Vibrant, Good, and Battery Saving: Petzl Swift RL Evaluate

Loads of meals and water, a bluebird climate forecast, a pre-dawn begin, and a totally charged headlamp are a very good recipe for fulfillment for a one-day ascent of Moonlight Buttress. I had loads of water and shot blocks crammed into our mini haulbag, the climate regarded nice, and we actually have been up early sufficient.

Sadly, the headlamp I’d introduced alongside to check was lifeless by the point we’d forded the Virgin River and made it to the bottom of the climb. With the solar developing, we climbed shortly sufficient to be down with loads of daylight to spare. However my introduction to the Petzl Swift RL wasn’t love at first sight. 

Be it a person error or a design flaw, the sunshine had been on in my backpack all night time and drained the battery. I assumed I’d turned the lock function on. Or had I forgotten? What good are 1,100 lumens if I’ve already drained the battery by 5:30 within the morning?

A couple of weeks and some night runs later, the Swift RL principally redeemed itself. I choose the single-button operation to the touch-sensitive “energy faucet” buttons discovered on a number of the Black Diamond headlamps. When used strategically, the Reactive Lighting mode considerably will increase the battery life. Simply be sure you’ve really put it in lock mode if you pack it away, or higher but, retailer it with the battery disconnected.

Briefly: The Petzl Swift RL is a vivid, easy-to-use, rechargeable headlamp that works nicely for climbing, operating, backpacking, biking, or anytime you want lighting energy on faucet. Its strap system can be very snug and holds the headlamp in place with none bounce. Whereas expensive, the reactive lighting function is exclusive to Petzl. It robotically analyzes the encircling lighting, dimming the sunshine to save lots of battery in actual time.

To see how the Swift RL stacks up in opposition to the competitors, take a look at GearJunkie’s information to the very best headlamps.

Petzl Swift RL Evaluate

One Button, Many Settings

The Swift RL has three energy ranges that perform in each customary and reactive modes, a pink gentle, and targeted and flood beams, all managed with one satisfyingly pressable button. One click on cycles by means of the modes, and a double click on kicks on the reactive lighting.

Holding the button down whereas the sunshine is on switches between flood and focus. Holding down the button when the sunshine is off places the headlamp in lock mode. Holding the button down for about 4 seconds unlocks the sunshine and turns it again on.

Was the headlamp too simple to unlock in my pack? Is the button too simple to press? Perhaps. However it’s additionally chunky sufficient to seek out and press with gloves on, which isn’t the case with many different headlamps I’ve examined. ( you, Black Diamond.)

What Is Reactive Lighting?

Reactive lighting is cool and helpful, not a gimmick. Right here’s what it does — a sensor on the entrance of the headlamp analyzes the lighting in your atmosphere, considering the ambient lighting and the sunshine mirrored again on the headlamp. The extra gentle it senses, the dimmer the sunshine from the headlamp turns into.

In case you’re a map at nighttime, the sunshine will dim as you maintain the map as much as your face. Decrease the map to look down the path, and the sunshine brightens to the max setting (or no matter stage you’ve set the sunshine to), so quick that it’s laborious to note. 

It’s additionally cool in the event you’re climbing at nighttime. The sunshine dims a bit if you’re handholds proper at your face, after which brightens if you search for or down the route, illuminating bigger options.

Within the max setting, the sunshine can alter itself from 30 to 1,100 lumens. I discovered that utilizing reactive lighting on the medium energy setting hit the candy spot.

The Black Diamond Distance LT 1100 is an analogous mannequin with the identical lumen rely. It doesn’t have reactive lighting, nevertheless it does have a “energy faucet” touch-sensitive button on the facet to spice up the sunshine to most energy shortly. The touch-sensitive button is unimaginable to function in the event you’re sporting gloves.

With the Petzl Swift RL, I discovered a little bit hack that approximates BD’s powertap function — in the event you cowl the sunshine sensor on the entrance of the Swift, the headlamp will quickly go to most brightness. That is nice if you wish to override the reactive gentle setting, and you are able to do it together with your gloves on.

Battery Life and Charging

This headlamp will run a decent 7 hours on its medium setting with the reactive lighting mode activated. That is loads of gentle for operating, mountain climbing, or climbing. In case you can function on the decrease gentle settings, you possibly can push that as much as 100 hours.

At its lowest setting, the sunshine is efficient for studying, however not nice for seeing greater than 15 toes in entrance of you. I’d say ultramarathoners ought to take a look at a lamp with a much bigger battery capability, just like the Black Diamond Distance 1500. That stated, Petzl sells rechargeable batteries for the Swift so you possibly can carry extras, however they’ll value you a further $60 a pop.

There’s a little bit inexperienced LED cost meter on the entrance of the headlamp that permits you to find out about how a lot juice you’ve left. I choose this way more than the outdated Petzl battery indicator. Again within the olden days, Petzl headlamps used to get dimmer because the batteries died, after which began blinking to essentially let you already know you have been about to be left at nighttime. This was about as annoying because it sounds, and was sufficient to steer me away from the model.

Now you possibly can simply test the meter, and if you’re right down to the underside of the barrel, the sunshine goes right into a limp mode that emits 10 lumens for a further 2 hours. A regular USB-C cable will get this gentle totally recharged in round 5 hours.

Drawbacks and Different Choices

The Petzl Swift RL is a stable all-arounder, but when I’m being choosy, they’re are some things that may enhance. I’ve examined different headlamps that may finest the Swift in sure conditions. The detachable battery isn’t that simple to take away in comparison with the battery on the BD Distance LT, which easily slides out. 

There are extra snug, cheaper lights which can be higher for operating. In case you don’t want 8 hours of burn time, a little bit gentle just like the BioLite Sprint 450 is extra snug to put on. This battery is within the rear for higher stability, together with a rear security gentle. The Black Diamond Spot 400-R is one among my favourite headlamps, emitting 400 lumens for half the value of the Swift, a lot for most individuals.

Conclusion

Of us in want of a robust gentle in a 3.5-ounce bundle will probably be pleased with the Swift RL. The one-button performance is straightforward and efficient, and the reactive lighting is beneficial when you get used to it. It’s fully non-obligatory in the event you want the Swift to perform like a daily headlamp.

There are lighter and brighter headlamps on the market, however regardless of my preliminary battery draining debacle, the Swift RL has earned its place in my climbing pack.