Biased view here as I am the publicist for Petzl, but you may be interested to know that the technology that makes the Petzl LED lighting 80% brighter in 2006, has also been applied to those torches with halogen/LED combinations, like the Myo and Myolite collections, and not just the LED-only models.

I notice also that OM still carry (quite rightly) the lookalike warning article, and it is now more relevant than ever. Money may be saved at the time of purchase on a Tikk-alike, but performance short or long term make it so not worth the money.

So does that mean the 'XP' models are the new brighter models?

Hello Barking

No, it means that your standard Petzl LED models are now really, really bright, and your XPs are exceptionally bright. Does this make sense?

Going back, we used to be impressed that a Petzl Zoom with a standard bulb had a 30m beam. When the compact LEDs came out (Zipka / Tikka), the pay off for the low weight was a fairly modest 13-15m glow. Today's equivalent models have a 30m range - same as an old Zoom, but are loads more compact and cheaper to run.

Tikka XP and Myo XP are in another league again.

What about the latest Duo's?

Your post is a bit of an obvious plug - but at least you announced your interest! ;)

But credit where credit is due - I have a Tikka XP and it *is* excellent!

I said this was happening a few weeks back and I got shot down in flames.
I now feel entirely vindicated.
PS your torches are great.

Are the new 80% versions distinguishable from the old ones by the packaging in the shop?. Some shops might still be selling old stock.

We have Tikka Plus at the moment and will probably go for the new versions of those, being a little lighter in weight than the XP.

Regards

Yuo have to shine them in your eyes on the full-beam setting. Ten minutes of blindness for the old, 18 minutes for the new.

The Tikka XP is *certainly* not heavy!

Hi Richard, Are you going to be using the new Luxeon 1,3 & 5 watt LEDs in new designs?

I have a MYO 5 Belt and the 1W Luxeon LED has an equivalent beam range to the halogen bulb in the MYO

By the way I work for Philips Lighting who now own Lumileds

Hello All of you

Mark Edis's question has gone right off my technical radar, so once I've had a quick conflab with the Petzl people, I'll reply to all queries, probably tomorrow.

Mark - I like your helmet. Barking - you're right, the XP is not what might be deemed 'heavy', but a Tikka Plus at 78g is a full 17g lighter than an XP.

Don't go away now, and thanks for the interest.

What's 17g amongst friends - i'll take the power ;)

Btw, Richard asked me if it was okay to post on the forum, so if it's an 'obvious plug', then it's my fault :-)

Richard - is it true there's a TacTikka XP on the way?

lol

I heard somewhere that there was a TikkaTok

Thanks to Jon at OM for the platform here. Needless to say I am biased in favour of Petzl, the people I work for, but I aim to inform and assist. An obvious plug but intentions honourable of course : )

OK Technoheads. Here's the answer to the Luxeon bulb question from Mark Edis.

The 1 watt Luxeon is in the Tikka XP and the 3 watt Luxeon is in the Myo XP. The challenge for lighting boffins, as I'm sure Mark will testify, is to get lots of light and long duration without increasing weight or losing power to heat sinks. This is why both these models have high/medium/low settings and a temporary 'Boost' function along with a battery level indicator.

Mike Appleton - The latest Duos which feature LEDs do have a performance boost this year of 30%, but not until the summer.

As for the Tactikka XP - whoa there. It's in the offing but later this year or possibly early 07. Was this a speculative shot or did you have insider knowledge Geoff? Red, green and blue filters for the current Tikka XP available later this year.

A reminder that my original comments were about the 80% improvement to the lower end LED range - Tikka, Zipka and 'Plus' variants. Anything unanswered, I'll come back tomorrow hopefully with responses. Keep em' coming.

What about current regulation ? Afaik, Petzl only uses it in their Duo LED's. Is there any chance we will see it in the Tikka/Zipka/Myo lamps in the near future ? If not, any particular reason ?

What chance of an OM competition to win some most excellent Petzl gear?

Big plug on OM = cool donated gear?

John, Richard, what say you?

Sorry if I appear confused here - is this boost for Tikka SP's that have are just going to the shops now, or is the one I got a couple of weeks ago (as part of the "Trail" subscriber promotion) 80% stronger?

Hello again. More replies from the fountain of all Petzl knowledge (!).

Doug M - the 80% applies only to the Tikka, Zipka, 'Plus' variants and the LEDs in the Myos and Myolites. your Tikka XP is actually brighter than these already.

Tom, please, don’t automatically assume that power regulation is always a good thing. It drains your battery faster and can result in LEDs going dark suddenly (Petzl puts a sensor into its power-regulated models - Duo LEDs - that automatically kicks down the power when the batteries are getting low). The advice from our Lighting Brand Manager is that if you’ve got power regulation always make sure you’re carrying spare batteries and if it’s winter, carry Energizer Lithiums as spare cold alkalines don’t perform well if the gel inside them is too cold.  So no, power regulation is not about to appear in the Myo range.

Question about packaging from Geoff C. The devil is in the detail. The packaging for the improved torches with 80% more power contains beam data that reveals longer distances. For instance, the Tikka Plus now has a range of up to 32m.