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Reactive lighting, is it any good?

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 Reach>Talent 21 Nov 2014
After blinding myself countless times trying to read a map while night orienteering I was wondering about whether these new fangled petzl head torches with automatic dimming are worth it? Anyone tried them for night orienteering or similar, probably mostly used for 1 hour score events but may get used for longer stuff so I suspect the nao is out if the reviews on battery life are accurate.
In reply to Reach>Talent:
Worth it? Yes for the instant dimming on looking down, but otherwise sometimes yes, sometimes no. My limited experience (2yrs weekly winter Nao only) is it all depends on what circumstances you are expecting to use it in and for, what your priorities are re light levels and time at that level, and the conditions and terrain you actually encounter.

Good in ideal clear situations of just looking up and down frequently in otherwise unobstructed landscape, but frustrating scanning with obstacles at different distances in the way, certain weather conditions and even clear cold still evenings where your out breath dims the head torch with every breath.

Mist, snow, heavy rain, obstacles particularly those that bounce back light, all can cause problems. They can be really bad in bad weather and can be a lot worse IMO than a standard head torch. Many situations better with non reactive mode. There is also a noticable delay in reacting with my Nao from dim to bright - don't know if that is common.

Try before you buy is my advice. Would I buy again? They have their place, but no, and overall personally I think for a lot of variable circumstances a headtorch with a range of (manually) adjustable outputs is far better even if more "hassle" adjusting, and probably safer in highly variable conditions or situations you can't predict what you will encounter.

I am sure others will disagree, but that is my experience if it helps.
 alooker 21 Nov 2014
In reply to Reach>Talent:
I have the tikka rxp. Use it a lot for running which it excels at - especially through woods/difficult ground where it gives you perfect light.

Also used it for night nav on my ML assessment which again it was perfect, you don't get blinded by the map and you can see features within an instant of looking up that are very far away. (Another guy had the Nao which was much brighter, so bright it was basically cheating!)

Also used it for climbing through the night in yosemite and it worked very well for that too, not that it comes into play that much.

I had reservations before I bought it because I thought early morning fog would trick it and make it go crazy but it's been great even in very dense fog. If it all gets too much you can also just stick it into 'normal' mode and it works like a regular head torch with gradual light settings.

Oh and I've just got in from a ten miler in lashing rain - no issues at all I had perfect light!

Hope that helps

A
Post edited at 22:48
 Mark Eddy 21 Nov 2014
In reply to Reach>Talent:

Own and use the Nao & Tikka rxp. Before buying I too was sceptical, but they both quickly won me over. Very impressive performance with very rapid reaction times.
As with all headtorches, maybe more so the powerful versions, they do bounce back a lot of light in misty conditions, but holding it away from the head fixes that problem.

No issues with battery life, although only had them for a few months. Been out for up to 5 hours when in constant use.
The 2013 model Nao is on offer at a number of places now: Climbers Shop (Ambleside) and Rock & Run
 Indy 22 Nov 2014
In reply to alooker:

Do you have the original Nao or the later revision?
 David Coley 22 Nov 2014
In reply to Reach>Talent:

I use the nao for rock climbing. Incredible. Just the right amount of light for building belays and seeing handholds, then as look up the pitch the power comes on and you can see where to go.
OP Reach>Talent 22 Nov 2014
In reply to all:

Cheers for the information, it is definitely looking more positive. A question for those who have had the lamps for a bit longer, how do the batteries hold up? I have heard suggestions that the batteries are only good for a few hundred charge cycles before the life noticeably drops off. I may well be using it on a daily basis so this will possibly not take me too long to do.
How long can you reasonably expect to get from a charge?
 RoK 22 Nov 2014
In reply to Reach>Talent:

I picked up one of last years Nao's with an extra battery included. I read the blurb that came with it and it stated that after 300 recharge cycles it will drop to 70% of it's initial capacity. In how much of a linear fashion that occurs or how noticeable it will be in real life I have no idea.
 alooker 22 Nov 2014
In reply to Reach>Talent:

I've had mine since spring and use it near enough every day, I don't wait for it to fully deplete before recharging or anything like that and I haven't noticed any difference it's more than good enough for me still. If I go for a longer trip I carry a spare lamp anyway because I'm paranoid, but I'd do that if it was reactive or not.
In reply to Reach>Talent:
WIth my Nao its complicated; difficult to say as 1. I don't keep records of charges/run times, and 2. I'm on a replacement Nao as the first one was replaced under warranty when it had a terminal failure of its software.

Effectively my useage of current one is therefore only about 3/5ths of the time I've used a Nao. I have never let the battery run to empty anyway as that is one way to speed up the degradation of the battery as far as I know.

Overall I can say that I have not noticed any difference at all in how long the battery charge lasts since first use to now. Remember that unless you replicate exactly the same useage (or run constantly in non reactive mode) then each charge will last a different time from all others.

How long? That is very variable due to the reactive changes as you would expect. Roughly, assuming you are not just looking into the far distance nearly all the time, I'm getting min of 4.5hrs easily (only down to 1bar of battery left) , to well over 8hrs and more if the beam is mostly in the range around 20 feet ahead and nearer.

A rule of thumb I worked out for how I use mine is if I expect to need more than 6-8hrs light, then I would definitely carry a spare torch, but for me that is very rare so generally does not happen.

BTW, if I was to buy again, I would go for the extension and have the battery on the belt. It's just slightly too bulky on the back of the head. Of course having the battery on the belt, it will last longer which is a bonus!
OP Reach>Talent 22 Nov 2014
In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Cheers, I am mainly looking at using it for running; do you think the battery on the belt would help or hinder the balance? I find the tikka tends to slip downward unlike the myo or Alpkit gamma.
In reply to Reach>Talent:
Would be guessing so better not. Put it this way, the standard setup is perfectly in balance for up down movement. I've never had it move ever and that is on top of hats unlike some other torches that seem to continually move on the head (I don't run anymore). I just find it is a bit bulky at the battery and it can catch jacket collar with turning the head - mine is mainly only cold weather so plenty of clothes.

There is a fair weight in the battery and I have thought on occasion if I had been still running, that I would like some of the weight on the belt. Continual head side movements as in scanning terrain is where I notice the effect (very minor though). Don't notice it up and down as balanced. The downside with the extension I predict and hence why I did not buy is under clothing it probably will have a drag effect. Not likely a big problem if in proper running gear as less to catch on.

An add to previous post, as you will know you can alter the light output. I did run it lower once and got 14hrs and still did not depleted the battery fully. I just like the high output for my adventures so happy to accept the battery needs charging more.


 sean1 24 Nov 2014
In reply to Reach>Talent:

I have the Led Lensor Seo 7 that has reactive lighting. I think it is not as obvious in the transitions as the Petzl and I never really notice that it is doing the adjusting and just have really good light where ever I'm looking, not overly bright closer and not dim further a field. So it does work like it is suppose to. It is a very good head torch, worth a look at as well.
 Graham 24 Nov 2014
In reply to sean1:

I have used the petzl tikka rxp extensively and own the led lenser seo 7. In short, I hate reactive lighting. Trail running with the rxp in the evenings, running between forest and more open areas was like being in a rave. I found it distracting and looking from map to trail there was an annoying flicker. I also thought the battery life was very disappointing - acceptable for a nightly trail run, but unacceptable for a weekend climbing. The SEO 7 is a very nice headlamp, and the reactive lighting is much more gradual than the rxp - I find it much less annoying to use. My only real problem with the SEO 7 is that it doesn't give you much warning as to when your battery is about to die.
 sean1 25 Nov 2014
In reply to Graham:

It is the only down fall of the light that I feel. The rechargeable battery lasts OK, but it only requires to AAA batteries for backup that are easily changeable. I carry two when I feel that It's getting close to running out or if I'm away in the mountains.

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