PETZL TIKKA 300-Lumen Camping and Hiking Headlamp

Great little light, bright, comfortable wear, three brightness levels, and a glow ring around the light that proves very helpful when locating the light in the dark (after use) and illuminating things near.

This is the first Petzl I’ve own. Petzl is usually to pricey for me, but I know they are good. I have bought numerous headlamps, mostly Coast and they have worked well for me. However, I thought I would give this a try and spend the extra money. My main purpose for this lamp is the red light for hunting. What I did not know when I bought this is that it allows me to stay in either white light or red light mode (hold button for a few seconds to switch between colors). It remains in whatever mode it is in when you power it off. That is perfect when I’m in the woods and do not have to fear lighting up the world when I turn it on. Then having to cycle through the white light to get to the red light. For the size, the white light is very bright with 3 adequate settings. Two for red light. Red is constant and flashing. I don’t see the need for flashing but it’s not a bother to hit the button twice to power off.

350 lumens doesn’t sound like a lot, but for most uses, I’ll say it’s plenty.

3 light settings plus what may be my favourite, the red light. Wonderful to have handy when you need lighting but don’t want to “blind” your vision in the dark with the white light. The settings are straightforward enough to cycle through as well – click through the lamp when it turns on to cycle between the 3 light intensities, hold the button while the white light is on to switch to red, and hold down 4 seconds to put in lock mode. Lock mode is great if you are stuffing this in your backpack for a trip for example and you don’t want to burn battery life accidentally.

Uses 3 AAAs but optionally can also use the Petzl core battery, which can be recharged with a micro USB cable.

The headband is also very easy to tighten and loosen simply by moving the buckles at the back. The adjustment angle is also quite wide so you can tilt the body that houses the light very far up and down.

No complaints at all here.

The brightness is great and the availability of multiple levels and red light make it very useful for a variety of uses.

The ability to angle the light down is also nice to light up the path in front of me.

This is my second Tikka… the first was misplaced. I have had a couple of other cheaper headlamps, but they were not in the same league.

Update: May 2021 – due to the loss of my headlamp, I am back in the market to replace this model previously reviewed. Over the much longer time of ownership vs. my initial review – I will be buying another one (actually 2) of the same. It has been a pleasure to own, it’s held up very well, battery life was great. At this price, it’s a no brainer and I am going straight back to another one due to it’s performance.

My wife ordered this for me, at my request for needing a new headlamp. I am one of those who does a lot of research and in the past, have paid many times this amount for my lightweight headlamps – which I love and use often for many tasks.

I was hesitant to suggest a headlamp to my wife for a Birthday gift. Initially, having heard she found a great deal for only $30, I was highly suspect as to performance and quality.

It’s only been a month and have used it maybe 4-5 times for short chores (like putting the boat covers on in the dark, at night), cooking on the grille, installing a device in a small dark area, etc. .

The light is bright, quite bright on the high setting. That said, it does not carry too far and doesn’t cast too wide of a area, making it suitable for closer vision needs – camp site, dark work, etc. . . I don’t know whether I would be comfortable mountain biking in darker conditions with it, as a result of the lack of carry ad broadness of the beam.

So far, after probably the equivalent of 2 hours of use, the batteries still seem to be at full strength and full light emittance.

I cannot say how long it will last or how durable it is. My current other headlamps range from 5 to 10 years old and both are starting to fail – bulbs and switches, hence the desire for a new one. But if this light lasts 3-5 years I would consider it a very good deal. I like it enough that I was actually considering ordering another one, due to it’s very low price and usable qualities.

At this price, I would highly recommend it based upon my initial usage.

O produto tem um bom custo-benefício. Recomendo a compra para diferentes contextos, desde uso em acampamento até o uso em casa, em condições de falta de luz.