Spare battery available for long expeditions, or simply to switch out the battery when it dies (ACCU SWIFT RL battery available as an accessory)

Headlamps - Petzl United Kingdom | Sport

In a nutshell, it uses a light sensor to automatically adjust the strength of light depending on how much light is around you. The Swift RL is fully charged in 6 hours and you can bring a spare battery with you. For my use, this isn’t needed, but if you’re going to be doing night-long trail runs or mountain adventures, then it’s something to think about. 6. Uses SWIFT RL - Compact multi-beam headlamp, ultra-powerful and rechargeable, with REACTIVE LIGHTING technology from Petzl-sport on Vimeo. The standard light seems to be more concentrated and far-reaching, whilst the reactive light seems to be more dispersed. Other head torches have modes to switch between dispersed and concentrated beams, which is useful. Having bought a NAO and not particularly liking it, I’ve returned it and bought a Swift with an extra battery and have spare change.In truth, and from what I have discovered when discussing the reactive technology with others, I think the reactive beam is far better for solo running or when you are walking. The pace of walking means that if the beam dims it is not so much of an issue compared to running. When running I usually require a bright beam to show me the way ahead.

Petzl Swift RL Headlamp Review - Ultra Running Magazine Petzl Swift RL Headlamp Review - Ultra Running Magazine

The plate is compatible with accessories that allow you to install the headlamp on a helmet (HELMET ADAPT adhesive plate for a variety helmet types, or SLOT ADAPT for helmets that have a compatible slot) Petzl has solved this by creating a second set of ‘standard’ settings too, which cut out the sensor and 'just' give you low/med/high beam as you’ve selected, like a normal, dumb headtorch. The hitch with the standard settings is that this drops full beam to a mere 550 lumens, presumably as the full 900 lumens will melt through steel like a superman eye laser - and the battery - if left constantly on for the entire 2 hour burn time.Trying to extend your outdoor activities into the dark hours can be quite a daunting task without proper lighting. Across other brands, when you start to creep towards 900 lumens – as the Swift RL has – the prices become pretty comparable. Though, most brands, like Fenix and Biolite won’t match for burn time efficiency or weight. 8. Pros, cons and verdict I ended up on a number of occasions “sharing” the beams of the dimmed Swift RL and the lower lumen output of a friend’s head torch.

Petzl Swift RL Review - 900 Lumen Reactive Headtorch Field Test Petzl Swift RL Review - 900 Lumen Reactive Headtorch Field Test

Fortunately, our concern was pretty short-lived, because once we started testing the Swift RL, the improvements and upgrades became obvious. In general terms, it’s lighter weight, brighter, smarter and rides more comfortably on your head than the old Reactik+. It also helped get us through a recent 100-miler – more on that in a moment.It also means you don’t need to switch between modes on the move, instead the head torch does it for you. The switch between brightness levels isn’t drastic or distracting, but it is sensitive enough to adapt to small changes in surrounding light. The Swift RL is home to a Lithium-Ion 2350 mAh battery, something that can be recharged via the type B micro USB port. You can also keep an eye on this via the product’s battery charge indicator. Petzl has long been a leader in lightweight, high-lumen head lamps. I reviewed the Petzl Actik Core a couple of years ago.

Petzl Swift RL Headlamp | Review - Outdoors Magic Petzl Swift RL Headlamp | Review - Outdoors Magic

Note, too, that while the Nao had the option to swap the reachargeable battery for AAA batteries, the Swift does not. You need to buy a spare rechargeable battery if you plan to use the head torch for many hours. The beam itself is worth focussing on for a moment. Much though lumens are useful in establishing how bright a torch is, it is just as critical to know how the headtorch uses that light. The SWIFT RL balances the requirements of the climber, runner, skiier and mountaineer, with a good blend of flooding in the foreground and a strong, focussed beam giving you the distance too. Mostly, I tend to keep the torch in reactive mode, and switched between the three levels. With this, I found the battery life to be very impressive. The Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery is powerful and helps to stop single-use batteries from being wasted. Standard lighting should need no introduction, because it's what we've all been used to for years: you turn on the head torch and that's that.Longer burn time, visual comfort, and minimal manual operation with REACTIVE LIGHTING® mode; the light sensor automatically adjusts brightness and beam pattern, optimizing battery use Its compact and ultra-lightweight SHELL LT storage bag can also transform the headlamp into a lantern. At only 100g, the 900-lumen light uses rechargeable 2350 mAH lithium-Ion batteries with an impressive life. Basically, that’s a very powerful light that can run for a long time.