Some gear you buy ends up being a no frills, just get on with it, workhorse. As far as headlamps are concerned, the Petzl Tikkina 2 is my workhorse headlamp. It does the job and never lets me down.
The Tikka 2 is fairly compact, although there are headlamps of the same size with more output (at the expense of battery life). The weight with batteries is 80g.
The Tikka 2 runs on three AAA batteries in a surprisingly very easily accessible battery compartment. The top mounted switch is rubber covered. Considering these points, the Tikka 2 manages an IP X4 water resistant standard. I've used it in light showers and never had an issue.
Output of the Tikka 2 on maximum is 23 Lumens which Petzl state should reach out to 23 meters. I'd say that is fairly accurate making the headlamps maximum useful for walking at night. At this setting the batteries should last for around 55 hours. I definately think this will be dependant on battery quality. The lower, economy setting, which is quite a bit dimmer is ideal in a tent, reading a book, looking through bags etc. On this setting the Tikka 2 has a claimed range of 13 meters and a battery life of 190 hours.The lighting pattern of the Tikka 2 is very good and seems to make good use of the two LEDs output.
I have owned this headlamp for around 12 months, it has been used when ever I have gone camping and is still on the original set of batteries. That for me is really good as batteries are getting quite expensive.
The head strap on the Tikka 2 is quite wide and it helps make the headlamp one of the most comfortable I have used. Great if it will be worn for a long period of time. With some practise the head strap can be adjusted while being worn. The lamp itself can be tilted on a five setting ratchet system. It will tilt forward far enough to make it usable when using the headlamp in a general walking/camping situation.
The Tikka 2 is a well priced, hard wearing, reliable headlamp. It gets the job done and makes a good piece of go to, general use piece of gear.
I have the Tikka 2 plus and find it to be bomb proof, up to 150hrs of use.
ReplyDeleteThe good thing with the Tikka 2 is price.
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