Petzl Tikka 2 Plus

Back in the late 90's my first headlamp was a Petzl Tika. It's served me well for years & lived in my backpack. After a hike with my wife & son where I decided to stay 6 miles into the woods to get pictures of the sunset over a Mt. lake, we hiked out in the dark. The older Tika and a flashlight between us, my wife decided it was time for an upgrade and bought me the Tika Plus 2 for Xmas of 2010. (I figured I would put some mileage on it before I gave it a review) We hike, backpack, & camp in the backcountry, whether by backpacking or canoeing in, extensively. Much of our time in the rugged forests of the Adirondaks & Catskills region of NY & NH/VT.
The light has seen a lot of use in the past year in every imaginable weather condition, along with a Black Diamond Spot I bought for my wife and a Princeton Tec Quad I bought my 8 year old son. We use each others on occasion, I wanted to be able to evaluate the different brands... The Petzl Tika Plus 2 has been hands down the best of all. The Black Diamond is cheaply made by comparison and in fact has already broken. The Petzl is a notably solid build yet is compact & unobtrusive, slim & sleek & light in design. The headband and mount is the most comfortable by a factor of ten and never loses it's adjustment as the BD Spot did constantly. I've several times completely forgotten I was wearing the Petzl. By comparison, I usually can't wait to get the Black Diamond off. The Princeton Tec has a good band too but it's not the Petzl. After a few hours, you will care...

The light itself, is very bright and though not power regulated does holds the same output through the bulk of the battery life. Likely cause the lights output isn't stretched to the top of the batteries capacity to give it a bloated lumens rating. It has just the right mix of penetrating spot with just enough peripheral flood, without having to switch back and forth constantly. The BD is one setting for spot and another for flood and you have to keep switching back and forth or cycling through one to get the other after you turn it off. The PT is just a good bright flood from four LEDs, no complaints exept the lack of a red light that I find priceless at times. The 50 lumens of the Tikka plus 2 is more than enough and I am often using it in low power mode as I just don't need to see 35 yards away that often, but when I do, it's one easy switch click. I was lured to the spot with the 70 lumens claim, problem is after just 20 minutes on the batteries, that 70 lumens has fallen off quite a bit and just gets worse from there. The PT is power regulated and holds the same brightness through most of the battery life but when it hits the end, it goes dim very fast. (Always carry spare batteries for any light)

The switch is also another feature that stands out with the Petzl. It's very easy to find & operate even with thick glove & frozen fingers. My finger just seams to fall right on it when I put my hand up and it operates smooth with a sense that it will continue to do so for a long time. The BD is a pain without gloves and near impossible with them. The PT switch is on par with the Petzl but I do like the Petzl better.

Changing the batteries is an important consideration. You'll likely be doing this in the dark in the middle of the woods one night... The Tikka Plus 2 opens easily with one finger but holds solidly until you want to open it. The case opens on a solid hinge and is easy to control with one hand as you work the batteries with the other. I guess my one gripe is that there is nothing tactile to tell me which way the batteries should go if I fumble one of them. (can't see the little pictures in the dark...) and the batteries have a tendency to pop back up sometimes. The battery retainers could be improved. But a this is something you should practice and get the hang of before it becomes a situation. To open the case on the BD is a similar clip but it puts up a fight and is another more flimsy piece of plastic I didn't expect to survive too many cycles. This hinge is a couple of plastic ribbons that let the two halves flop around and make it difficult to get things lined up again to close it. Wreaks more of cost reduction than quality engineering. The PT, being waterproof, has a thumbscrew with a slot for a coin or the edge of the adjustment bracket on the headband. It also has a solid hinge but has springs on the negative side that give me a tactile indicator in blind darkness, which way the battery goes. These also hold the batteries in more positively than the Petzl.

The angle adjustment on the Petzl is very easy to adjust with one hand, smooth and holds solid. The trails I hike are often very jarring and bounce cheaper lights out of position easily. The clip that allows and holds the adjustment on the Black Diamond Spot is what broke, it was a cheap & thin piece of plastic that just snapped off and never held well before. The Petzl has three separate contact points that are well engineered and even if one broke, unlikely, the other two are redundant. Glad I wasn't hanging off a rope when the BD broke! The Princton Tec is also a three point contact that is very solid but is also a bit rough and tight, sometimes requiring two hands to adjust.

The plastic case on the Princeton Tec Quad has recently split at the top just over the lens. The Petzl Tikka Plus 2 is chugging along flawlessly. I recommend it without hesitation. I'll never buy a Black Diamond again.

I've owned several Petzl headlamps starting all the way back when the lamp was huge and had a battery pack at the back end of the strap. They never disappoint, and my last one really took a beating. Camping with a bunch of friends, one thing led to another and my friend was taking the solid Gerber axe to my spare petzl, which was this item. Next morning my friend pieced together the headlamp, and it worked just fine. True story. The only dislike I have is the clear casing which diffuses light into my eyes in the dark. Just means that I wear the headlamp a little higher than normal. I love the red night vision option, which is very handy in the woods. I bought a blackdiamond headlamp and it is not reliable and is prone to shutting off at critical moments. Lesson learned. Stick with Petzl.

Between the two of us, my wife and I have owned 7 different Petzls. We lost one, gave one away to someone who needed it, crushed one and still have the rest. I keep going back to Petzl because they have been reliable in every situation, whether it's camping or just lighting a work project at home. This is the first model I've had with the additional red LED. I've yet to use that feature much but know it will come in handy on our next outdoor adventure. When camping we read every night so we're pleased with the long battery life (especially on low) I often find one or more of our Grandchildren wearing them as they explore some dark closet or our basement. I'm sure each of them would give Petzl 5 stars.

I use this headlamp for running in the early morning hours LONG before daylight. It's very bright, lightweight, and very comfortable to wear.

I've used it about 20 times since I first got it on 40 minute runs and the light is STILL bright and no indication of low battery yet (using alkaline batteries). I'll probably switch over the rechargeable batteries next time around to satisfy the environmentalist in me.

The one drawback is that I do not see a way to wash the elastic headband by detaching it from the lamp. This would be nice since your sweat is absorbed by the band. I guess I'll hand wash it and line dry when needed, but sure would be easier to throw in with the rest of the laundry.

I use this light as my primary base camp light and even hike and bike with it sometimes. It has ample light for a late evening descent or hike in to your campsite for the night. The red light feature is great for saving your eyes when you get out of the tent to pee but still want to be able to see that bear you hear sniffing around the tent. The light screen is great for dispersing the light and the main bright beam shines a long way in the dark. I do wish the power level indicator was on all the time and not only when it's about to die. They've fixed that in the new model though.

The second I opened the package to this headlamp I put it on to test it out. It fits snug as a bug around my head and is lightweight and comfortable. I got the pistachio color and it is very cute. The lamp has several settings of the light beam which is why I ordered and, and trust me it is worth the extra bucks to have the red light! I was able to take it for a test run this evening on a jog on my favorite trail and found the light beam perfectly bright and I hardly noticed the lamp on my head as I trotted. I am very satisfied.

I haven't had this light too long (a couple months now) and have only put 10 hours or so of use on it, so I can't attest too well to it' battery life, but overall I give it a good review. It's a very versatile light and it's best feature easily is the red LED capability. I don't think I would buy another headlamp without the red LED, as it allows you to retain your night vision and gives ample light to complete tasks in the dark without making a big spectacle of yourself.

This is one well made head lamp with very easy to use features. I have taken this on two BWCA trips and love it. My fellow campers have headlamp envy. I needed to make sure I kept this close to me to make sure they didn't "borrow" it. I love the red light option. I even use it as a book light when I back at home so I don't keep my wife up when I'm reading in bed. I would definitely recommend this headlamp.

This head lamp is awesome, I use it camping, hiking, biking at school, caving and for a plethora of other odd jobs. It's really bright, light weight and comfortable to wear. It's easy to change between the three lighting modes (bight, low light, and flashing) and the red light modes. I definitely recommend the Tikka Plus 2 it's really nice, if you see it on sale, pick it up for sure, if not, look around you might find better, though I kinda doubt it.