PETZL, ZIPKA Compact Headlamp with 300 Lumens and Retractable Cord for Hiking and Camping

I love this light! I am an outdoor educator and this is perfect for me. I can strap it to my water bottle to make a light for paperwork with my clients during night programs. I can put it on as a headlamp for hiking. It is tiny and fits in any pocket, unlike lights with larger straps.The red light is good. I wish I could have a stronger red light, though. It has great white light with three brightness options. There is only one brightness setting for red, which is frustrating. I’ve used it for maybe 6 programs thus far so it’s pretty new but the quality seems really solid.

I love these little Petzl lights. It's my third Petzl in the last 30 years, and I have been happy with every one. I especially like this light, though. It's very bright, very compact, lightweight, and just awesome. The option to toggle between the bright lights and the red LED is great; the red LED is nice because it doesn't ruin the night vision of yours and anyone around you when you turn it on. I mostly use this light for photography at night, and it's very helpful to still be able to see after turning the red light off. I highly recommend this product.

It really is a shame that PETZL has decided to stop making these indispensable headlamps.The retractable zipline way you can attach this to your head, hat, or helmet is brilliant and makes it so easy to take on and off you never want to not have one in your pocket.While it is not the brightest LED flashlight, it is by far the most convenient LED flashlight I have ever owned.20+ years 2 weeks at a time Burning Man camper and this became the must-have headlamp for setting up in the dark or getting things done after the sun goes down.I can only hope PETZL comes back to this design with new improvements and that same zip line perfect fit, easy on and off adjustment.

I have an older model of this light which I purchased about 17 years ago. The thing has held up well but on a recent camping trip I realized it just wasn't as bright as some of the modern head lamps, so it was time to upgrade. Since I love the compact size and minimalist design of the zipka with the retractable cord I decided to try the modern-day version.I was happy to see that this little thing has 3 brightness levels and is extremely bright on its brightest setting. It's also nice to have the red light built in and the glowing ring is neat but I'm not sure how useful it is. It might help you find it after you take the head lamp off and set it down, but I don't know how long it actually glows for. Mostly I just get other folks telling me my headlamp is glowing when I turn it off.The single button operation is pretty straight forward but every now and then it can take me a few tries to remember what to do to get it to do what I want. Once you have it in the color/brightness you want its very simple to turn on and off.The one thing that remains to be seen is how well the batteries hold up when it's in storage. since the switch is a soft push multifunction switch vs a physical slide switch that would disconnect the batteries, I'm worried that there is some sort of constant power draw but hopefully not.

The jostling from running does not permit this to sit well on one’s noggin. The retractable cord is not tight enough. I wear it on my hat, on my buff, it doesn’t matter, it shifts when I run. For hiking and waking it’s fine. I use the rechargeable battery as it provides more lumens than the disposable battery option, and I like it but the battery costs as much as the light itself brining the entire system up to around sixty clams as of this date. For eighty-five bucks, the Petzel Iko Core, which I also own, beats this headlamp in every way. For fit, function, lightweight, included battery, lumens, the Iko Core is a much better light for thirty bucks more, but some may not want to spend that money.

1st time customer to Petzl products & I gotta say it's awesome. This will be an addition to my Nitecore headlamp, which is my main, whereas this will be backup. That said, I intend to use it regularly for it's "break-in" period to see how it fairs vs. the rest of my gear.Out of the box:Pros - *compact & very light, crafty headband mechanism (which attributes to its compactness), multiple color outputs, multiple modes/outputs for both colors, surprisingly bright for its size (though I feel the same way with my Nitecore headlamp), easy to change batteries, uses common household AAAs (however you can purchase Petzl's batt. pack separately if you wish), long battery life (according to Petzl's included specs/instructions; will test myself with more use), water resistant, glow in the dark ring around LED (not sure the exact purpose of this, but I like it), feels robust, & comes with everything you need to use it right out of the box. The button functions are very intuitive as well & easy to remember.Cons: The main negative aspect for me was that it doesn't fit as snug around my head as I'd like; I guarantee that if I were to run/jog with it on, it'd come off my head & there's no way to adjust it or make it tighter. All the tension comes from the spring in the retracting mechanism. 2nd, there's no adjustment on the LED throw itself, as some others have said, you basically adjust it by moving it up & down on the contour of your forehead.

I can't believe this is discontinued. It's lightweight and so small because it doesn't have a strap that dangles around. I can palm it and use it as a flashlight without stuff hanging out as well. Now, if I was going to so some really hardcore trail running, or adventuring, etc... I would bring something more secure, brighter, tougher. But for camping, walking around for working on something in the dark, this thing rocks. Good for travel too as it's so small.

Would recommend