Petzl Tikka XP Headlamp - 2007 BCS

Great little unit.. Incredibly smart and durable, literally the best headlamp I have ever owned in 15+ years of regular headlamp use... My only gripe is that the "diverse" beam setting only comes in white, while for $10 more the TacTikka XP Adapt comes with 4 different lenses (my favorite is green - much brighter but does not affect your night vision) and I like the 3 band setting of the TakTikka versus the 2 band loop of the Tikka XP. They are basically the same headlamp but the TakTikka comes with three "clips" that it can be mounted to, one that goes on a helmet, one that goes on a belt loop, and one that goes on a traditional head loop. And the TakTikka (single-handedly the reason I bought it) comes with those different color lenses. If you had a friend with a TakTicca and you bought the Tikka you could poach a lens or two off him, then you would be fine IMO. Not killing night vision and slightly --duller-- beam for extended night hikes and use goes a long way...

There is not a more usable headlamp out there. This has three settings, plus turbo boost. The diffuser works great and it has a long battery life. This is lightweight, and it’s five times better than my old Petzel Micro or Zoom. I also compared to a couple others. Unless you like blue tinted light, or you just need a spotlight, get the Tikka XP". All I can add is.....a 6th star!

I am on our local search and rescue team so I have an arsenal of headlamps but honestly, this is the only one I "use". I can easily put it on my climbing helmet and it doesn't flop around. I can put it on my ski helmet and I can see everything around me in the snow. I can put it on my dirt bike helmet and it easily goes over the visor. This is super light but bright enough for any use at all. It has a blinking function for emergencies too. Best one out there!

Had much success with the Tikka Plus, upgraded to the XP and glad I did. When balancing weight, functionality and versatility for backpacking lights this is as good as it gets. The many lighting options are nice, the diffuser does make a big difference for certain applications (like reading), but the feature I really like is the adjustable beam; the whole light housing is on a ratcheting hinge that allows you to fix the light in various positions, very securely. This is a big improvement over the Tikka Plus and is my favorite feature of the XP, brilliant.

I had a hard time distinguishing these two headlights to determine which one was best for our family. I decided to get the slightly cheaper Tikka Plus for our son and purchased the XP for my husband and me.

What is the difference? The XP has a sliding cover that diffuses the light. The clear sliding cover can be slid open to have the light focused primarily on one spot so that the light is distributed evenly. When the light is diffused it is a medium-high brightness that sheds uniform clear light over the area.

The XP has a light booster that will shower the area with extremely bright light – and it IS a nice bright light. However, you must hold the small little button on the top of the body of the XP in order for it to work. I haven’t used it much because I am of the lazy sort and can’t be bothered to hold my hand up to my head for a few seconds. It would be much more helpful if the booster button can be activated for the 20 seconds with just one push.

Another addition to the XP is a battery charge indicator. It is a small little hole covered with a piece of plastic. Apparently, it is supposed to turn green, yellow or red according to the battery charge. Granted, I just bought these lights two days ago and may not be working them correctly, but. . . there are no lights coming on in the hole. I don’t miss it though.

The Tikka Plus seems brighter overall. It has an extremely bright center in the beam and a medium-high brightness surrounding the center so it seems to appear brighter than the XP. It doesn’t have the options that the XP has but does function well.

Both the Plus and the XP ratchet up and down on the housing. However, the XP can ratchet about twice as high or low as the Plus.

Overall, is the XP worth the extra dollars? In my opinion, yes, due to the additional ratcheting and the uniform brightness of the light in the XP. However, both these lights are good and I would be satisfied with either of them. If you want to save money, buy the Tikka Plus and you will be happy.

By the way – who needs a strobe? That is the most worthless “value-added” function on both the two lights.