Petzl Tikka

There are a few things that just ought to be in everyone’s bag. Lexan water bottles, matches, that sort of thing: technological devices so doggone useful they become indispensable.

This is one of those things.

LED headlamps are everywhere these days, and every type of store seems to be selling them. Auto stores, camping retailers, hunting shops, and tool supply companies offer one or more LED lights geared more or less to their clientele’s needs. Today we’ll look at one that has been around awhile and remains a popular model, the Tikka, from Petzl.

Headlamps: A Brief History

Working & Seeing Before the Electric Age

Headlamps have been around for ages, and they’ve always been a handy thing to have…mainly for the way they keep your hands free to do work. A few old-timers may recall miners’ lamps, which used bits of carbide and water to create acetylene gas. These offered a light that was mildly water-resistant and better than nothing, but that’s as far as it went. Pitch black or flickering, fuming fire reflection, take your pick. Any dunk or dousing put it out, the flow of water into the carbide required frequent adjustment, they often smoked acrid fumes, threw a feeble, variable light, and of course, they were unwelcome in places where explosion hazards were high.

Along Came the Battery

When battery technology finally made ergonomic and economic sense, miners and cavers switched to the steadier, brighter beams from battery-powered headlamps. It was a vast improvement: waterproof casings allowed cavers to explore places without the need to reignite lighting after every dousing; miners worried less about explosions and had a lot better light to work by. Early battery-powered headlamps were still very much specialty gear, items for miners, cavers, and a few other esoteric groups. They were heavy and cumbersome and of course, keeping a bright beam burning for more than a couple hours required big, bulky batteries. Lugging them around on your head was uncomfortable and made you look like a Twilight Zone extra.

Technology marched along, batteries got lighter, longer-lasting, and bulbs got brighter and more efficient. By the 1960s, campers had joined the ranks of climbers, cavers and miners in using headlamps to pursue their thrills. The back-to-nature craze introduced thousands of people to the free-hands movement, but headlamps were still too big to plunk on your head and work around the basement or under the hood, anywhere in the public’s scrutiny, without getting laughed to shame.

Illuminating Diodes

Most diodes emit light that is beyond our range of vision, and although the emissions were researched and explored as early as 1906, this ‘feature’ wasn’t successfully developed as a light source until the 90s. Once white-(umm, whitish; more on this later) light was obtainable, the possibilities were inspiring: visible-LEDs are much more efficient than incandescent or fluorescent lighting. They’re smaller than an incandescent arrangement, draw very little current, and emit a brighter, more consistent amount of light as their power source drains. Since they draw less current, smaller batteries can be used to drive them. They produce much less heat than an incandescent bulb and are much less susceptible to breakage. Dunk them and they may short out, but dry them expeditiously and chances are good your light will work once again. Try that with an incandescent bulb!

Enter the Tikka

Petzl was one of the first to grasp the potential of LEDs for outdoor enthusiasts. Their standard headlamps, including models such as the super-bright Zoom and the (for its time) compact Micro, have been the industry standard for decades. Serious enthusiasts used the Zoom in one of its several incarnations for critical tasks like caving, climbing, and rescue/emergency operations; and often pocketed a Micro as back-up. While the Zoom is a featherweight compared to its early rivals, it is far too bulky to carry in a pocket and requires quite a bit of battery power, making the entire package quite heavy. The Micro on the other hand, while just small enough to stuff in a pocket, runs on two AA batteries and cannot sustain a strong beam for more than a couple hours. In 2000, Petzl introduced a headlamp to answer the shortcomings of their incandescent models: the extremely compact, long-lasting Tikka.

Anatomy of a Tikka

The Tikka encloses 3 (and in some models, 4) LEDs in a casing about the size and shape of a Brazil nut. Nestled behind a clear plastic protector, the LEDs sit in a mirrored, scooped nook. The shape sits well on your head, the cloth headband is very comfortable, adjusts easily and holds its size and shape through years of use. The model pictured has been with me through dozens of caving trips, both on my head and trapped in a pocket as a back-up, and except for a wee bit of dirt and scratches, is just as good as new. Three AAA batteries are included in the retail package so you can pop right out and give the lamp a try without running back to the store.

Performance

Just how long will said batteries last? Lets consider a few personal anecdotes.

The first Tikka I ever came across wasn’t quite new when I first used it, on a climbing trip out west. Generally, we never made it back to camp before dark, so we used this Tikka practically every night to organize the tent, cook meals, and read up on the next day’s outing. Three years later the same partner and I found ourselves losing sunlight high up on Wallface Mountain, with a storm approaching. The same headlamp, with the same batteries, happened to be the only light source with us. As the storm blew in and blotted out any meager environmental light left, that Tikka became crucial in finding and establishing safe rappel stations for the descent. It took us all night to get down the cliff, wander through the ravine below and then walk out 4 miles to the trailhead, and that headlamp stayed on the entire time, well over 9 hours.

As part of a guiding outfit that offers group caving trips, we utilized Petzl’s Micro headlamps for years. Typically, we would run through 20-24 AA batteries every trip day, and had to instruct our clients to turn their headlamps off whenever they weren’t moving. While this saved on battery life, the process of turning the lights on and off created more headaches and cost because headlamps were often broken in the process. Last year we switched almost entirely over to Tikkas. Now we swap batteries once a year —just to be safe. I take the batteries home and use them in my oTimps until they’re really dead.

What’s It Good For?

Just about any place you might need a light to get work done, to follow a trail, or to be seen; a Tikka can function. Because it is so easy to carry, if you own one chances are you will carry it along. It won’t be that great light you leave at home because it’s such a pain to lug along. And because it will provide light with very little juice, you can stow one of these in your glove compartment and when the car breaks down 3 years from now, you can still see and be seen. In short, it isn’t just for outdoor types anymore.

Not Quite Super-Mutant Powers

While I can vouch for the Tikka as an back-up or emergency light, it isn’t a replacement for frequent serious lighting needs. Rescue workers, big-time cavers, hikers, and climbers who plan on traveling in the dark should still pack a powerful headlamp such as the Zoom. But for the majority of outdoor enthusiasts, tucking a Tikka in a shirt pocket as a back-up light is a no-brainer. For just about anyone in fact, it’s time to see the light.

Tikkas, as with all current LED lights, achieve their hue by energizing a phosphorescent coating on the diode. The diode itself doesn't produce a sufficiently 'white' light, but the coating manages a bright, bluish white light. While fine for working around camp or making your way homeward when a hike runs late, moisture-laden air reflects it strongly and the resultant glare obscures more distant view. In large, damp caverns, or foggy weather, an orange hue would work better. The light from a Tikka is visible to others over a very long distance, so if you ever have need to be found, that is a consolation.

Petzl's latest models come with a limited angle adjustment, so you can point the light most places you might need it. They don't however, have enough adjustment to point anyplace you might want them to shine. They do not have any "zoom" capability: you cannot tighten the beam to gain more depth penetration. Adding such capability would be welcome, but add bulk to the package, compromising the Tikka's greatest asset.

Cheaper Knock-Offs

The overwhelming popularity of the Tikka ignited the LED craze, and now you can get some sort of LED flashlight or headlamp at hardware stores, supermarkets, and shopping mall kiosks. There are no-name models that cost half the price, and a few recognized brands that offer comparable headlamps with similar features. Generally speaking, these lights are either too bulky or too shoddy to recommend. There are some excellent alternatives out there, built by reputable manufacturers (I own quite a few), but they cost as much or nearly the same as the Tikka.

What Flavor Is Best?

The Tikka comes in several models. The Standard Tikka has 3 bright LEDs mounted in a case that allows some angle adjustment (the earliest models were on a fixed mount). The Tikka Plus adds another LED and offers a noticeably larger amount of light – albeit comes with a concurrent shortening of battery life. The Zipka further reduces package size by replacing the comfortable headband with a retractable cord: you can’t ask for this much light in a smaller package. The cord is not terribly comfortable on your head and doesn’t behave well on helmets, but it offers a handy bracelet light for safety while walking or working roadside. Each model has its advantages; which one you chose is up to your specific needs.
One important point to keep in mind: in 2006, Petzl will be using a more powerful, more efficient LED in the Tikka line. These will likely come in packages heralding the switch, so if the improvements are important to you, make sure you get the latest model. If older models suit your needs just as well, they may be offered at steep discounts, making them a bargain.

Varieties

• ‘Standard’ Tikka: now with adjustable angle mount
• Tikka Plus adds one more LED for greater lighting
• Zipka and Zipka Plus come with a pull-out cord instead of a headband, making them even more compact.
• The Tikka XP, the latest model, is 80% brighter and more efficient than former models, and offers an extremely bright, ‘burst’ mode.