EXCLUSIVE: Petzl’s brightest torch yet!

By LFTO Gear Team

Gear news

09 May 2008 09:28

You could be forgiven for thinking there was a motorbike zooming down the mountain if you clock a walker wearing Petzl’s newest headtorch this summer. 

Petzl’s brightest torch yet, the Ultra, will light up the outdoor shop shelves this August. Its 350 lumen light makes it four times brighter than the brightest the brand currently offers, the 85-lumen Myo XP, which can stretch to 150 lumens on boost mode.

From our sneak preview we can let you in on a little operating secret should you try one out in an outdoor shop near you. Never look the max-strength 120m beam straight in the eye when you flick the easy-to-twis switch. The super-pure, daylight-bright light from six LEDs will definitely put blue spots on your retina. You have been warned!

You may resemble a lighthouse with the 200g Ultra on your forehead but the comfy, load-spreading headpiece will not budge while you fling yourself through the hills. There are two versions, one with a head-mounted battery and another, more powerful unit with a belt-mounted power source.

The bottom line

The pocket-able (or backpackable for an extra £40), lithium ion battery kicks out the same power as 12 AAs and boasts an efficient, 500 recharges. The small version lasts two hours on max-strength and the large, slightly heavier battery lasts twice the time on all counts.

At a whopping £260 (or £300 for the version with the belt battery), this specialist headtorch is designed to be a bombproof investment for extreme mountain use by adventure racers, orienteers, fell and ultra runners, mountain bikers and emergency services. It is currently on trial with Mountain Rescue teams in Wales.

All this means that it's not best suited to the needs of your average walker, who just needs some light for a bit of early-morning or late-night hiking, but we've little doubt this will become the yardstick by which the rest of the industry will be judged.