review by Tony Lourens
Petzl has been in the headlamp game for over three decades, and it shows. I mean, who can forget that iconic headlamp each and every one of us proudly owned – the Petzl Zoom – brilliant for its time. And headlamp technology is seemingly unstoppable – every model outdoing its predecessor in some way. Today the outdoor specific headlamps coming out of the Petzl stable are light, compact and with variable brightness.
The Petzl Actik 450 comes with the hybrid concept, meaning you can run it either with the CORE rechargeable battery or three regular AAA batteries. The advantage of the CORE battery is that the brightness will stay the same over its entire burn time, but the burn time will be less, but of course it is rechargeable. It is worth thinking about which batteries would be best if you are going on a multi-day trip and you don’t have a charging bank with you.
I’m a bit of a minimalist, so am not overly keen on gadgets with too many functions, so I particularly like the fact that the Actik 450 is not too flashy, but comes with exactly what I would look for in a good headlamp:
It has three light settings: low, for reading in your tent; medium, for general campsite use and trail walking; and bright, for off path mountain use and climbing. And when I say bright, I mean bright!
And a red light, so you don’t blind your mates and a flashing red light for signalling.
It also comes with a lock function, so your light doesn’t accidentally switch on in your pack, and a battery charge indicator. And the best thing is that everything is operated by one easy-to-use touch switch on the top.
The lamp itself has a generous swivel, so can be adjusted quite easily from pointing directly up, all the way through to pointing directly down, and has a wide, elasticated head band which sits very comfortably against your head and fits just about any helmet.
The Actik 450 also comes with Petzl’s relatively new and extremely effective lantern bag – a translucent nylon storage bag that cinches over the lamp, transforming it into a lantern that can be placed on a table, or hung up on the inside of a tent.
Specifications
Brightness: 450 lumens
Weight: 98 g
Beam pattern: Flood or mixed
Energy: Three AAA or CORE rechargeable battery
Water tightness: IPX4 (weather-resistant)
• Single button for quick and easy selection of brightness or light color
• Useful phosphorescent reflector for locating the lamp in the dark
• Storage pouch allows it to be transformed into a lantern
RRP: R829
