First impressions of Petzl's new uprated Tikka with an extra LED, adjustable housing and three different light intensity settings
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Petzl Tikka Plus - First
Look
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Price: £29.99
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Weight: 77 grammes (including
batteries)
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Features: 4 LED
bulbs, powered by 3 AAA batteries (supplied), 3 light
settings - maximum, optimum, economy - plus blinker mode,
battery life up to 150 hours, adjustable elastic headband,
water resistant, adjustable, tilting housing. Red and green
lenses available separately.
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The Concept The Tikka Plus - there's also a Zipka Plus - is an
new, uprated version of the original Tikka that launched the LED
headlamp revolution in the UK and the distinctive housing is
immediately recognisable.
Like the Tikka it's intended for close range work with extended
battery life thanks to the low consumption LEB bulbs, but has been
uprated. So once again the idea is a light compact, 'pack and forget'
head torch, but a more versatile one.
Features The most obvious differences between the Tikka and
the Plus version are that the Plus gets an extra LED bringing the
total to four as opposed to the original's three. On top of that the
Plus has three different intensity settings - 'maximum', 'optimum'
and 'economy' - as well as a blinking emergency flash mode.
The head is also adjustable, though given the diffuse nature of
LED lighting, you could argue that the feature's not strictly
necessary. Otherwise it's pretty much like a standard Tikka with an
adjustable elastic headband, three AAA cells, cute translucent casing
and a plastic 'lens' over the bulbs. It's also water resistant.
The weight penalty for added sophistication is just six grammes on
the OM scales of justice and the housing's marginally larger, because
of the tilting mechanism.
In Action Like the Tikka the Tikka Plus is pleasingly small
and neat - easy to chuck in the top pocket of your pack and simply
forget about until you need it. In action it sits
comfortably
on your head or a climbing helmet - you switch it on with a push
button rather than the standard Tikka's slider switch; one press for
high, two for medium, three for economy, four for the flashing
emergency setting.
The light is classic LED, which is to say very white and diffuse,
but the high setting gives a claimed 15 metre plus reach and is fine
for walking use - significantly better than the Tikka - though
battery life falls to a claimed 80 hours as opposed to 150 hours with
the economy setting. On the lower settings it's ideal for, say,
reading in your tent or cooking.
The adjustability is nominal really as the torch is angled
downwards anyway, but hey, it's nice to have the option.
Like a Tikka but brighter and more versatile. The original will still
do the job perfectly well, but the Plus gives you a little bit more
light and spread for walking, though it's still not up to long
distance navigation work. One minor plus is that the push button
switch seems less prone to accidental switching on while in your pack
than the original's slider and we also found it okay to use when
wearing gloves.
Light, compact, water resistant, easy on batteries and, if the
original's anything to go by, reliable too - a great litle torch just
got a little bit better and for just £5 more as well.
Know more or want to?
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