What's It For?
The TIKKA 2 is Petzl's total upgrade of their lightweight, workhorse headtorch, the venerable TIKKA. The original TIKKA was gradually improved over the years with brighter bulbs, but this is a complete overhaul. It's intended for all-round hill use, both for camping and cooking and for walking in the dark.
The Techy Bits
The new TIKKA 2 has been seriously revamped with brighter LEDs together with a longer burn time as LED lighting technology marches on. That means a claimed maximum range of 29 metres on the high setting, though that will fall off gradually as the batteries lose power as the torch isn't regulated.
Speaking of batteries, the TIKKA 2 and other TIKKA models bar the entry level TIKKINA, can now be used with alkaline, rechargeable and lithium batteries, whereas in the past, it was confined to alkalines. That's good news for cold weather use where lithium cells are more efficient. The batteries are AAA cells, three of them.
Finally the torch is water resistant to the IP X4 standard and stood up fine to normal use in wet conditions.
How It Performed
As an all-round walking and camping head torch, it's very hard to fault the new TIKKA 2. It's light enough to live permanently in the lid pocket of your sac, but bright enough to cope with pretty much anything short of running and climbing use - if you need a longer beam, look at the TIKKA XP or Myo range.
On high level, there's a good, wide spread of adequate light for walking, while the lower setting is ideal for use around camp and not dazzling the hell out of your mates. Previous TIKKAs had three settings, but Petzl found the middle setting simply wasn't used, so simplified things. There's also a flashing setting which is great for enhanced visibility if you're cycling say, or for emergency use.
The torch is comfortable too, the electronic switch - another new feature - is positive in action, easy to find and use even with gloves on and the swiveling head means you can angle the light to suit your needs with an easy, positive action. It will also sit happily on a climbing helmet.
Last but not least, the battery compartment, which used to need a coin or similar to open, is now fastened by an easy to use clip and opens wide for simple cell replacement. A big improvement over the fiddly past.
Verdict
If you're looking for a compact, high quality, all-round outdoor head torch and don't need massive beam range, the new TIKKA 2 is near ideal. It has more than enough light for camping, walking and general use along with decent burn time. It's been thoughtfully refined too with some neat new features that really improve an existing classic.
Buy if you're looking for a light, compact, reliable head torch for general use on and off the hill. Petzl build quality and reliability is hard to beat.
