PETZL Swift RL Headlamp - SS21

Product Information

Another odd thing happened on a chilly evening. My breath appeared to cause the beam to dim, or was it the mist? Anyway, something caused the light to dim, which was annoying at best and dangerous at worst. I don’t want to have a dimmer beam when it is cold and I am breathing out, or in mist/rain/snow. According to the charts issued by Petzl, you can save considerably on battery use and if you are a long-distance runner or someone doing a multi-day race, battery life is important. Ergonomic and adjustable headband provides the ideal fit, with split construction (Petzl patent); the headband can also be detached and washed or replaced. I was looking forward to a beam that was bright enough to run with for most of the time but I did not find this in the reactive mode. The beam brightness was too variable to be enjoyable and reliable.

We will keep customer information safe and secure and will not distribute or sell this information to a third party. Based in Crolles, near Grenoble, Petzl was founded by the cave explorer Fernand Petzl in the mid-1970s. With its cave-based origins, it’s not really a surprise that the brand managed to establish itself as one of the world’s finest purveyors of headtorches. Some brands merely adopted the dark, Petzl were born in it. 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.

Helmet Compatibility

In proximity lighting mode (REACTIVE LIGHTING®), the SWIFT RL PRO provides 300 lumens of lighting power, bright enough to see 55 meters ahead and offer up to 40 hours of battery life. With an ergonomic adjustable headband, with two-part Petzl patent construction, this has a really comfortable fit and will stay fixed on your head even when you’re really moving about. Speaking of the headband, it’s reflective for heightened night-time visibility. The SWIFT RL PRO headlamp ensures the right lighting at the right time to provide the brightness you need for small maintenance jobs, for precision when attention to detail is required, or for total discretion when necessary.

If you are running with someone else wearing a head torch, the Swift reduces its beam. I guess it thinks that between the two of you there is enough light for you both to run. Except, this is not the case. I like my own full beam to light my way and I don’t want to have to rely on someone else’s beam. I prefer the standard light beam outputs. The max standard lumens is 550 and this is actually fine for most night running situations. I could be greedy and ask for more lumens bit this would require a larger battery and that would make the lamp heavier.Were there to be a downside to this it is that it makes testing the actual burn time pretty much impossible, because it completely depends on where you're looking. If you're looking down more your burn time will be higher (up to 50hrs on RL Max Power), but if you're staring a lot into the distance then it'll be way shorter (2hrs on RL Max Power). I've found the significance of this variation a little alarming, especially when trying to plan for something that requires a degree of certainty. For instance, I've long been plotting a Bob Graham Round, and for that I need a torch that is going to last through the night. If I was using the Reactive Lighting Standard (i.e. middle) setting then I would in theory get somewhere between 5-40hrs burn time. If it's the former, then it won't last the night; if it's the latter it'll last me nearly two days. As such, which of the two figures can I really rely on? The answer is difficult to give, other than to say that if I did end up using the SWIFT RL, which I suspect I will, then I would tilt the torch down so that it preserves the battery. In reality this is likely the case whilst running, and it's definitely the case whilst climbing, where you're likely to spend most of your time looking at the ground immediately front of you. The thought behind the Swift is that you have two headlamps in one, a light/bright “standard” headlamp or a light/bright/extended burn time reactive headlamp, but I don’t think I’ll use the reactive mode as much as I had hoped I would.