drop it in a pile of leaves!

[Time To Fly 97]

I have both the Tikka Plus and the Tactikka (zoom button and diffuser). If I am night hiking, I will definitely go with the Tikka Plus because the Tactikka is either too narrow a beam, or comparably more dimmer with the diffuser. It looked cool, but in reality the tried and true Tikka Plus is better.

I never had a problem with these falling off my head. Both have strap tighteners and adjustable angle. Of course, my head doesn't look like an upside down conehead either. : )

Happy hiking!

Time To Fly 97

[Summit]

I like my Ever-ready brand headlight, at 12 bucks, better than any other headlight I have.

Also, if that sucker is camoflage, you better not drop it in a pile of leaves!

It's not camoflage but rather a solid light brown or beige. I'll be careful not to lose it.

I would have never guessed that Lithium batteries would damage LEDs. Thanks for the heads up. Well, although heavier, the alkaline are much cheaper, and according to Petzl, the Tikka and Tachtikka XP should get 60, 80, 120 hours on the hi, med, low power selections with these batteries.

[Montego]

Hey, What's the rolls-royce of headlamps??

If light output (lums) is more important than weight, then the Princeton Tec Apex would be IMO the rolls-royce of headlamps. With 60 lums on high beam it appears to me that it is as bright, if not brighter, than my mini-mag with a Krypton bulb and with the low/high proximity light settings, seems to work well as a camp light (also extremely bright).

[mudhead]

Am I correct that lithium batteries can be used in a regulated headlamp?

[Montego]

Am I correct that lithium batteries can be used in a regulated headlamp?

To the best of my knowledge, yes.

[take-a-knee]

Does anyone have any idea if you can/should use lithium batteries in any of Princeton Tec's headlamps? Lithium batteries rock in the cold, their output/life is several times that of alkalines in subfreezing temps.

[mudhead]

Thanks.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

We tend to think camping gear is pricy, the "tactical" stuff is way off the wall price wise. Keeping this as non-political as possible you won't believe what it cost to fill out the pre-deployment gear list for our Marine at Quantico Tactical. Even Arc'teryx is into this stuff.

On a different tack, I came across a roll of 3M yellow reflective tape and have stuck some on virtually everything, particularly those easy to lose ti tent stakes. I come home with 99.9% of my gear now. That cammo zippo was really a dumb idea.

[take-a-knee]

We tend to think camping gear is pricy, the "tactical" stuff is way off the wall price wise. Keeping this as non-political as possible you won't believe what it cost to fill out the pre-deployment gear list for our Marine at Quantico Tactical. Even Arc'teryx is into this stuff.

On a different tack, I came across a roll of 3M yellow reflective tape and have stuck some on virtually everything, particularly those easy to lose ti tent stakes. I come home with 99.9% of my gear now. That cammo zippo was really a dumb idea.

Yeah, I thought the orange zippo was a lot smarter!

[Montego]

Does anyone have any idea if you can/should use lithium batteries in any of Princeton Tec's headlamps? Lithium batteries rock in the cold, their output/life is several times that of alkalines in subfreezing temps.

Couldn't get this link to work right, but this is the correct UL for the Princeston Tec site. By clicking on the individual headlights under "products", it will indicate whether Lithium Batteries are acceptable for that particular light.
http://www.princetontec.com/products/index.php?type=1