# Cool little "How It's Made" Petzl video



## OldmanRon (Jan 14, 2017)

Hi Guys,

When I was researching my new 2017 Petzl Tikka, I stumbled across this interesting little five-minute video from the company's website. I checked our Candlepower Forums "Policies and FAQ's" section (above) and I think it's OK to post the link.

https://www.petzl.com/CA/en/Sport/News/2015-3-27/Petzl-headlamps---a-tale-of-quality#.WHqTrLEZOit

They're obviously "tooting their own horn" but I have no issue with that ... it's not a sales pitch and is fun to watch ...


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## firsttothescene (Jan 14, 2017)

that was cool.


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## OldmanRon (Jan 15, 2017)

firsttothescene said:


> that was cool.



Hey there FTTS,

Thank you. Your comment is appreciated.

Actually, I was coming back here to delete the post/link before I went to bed. I was steamed to see that many people (about 80) had looked at the post ... and probably a dozen of them maybe had "checked-out" the link ... and yet nobody had taken the time for a follow-up 15-second _*"Thank you. That was cool."*_ comment.


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## the0dore3524 (Jan 15, 2017)

Hey, it's a cool video and I can tell they put a lot of effort in it! Just that headlamps aren't really my thing


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## OldmanRon (Jan 15, 2017)

Ted,

No problem ... glad you enjoyed it ... great production values and it seemed like a good place to share it ...


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## tech25 (Jan 15, 2017)

I just watched the video. Pretty interesting seeing behind the scenes, it was cool to see the drop tests and the integrated spheres. Thanks for posting the link!


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## kj2 (Jan 15, 2017)

Thanks for the video share. Was looking at a Tikka last night, since the price & specs are quite good compared with similar priced headlamps.
Also read there will be a 2017 Tikka, but do like the design of the 'older' one. The runtime of the older Tikka, 100lm for 120h and 20lm for 160h, is a bit off though.. Wonder if those runtimes are correct.


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## marinemaster (Jan 15, 2017)

the0dore3524 said:


> Hey, it's a cool video and I can tell they put a lot of effort in it! Just that headlamps aren't really my thing



Headlamps are one of the most efficient tools invented by man. I did not care for it for many years and one day I just ordered the basic Petzl which was around $20 and I never looked back. I now have several Petzl. And thanks to advances in led they are now as powerful and have great beam profiles as good as regular flashlights. Try one you may be surprised.


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## ThinAirDesigns (Jan 15, 2017)

As a climber, backpacker and runner, I have used Petzl headlamps extensively for approaching 40 years now. Never had a single quality issue. 

JB


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## OldmanRon (Jan 15, 2017)

marinemaster said:


> Headlamps are one of the most efficient tools invented by man. I did not care for it for many years and one day I just ordered the basic Petzl which was around $20 and I never looked back. I now have several Petzl. And thanks to advances in led they are now as powerful and have great beam profiles as good as regular flashlights. Try one you may be surprised.



Then you'll be pleased to know that the newly upgraded 2017 Petzl Tikkina (which I believe is the company's basic entry-level headlamp) is still $20 ... a heckuva lot of bang for the buck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4bG7aKYdZE

https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/New/TIKKINA#.WHuXCbEZOis


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## noboneshotdog (Jan 15, 2017)

"Thank you. That was cool."


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## OldmanRon (Jan 15, 2017)

noboneshotdog said:


> "Thank you. That was cool."



You're welcome. It's sunrise now, and I'm not so grumpy anymore.


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## noboneshotdog (Jan 15, 2017)

OldmanRon said:


> You're welcome. It's sunrise now, and I'm not so grumpy anymore.



Hahahaha. That's great!


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## firsttothescene (Jan 15, 2017)

OldmanRon said:


> Hey there FTTS,
> 
> Thank you. Your comment is appreciated.
> 
> Actually, I was coming back here to delete the post/link before I went to bed. I was steamed to see that many people (about 80) had looked at the post ... and probably a dozen of them maybe had "checked-out" the link ... and yet nobody had taken the time for a follow-up 15-second _*"Thank you. That was cool."*_ comment.


Your welcome.


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## OldmanRon (Jan 15, 2017)

kj2 said:


> Thanks for the video share. Was looking at a Tikka last night, since the price & specs are quite good compared with similar priced headlamps.
> Also read there will be a 2017 Tikka, but do like the design of the 'older' one. The runtime of the older Tikka, 100lm for 120h and 20lm for 160h, is a bit off though.. Wonder if those runtimes are correct.



Hey KJ2, 

Glad you liked it. Check out the power (200 lumen) and run-time (60hr) of this new 2017 Tikka that you mentioned. I have one. It also has a red LED that (when in the strobe mode) can be seen at several hundred meters at night. (I tested/confirmed it.) It's basically the same design ... maybe 15 or 20 percent smaller. Same price ($30) as last year's model.

https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/New/TIKKA#.WHuqA7EZOis


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## marinemaster (Jan 15, 2017)

*Cool little &quot;How It's Made&quot; Petzl video*

I believe the Tikka is more focus beam and Tikkina is more wide beam. I like wide beam in general so Tikkina for me. The 2017 model looks great. [emoji106] The 2017 may be smaller as it looks like it uses a digital switch compared to mechanical switch of earlier model.


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## kj2 (Jan 15, 2017)

OldmanRon said:


> Hey KJ2,
> 
> Glad you liked it. Check out the power (200 lumen) and run-time (60hr) of this new 2017 Tikka that you mentioned. I have one. It also has a red LED that (when in the strobe mode) can be seen at several hundred meters at night. (I tested/confirmed it.) It's basically the same design ... maybe 15 or 20 percent smaller. Same price ($30) as last year's model.
> 
> https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/New/TIKKA#.WHuqA7EZOis


Yeah saw that one too. The lumen upgrade plus the added red led is nice, but I like the 'old' design more.


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## LeanBurn (Jan 15, 2017)

Great vid. It shows they really put the hours into the product and their reputation shows it.

I have the 20/80L Tikkina, I rarely use the high setting. It has the best even floody beam pattern of any headlamp I have. Simple reverse mechanical clicky switch.


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## Szemhazai (Jan 16, 2017)

What can I say... It's marketing bullshit - the optics in their flagship headlamp MYO XP (RXP, RXP 2, 370) have not changed since 2006 :welcome:
- Luxeon III
- SCC P4
- Cree XP-G2
Still the same "cleanest beam" with almost ideal emitter projection instead of clean spot without artifacts...


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## OldmanRon (Jan 16, 2017)

Szemhazai said:


> What can I say... It's marketing bullshit
> 
> _*As I wrote in the first post, I have no problem with that. It's what sellers do.*_
> 
> ...


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## lampeDépêche (Jan 16, 2017)

Nice Video!

I'm not a big Petzl user--I feel like it is not on the cutting edge of LED tech--but they have been making a solid product for years, and I cannot find fault with that. (I.e., it's solid, reliable, and well-built, if you don't mind being a bit behind the cutting edge in performance).

Szemhazai, I was also a bit confused by your comments about the beam:
"almost ideal emitter projection" sounds like very high praise, but then so does a "clean spot without artifacts", so it is not clear how you are contrasting them, and which one you are criticizing.


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## lampeDépêche (Jan 16, 2017)

Actually, my one complaint about Petzl is this:

Their e+LITE is a terrific little headlamp, the smallest one around. It is even smaller than the new Nitecore NU20, though far, far less capable, since the e+Lite runs on 2x2032, whereas the NU20 runs on a built-in rechargeable 600 mAh lithium pack.

Still, it's a good little light. BUT! It was much better when the red LED was a thrower, instead of the milky, diffuse LED they have in it now. I wish they would go back to the old red LED!!


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## FDP (Jan 16, 2017)

Thanks for the link. Cool vid.


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## Szemhazai (Jan 16, 2017)

lampeDépêche & OldmanRon - sorry for cutting some information, let me explain : 

Petzl Myo XP (2007) - Luxeon III on board - clear rectangular hotspot 






Petzl Myo XP / RXP / RXP 2 - 2009 - SSC P4 on board - actually it's emitter projection covered by a lot of phosphor, sometimes you can see even wires.





Petzl Myo 370 - 20015 - Cree XP-G2 on board - again clear rectangular shape (ask why ? ;-) )






And Myo RXP moded to XP-G2 but with proper 10* optics for Cree XP-G led's.





I hope that the picture explains everything...


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## OldmanRon (Jan 16, 2017)

Szemhazai,

Thanks for taking the time to do this. So, I am guessing that you took a good but still-moderately-flawed "older" headlamp design and (very) skillfully "tweaked" it to make it better. Like the American hot-rodders did with them V-8 engines starting in the 1950's and 1960's ... 

That is very cool ... you embraced the technical challenge just for the hell-of-it. It's the human need/urge to improve and modify ... _*tweak*_, as I said ... very Steve Jobs, right?

Ron


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## OldmanRon (Jan 16, 2017)

FDP said:


> Thanks for the link. Cool vid.



Merci, obviously.


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## lampeDépêche (Jan 17, 2017)

Szemhazai--thank you!

Now I understand why "ideal emitter projection" is actually a bad thing--you mean that it projects a clear image of the emitter, which is not a good hot-spot.

I agree! 

I think what confused me (and perhaps OldManRon as well) is that in English, "ideal" is usually a very strong compliment, or expresses the speaker's strong approval of something. So I understood "ideal emitter projection" as an expression of approval, as though you were saying, "I really like the way that it projects the emitter." 

In this case, you did not mean to express approval of the way that the Petzl projects an image of the emitter, only to say that it projects an image that is almost optically accurate--which is a bad thing! So it does a bad thing, really well--but doing a bad thing really well only makes it a worse thing! 

Okay--thank you for taking the time to help us understand. (And thanks to you and all of the other non-native English speakers for being willing to write in English--it is a huge favor to those of us who do not know e.g. Polish).


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## LeanBurn (Jan 17, 2017)

Here is a New product by PETZL: the NOCTLIGHT

It is a case that protects the headlamp, but also with a built in diffuser that houses the headlamp for use in lantern mode: https://www.petzl.com/BE/en/Sport/CLASSIC-headlamps/NOCTILIGHT#.WH6WV9IrKHs


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## Tachead (Jan 17, 2017)

Thanks for the video, it was neat to see how they do things.

I have used Petzl headlamps for rock climbing, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, etc. for a long time and they are well thought out and very reliable and durable. But, I stopped using them recently because they always seem to fall short on their emitter choices and mode selection. Every one I have ever used or owned had a terrible tint(from purple to green to bright blue) and/or was very cool in colour temperature. I have come to realize that a better tinted emitter(closer to the black body radiation line), that is also neutral or even warm in colour, and has a reasonably high CRI value, is much better for most uses(especially headlamp uses). I would also like to see better mode flexibility(including a sub-lumen moonlight mode) on all models going forward. Until Petzl starts selecting better emitters, that better suit their intended uses, and includes their mode flexibility I will not be buying anymore of their lighting products. There are just so many better options.


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## OldmanRon (Jan 18, 2017)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good


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## Szemhazai (Jan 18, 2017)

lampeDépêche said:


> "ideal" is usually a very strong compliment, or expresses the speaker's strong approval of something. So I understood "ideal emitter projection" as an expression of approval, as though you were saying, "I really like the way that it projects the emitter."



Thanks, explanation highly appreciated !


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## Boko (Jan 19, 2017)

Interesting video, thanks for bringing it to our attention. Silva also have some nice videos. There's an inspirational one showing a trail run up Helvellyn (In the English Lake District) and back down in the dark. Google something like Silva trail run Helvellyn.


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## OldmanRon (Jan 19, 2017)

Boko said:


> Interesting video, thanks for bringing it to our attention. Silva also have some nice videos. There's an inspirational one showing a trail run up Helvellyn (In the English Lake District) and back down in the dark. Google something like Silva trail run Helvellyn.



Thanks. Here's the link. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1foLz2S-r8

They must have incredible fitness and athletic ability. Running on rocky exposed mountain trails and ridges would seem (to me anyways) like a non-stop dance with danger. Not for me ... but kudos to the hardcore dudes and dudettes who embrace it and savour the rush.


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## marinemaster (Jan 28, 2017)

I got the new Tikkina 150 lumens at REI yesterday. Looks nice runs great. I am using Eneloop with it absolutely no issue. It is smaller profile than previous version also quiet. The reflector gives a nice flood beam. Like it a lot.


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## OldmanRon (Jan 28, 2017)

marinemaster said:


> I got the new Tikkina 150 lumens at REI yesterday. Looks nice runs great. I am using Eneloop with it absolutely no issue. It is smaller profile than previous version also quiet. The reflector gives a nice flood beam. Like it a lot.



Hey MM,

I understand completely why you feel this way. I was so pleased with my new-generation 2017 Tikka (very much like your new Tikkina but with an extra 50 lumens ... plus a red LED with strobe feature) that I immediately ordered a second one from MEC ... which is Canada's version of REI.

Tiny size ... great rep ... inexpensive enough to buy two ... _plenty of user-friendly light_ ... easy batteries for even -40 ... and that red-strobe feature just might save my *** someday. The regular red is great for working at my iMac (or reading in bed) in a dark room.


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