My experience with the 2003 Blackout in Toronto this year sparked my interest in personal lighting. At first I got the Minimag, but then I read great reviews of the Opalec Newbeam conversion module so I got that as well, and that's when I got hooked on LED lights.
I'm assuming the readers are familiar with LEDs versus incandescent lights because most reviews have mentioned their differences already, so I won't go into that. This Christmas I got 2 Petzl Zipkas for my parents, and a Tikka for myself. The lights are exactly the same in Tikka and Zipka, but I got the Tikka because it's slightly cheaper and it comes with an elastic headband, which will hold better to my head due to my clumsiness (the Zipka has a retractible head-cord which is quite comfortable, but not strong enough for rigorous activities).
I got headlamps simply because I didn't want to hold onto my flashlight when I need to work with both hands. Incandescent bulbs (krypton, xenon and halogens) give a much better throw, but I don't see myself needing the long distance lighting because I don't go hiking on unfamiliar trails much at all. For everyday use and occasional use in the outdoors at night, the Tikka is superior in terms of light quality (the whiteness and the even spread of light) and battery life (max 150 for Tikka, max 11-12 for incandescent standard bulbs, max 5-7 for bright halogen bulbs).
Weight and size: 70 grams with batteries. The light and headband together will fit in the palm of your hand. For a better idea of what 70 grams is like, the Petzl Micro, the smallest, lightest incandescent headlamp, weights approx. 110 grams with batteries. The extra weight in Micro is from the heavier (and more) batteries, extra bulb and the extra middle strap required to secure the heavier headlight to the head. The Tikka only has a single elastic headband to wrap around your head, which is sufficient because the headlamp is so light.
Battery and battery life: Manufacturer claims the Tikka can run for 150 hours on 3-AAA alkaline batteries. First, AAA batteries are the second most common batteries used. AA's are slightly cheaper and have a better capacity but are slightly larger than AAA's. To reduce the size and weight the manufactures chose to use AAA batteries. For LED lights, 3 or more AAA's or AA's are required to power the lamp because LEDs need voltages higher than 3 to run - either that or use a more expensive internal circuit to boost the voltage like in the Opalec Newbeam.
I've done my own battery life test, leaving the Tikka on for 6 days in a row. According to the package, the Tikka gives 10 metres of light with fresh batteries, down to 5 meters after 12 hours, then down to 2 meters after 24 hours, until the batteries can hold it no more when 150 hours have gone by. In my own test, after 12 hours the lamp had almost negligible amount of dimming, after 24 hours the lamp was dimmer but still gives a good throw of about 4 to 5 meters, after 36 hours illumination was noticebly down to about 2-3 meters, and the lamp continued to burn until around 140 hours when the lights started flickering very, very dimly.
Let me just add a note that when I mean "2-3 meters" I mean you can see clearly what's within 2-3 meters of you. But when you're out in the darkness in your camp, you'll appreciate how bright the Tikka still is because you can still see outlines of objects beyond the 2-3 meters, just that you can't distinguish what the object is until you get closer. In a nutshell, the Tikka provides one of the longest operating hours among the other lights in its class (lightweight 3-LED headlamps).
A note about flickering lights, and the solution: There have been numerous users of the Tikka complaining about flickering lights from the Tikka despite fresh/relatively new batteries. It's a no brainer that the flickering is from poor contacts, and I myself have suffered from this problem. I tried to disassemble the Tikka (contacts, switch and everything), but when I couldn't pry out the black battery holder with the contacts I gave up because I didn't want to *evidently* ruin my warranty by leaving marks. I tried using BluTack on the back side of the light so it'd push the batteries against the contacts, but the lights still flickered. The solution in the end, was just to lay the batteries loosely in the front side of the Tikka in the battery holders, then snap the back side back onto the front letting the back piece pushing the batteries against the front. I found that this will ensure the batteries are held tightly against the front by the back and no more flickering was seen except for when I was switching the Tikka on and off. Don't try to manually snap the batteries nicely into their holders because after you put the back piece in they'll just pop out loose again.
Durability and waterproofness: This unit is not waterproof, nor is it necessary to be waterproof, unless you plan to swim or scuba dive with it. It will withstand light rain (and you can read other online reviews to proof this. One user dunked his Tikka in a glass of water and left it on, and it kept burning even after 24 hours). I have been comparing the Tikka with the Princeton Tec Aurora when I was deciding which to get. The Aurora was waterproof, and that was necessary, since the Aurora uses an electric circuit board to control the switch and light output. If you have water in the Aurora, the circuit board will malfunction and you can't turn the light on. The Tikka uses simple contacts and a physical switch to control the on/off so it won't be affected even if the internal components are wet. The only con if it's wet is that you might not be able to turn the unit OFF, or that it'll be ON when the switch is at the OFF position since water can conduct electricity. Nevertheless this can be remedied by just taking out the batteries and leaving the Tikka to airdry. The Aurora, once it's wet, has a risk of permanently damaging the circuit board. Furthermore, waterproofness also has its weakness because it can keep moisture out of the internal parts, while it'll also keep moisture inside the light if you don't dry the light properly after use.
In terms of durability to bumps and drops, the Tikka is lightweight enough not to bash open if you drop the light, and the components are tight enough (the LEDs are permanently secured to the electric contacts so they'll never come loose) that bumps will not make the light go off, in the exception if you don't put in the batteries properly (see my note about flickering lights), so you should have good confidence in taking your Tikka to camping or other outdoor activities even if it's a humid/wet environment. Just airdry the Tikka if it's been exposed to moisture and you'll be fine.
Moreover, you can only change the beam angle by adjusting the position of the lamp on your forehead, since the headlamp angle is not adjustable from the headband. However, the less parts you have the less you're likely to wear it out/break it down, so I consider this an advantage.
Price: Out of the other 3-LED headlamps on the market, this is one of the cheapest you can find, mostly due to its lack of an electric circuit board. But cheap doesn't mean Petzl skimped back on quality though. The Petzl Tikka is one of the first LED headlamps to be manufactured several years ago, so it had the time to undergo various improvements.
What do I hate: The only thing I hated about the Tikka was the flickering light - that is, until I learnt how to solve the problem.
So, yes, I do recommend getting the Tikka if you're looking for a headlight to use around your home or your camp. It's light enough to be stored inside your backpack everyday in case of emergency use. And since it's light, you're more likely to take it with you and use it when you need to. For now, LED lights still can't replace incandescent bulbs in terms of lighting distance. If you need a headlamp for hikes on unfamiliar grounds, skiing, climbing, anything where you want a good throw of light into the distance, get a halogen bulb headlamp.
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