PETZL Swift RL Headlamp - SS21

Product Information

Greenlight keeps you safe as it helps to lower your visibility to wildlife. It also aids with close up tasks. This makes the green light ideal for activities such as map reading in the dark. I was interested to see whether battery performance would be affected by temperature. A night in a freezer allowed a simple test of that. I completed a run time test between the battery at room temperature and it being run full to empty in a freezer there was negligible difference in performance. I thought this a very impressive result given that this will be a key consideration for winter climbers and polar explorers! Comfort and Usability The SWIFT battery takes six hours to charge, which is a reasonable amount of time - significant enough to require some planning if you are heading out. Clearly this is fine if you put it on to charge before heading to work, but less fine if you forget and hope to charge it after. It would be great if this time was lower, but perhaps it's no surprise. You want your headlamp strap to fit snugly around your head. You don’t want it to fit too tightly or too loose. Many torches are designed with adjustable straps to fit different head shapes and sizes. Bigger head torches even come with a stopper to prevent the straps from being too loose and the headlamp from sliding down.

Different models and designs illuminate over different ranges. On average, a head torch covers a distance of anywhere between 50 to 130 meters. ConclusionSingle bulb headlights use halogen or krypton bulbs. These bulbs offer excellent light penetration. But, due to their high energy, they have a higher heat emission. Unlike LEDs, they consume more power.

Minimum burn time of 5 hours in REACTIVE LIGHTING® mode (STANDARD level), built to power through long activities Trying to extend your outdoor activities into the dark hours can be quite a daunting task without proper lighting. When choosing the best head torch, you must look at the key features to ensure you find the right model. In the buying guide below, we’ve broken down key features to look at. Users of Petzl's rechargeable CORE battery will be on familiar ground here. Due to its output the SWIFT RL requires a larger battery than its cousin the ACTIK, hence there is no compatibility between the two - something that may annoy some of our audience. However, when you think about the SWIFT's greater lumens and burn time, it's quite clear why. The SWIFT is providing a heavyweight amount of lighting within a lightweight and compact exterior.Hybrid head torches are another viable type. These lights are known as combined light array lamps and use both single bulbs and LEDs. This design allows them to meet the needs of different conditions. Spare battery available for long expeditions, or simply to switch out the battery when it dies (SWIFT RL rechargeable battery available as an accessory)

The Swift RL features a single switch and so working out the modes doesn’t take long. Each press cycles you through from max burn time to standard and finally max power. One last press and the torch is off. That is it for the constant light output modes. For Reactive Lighting a longer press will engage that option. Many earlier Petzl models had more than one button and so the simplicity of this is a refreshing design. Comfortable fit provided by the ergonomic adjustable headband, with two-part construction (Petzl patent) for optimal stability during dynamic activities Yes, the NAO+ is more expensive, bulkier, heavier, and has less output; however, what it has in abundance is battery life - something that is not to be underestimated! This is a crucial factor, especially when you compare the various burn times to how long the night can actually be. In midwinter, depending on where you are in the UK (and how grey a day it is), you can realistically get a good 18hrs of darkness. Whilst the ACTIK and the SWIFT can indeed cope with this through reducing their output, that - some may say - would defeat the object of carrying such a bright headtorch. With the NAO+ there is no need to compromise, with a highly respectable 350 lumens being possible over a time frame of 15-25hrs. That's a get out of jail card on the winter mountains! This type of beam is ideal for long-range viewing in situations such as navigating the trails in the dark. Some headlights come with a mix of flood and spot beams and allow you to adjust as you go. I’ve noticed this most when cycling and the headlight crosses beams with bike lights. Or, when the lights illuminate road signs.In line with current health and safety guidelines, we reserve the right to refuse any items that are (for whatever reason) not returned to us in a clean and hygienic condition.