UKC

Does anyone know who is the uk agent for Petzl products as my myo xp stopped working tonight. One minute it was working and the next I was in the dark
I'm pretty hacked off about it as I was out on my bike and it was the only lamp I had with me.

Thanks, Mart.

In reply to workblowschunks:
Lyon Equipment

In reply to workblowschunks: Lyon Equipment supply Petzl stuff in the UK I believe.

In reply to Gadameer: Thanks very much.

In reply to workblowschunks: I've raved about myo xps in the past but won't get another one. Just too unreliable. I've had 3 of 5 fail in the end. I use them a lot but at £50 a torch I expect them to last.

Alpkit are great for the price. A replacement for Myo XP's...no chance...not sure what else to try, will try a few different types.

In reply to IainRUK:
I had my myo xp fail just like yours - worked one minute and didn't the next. I exchanged it for a new one, but that's largely been replaced in usage by a new BD spot. Fcuking bright, light and tiny. It's got a lot of confusing settings though. Great for the price.

I had something similar happen with a Tikka XP, put some new batteries in and it fired right up again...
On a more serious note, have you looked at the Black Diamond icon. Also Silva are bringing out (have brought out?) a stupidly powerful head torch, called the Silva 1000 or something and aimed at night time fell running. Maybe worth a look, I think they had one called the 480 before, very bright but shortish battery life compared to the Myo and apparently the construction wasn't great. Maybe things have improved with this new one.

Ben

In reply to Sharp:
I plumped for a Black Diamond torch- looked very good- halogen bulb and LEDs, variable brightness etc, but it, too, proved unreliable, constantly dimming when it felt like it and then shutting off completely. I think its electronic brain was far too clever for its own good, or so it thought. Vectra IQ was its name.

My old skool petzl zoom, however, long since retired, never gave me a moment's grief.

My most used torch now is a £20 LED one which is supposed to be a copy of a Princeton tech torch, so I believe:

http://www.fishingdiscountstore.com/7.html

In reply to workblowschunks:
I've had two fail, one in a reasonably serious situation.

In reply to workblowschunks:
petzl tikka XP is a far more reliable torch as it's contained in one case.

In reply to workblowschunks: My myo xp is still going strong after something more than 3 years.

In reply to workblowschunks:

Second vote for the tikka XP. Although it seems a little dated now it is still an awesome headtorch. Small and light enough to carry but powerful enough to be worth carrying.

In reply to workblowschunks: What are the failures on your myo xp? Mine is still fine after several years of use. As I usually rely on its function I'm a bit worried ...

In reply to CurlyStevo: I'm moving towards the "al in one case" line of thought after my Princeton tech apex conked out. I'm considering the Petzl Pixa 3 from their work range. Anyone had a play with one?

Wayne

In reply to wayne m and everyone:

Is mode of failure normally the connection between battery and lamp?

In reply to workblowschunks:
Mine stopped working due to the wiring failing at the connector. Fortunately just as we were setting off so i borrowed a mates spare. I bodged it once home by removing the connector and using an electrical connector. Apparently there was a problem with MyoXPs that Petzl have since fixed. I got it replaced for free but the problem is that I no longer trust the new one to work as it's not obvious whether the replacement is an old or new and improved model.

In reply to IainRUK:

Me too, the alpkit gamma has replaced my XP at a fraction of the price.

In reply to workblowschunks:

I had a failure on mine. I just got an electronics guy at work to open up the unit and replace the wire which had broken over time

S

In reply to workblowschunks:
these look alright - nice and bright and all in one unit

http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Lighting/Compact-Head-Torches/SPOT-20...

In reply to CurlyStevo: Cheap BD torches here

http://www.urbanrock.com/products_detail.php?CatId=209&PId=3428

In reply to G Graham: I thought they had fixed in but my new one just gave up the ghost. Yes they will replace but as you say trust is an issue.

I use mine for running at night, often assisting on paddy buckley rounds, so a failure on the glyders can be serious. I normally take an elite as back up, but often forget. The last failure was in heavy rain. Maybe it got wet but I'd expect a head torch, at that price, to cope. Mine just didn't turn on again after I'd used it that night.

In reply to workblowschunks:

My girlfriend's myo xp stopped working. It was caused by the battery cable having deteriorated due to flexing. Cut a couple of centimetres off the end and soldered the wires onto the pcb. Works fine now!
I have a Tikka xp2 with the core battery myself.
Would avoid buying any headtorch with the battery not encased in the lamp unit. Wires always seem to knacker themselves up with lots of use and abuse.

In reply to workblowschunks:
I've got a pixa 3, awesome head torch and I use it for work so it's had plenty of rough use. Brilliant battery life easy to use with gloves on 3 simple modes and it's bombproof.

In reply to workblowschunks:

Known fault with Myo XP, but not advertised as far as I'm aware. It is known in the sense that Petzl know about it and will replace with no problems as far as I'm led to believe. I had mine fail in Chile in an awkward situation. The importer in Santiago replaced with no hassle whatsoever, big big thanks to them.

It is the wire/s that feed into the lamp unit that fractures and fails over time. Careful packing of the torch is essential to avoid stretching this connection.

In a lot of cases the wires crack and short circuit, causing the battery pack to heat up massively. This is the main reason not to use rechargable batteries as they will explode if left long enough shorting out. Alkaline batteries are less damaging but still output a huge amount of heat as I found out to my discomfort. I now store the replacement XP with batteries removed, or with a plastic tab between a battery and terminal that I can remove quickly if needed. It's a farce and I don't trust it anymore so I'm looking at ways of strengthening the wires (i.e. stiff tube for 1cm etc to prevent flexing) or an alternative torch!

In reply to workblowschunks:

I had a Myo XP. It packed up.

I bought a BD one - don't recall the model, but similar to the XP - one big LED and 4 smaller ones. Really good with a good beam, but quite heavy.

But I just bought a Silva Ninox and think it's brilliant. Tiny: the switch is protected so it won't switch on by accident. Not as bright as the BD one (it was a lot cheaper though).

I bought it for running and it casts a really good pattern. THe BD one was too binary - either too small a spot when covering difficult ground or too diffuse to see the hazards clearly. The Silva one has a decent spot but with a diffused light around that. It's not as goood for long distance illumination though.

Silva's 1000 lumen effort looks to be akin to a searchlight.

In reply to workblowschunks: What a good level of response, thanks.
Not sure if I wil replace the myo just yet. Not sure what I would buy, I'm going to send the torch off to lyon equip and see what they say. I dont know whats up with it yet it just packed in. I too have owened a petzl zoom for over 20 years and also the zoom with the belt box for the batteries and they both still work and have never failed I cant belive a 50 quid torch would pack in after only 18 months.

Thanks again, Mart.

In reply to Tom Row:


All very well, but having the batteries separate to the lamp unit distributes the weight much better and there are "arctic" versions with a remote battery pack so you can keep it warm, so there are still advantages.

My Zoom has gone the same way - keep meaning to replace the cable, but I think the elastic is on the way out, so may not be much point.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Try looking at the websites pointnorth and pennineoutdoors, you might be able to buy some elastic from them.

In reply to NottsRich: Had exactly that failure. The individual cable sheaths had hardened and then cracked. A friend replaced the entire cable from the battery pack to the lamp. The torch works fine now.

I've moved on to a BD Icon.

In reply to workblowschunks: lithium batteries will burn the cable trough aswell.

In reply to Dee: I'll have a look at the BD Icon. This might be the inspiration I need to get a new one!

In reply to IainRUK:
I think overall it's really bad form for Petzl to have allowed the MyoXP to continue. To replace faulty units with new ones that are also likely to fail is negligence in my view. For night time activites, whether it's climbing, running or walking, the seriousness of a head torch failure can't be underestimated. I never used to carry a spare head torch as I expected my Myo to work (it wasn't cheap and my zoom never let me down) and also my phone had a little led light that you could walk out with (though it would be difficult to finish a climb holding it in your teeth, I just accepted that risk).
Perhaps we should pack them all up in a box together and send them back to Lyon with a note saying "send me something I can trust".

In reply to moo: That's what I wanted to hear. I think I'm going to plump for a pixa 3. I think the lamps that are rated for waterproofness and dustproofness are always going to be better built than the splash-proof sport models.

Thanks
Wayne

In reply to wayne m:

As I recall from the Petzl website, the Tikka XP2 is actually brighter and has a longer battery life than the Pixa, and is about half the weight. I've never used a Pixa, though I'm sure they're perfectly good, but I would happily recommend the Tikka as a do-it-all head torch.

In reply to workblowschunks: i'm quite frustrated with Lyon over my Myo XP. I sent it off after it failed on me this winter on Gt Gable while having a bit of an epic. they returned it saying 'out of warranty'. no reason as to why it failed or an estimate to repair it. GRRRR

In reply to workblowschunks:
My Myo was terrible, in fact all Petzl torches are rubbish these days, after twenty years of using Petzls I switched to Black Diamond about 3 years back and have had no problems since.!

In reply to CurlyStevo: Does Tikka have a li-on battery?

In reply to workblowschunks:

I haven't read the whole thread but this is a known problem on older versions (vv. 1 and 2, I think) and I've had mine fail. Lyon Equipment were excellent: I sent it back and they sent me a re-designed replacement.

In reply to Solaris: As said my new one failed too..

In reply to IainRUK:

Ok - just read your earlier post: should have read the whole thread... Sorry, but thanks for alerting me.

When did you get your new one; does it have the rotating wire into the housing? If so, then I hope mine doesn't fail in the alps...

In reply to halo:
All the Tikka 2 range can use the Petzl Core li-on battery.(Tikkina- tikka XP but just new models)
It will also regulate the out put as an option and you can set power levels where you like.

In reply to G Graham: the problem with theoriginal xp was the oval wire passing into the torch housing, the wire was too thin and got hot or shorted out especially if you used it with rechargables or lithiums. the new versions which have not had any problems have a round thicker cable which passes through a protective duct as it enters the torch housing.

In reply to nufkin: the pixa 3 is a regulated torch so the lumen outputs stated are constant it is designed for shift work where a continual level of light is required , where as the tikkas are all non regulated unless used with the core lithium-polymer battery. Any non regualted torch will only give the stated lumens and distance for the first half an hour or so then it will decline away untill the light is of no use

In reply to workblowschunks: Hi. I just wanted to say how pleased I am with Lyon Equipment and Arco, the retailer that I purchased my myo xp from. I telephoned Lyon when my myo failed and they were very helpfull. I arranged for Arco to send the torch back to lyon and in turn Lyon sent me a brand new Myo RXP in exchange. This way I didn't pay any postage. Arco said they would have replaced the torch on the spot but they no long sold the myo xp and didn't have any within the company. This whole process only took a few days and now I have a better torch than the one I origionally purchased. You kind of get used to getting poor service from time to time but these two companys have been great

In reply to workblowschunks:

Bugger, I have just ordered a new XP!
My last one was great but according to my other half, when she was out camping, it "started smelling like it was on fire so I threw it in the tarn"
I thought she was kidding but now, not too sure!

In reply to workblowschunks: The new one might have the improved wire and grommet thingy that stops it over heatihg. round wire as opposed to oval wire.

In reply to workblowschunks:
Will check it out when it tips up and have a fire extinguisher ready!