Petzl MYO RXP Headlamp review

I contacted Petzl a couple months ago to see if I could do a review of one of their headlamps.  They actually sent me two headlamps so I will do a review on each headlamp in a different review.  The first one they sent me was their premium model, the Petzl MYO RXP Headlamp.  Retail price of $89.95. This is the granddaddy of the headlamps.  This is for the serious night runners.  This thing is heavy duty.  As most of you know, I do 80% of my running in the dark starting about 5am so even in summer it's dark for most of my runs.  I would consider myself a serious night runner!  Ha!

Take a look.  You get the headlamp and also an extra strap to go over the top of your head.

Here's a better picture of it close up:

As you can see there is a battery compartment in the back of the headlamp.  Because the lamp is so powerful, it takes three AA batteries.  At first, I thought that it would be too heavy to wear and would bounce around but you don't even notice you have it on.  It's has a very comfortable fit to it.  It stays in place nicely when running.  I did not even need to use the extra strap that goes on top of your head but I can see why Petzl includes it in the packaging.

The lamp is rated for use up to 95 hours on the lower settings.  I actually used it mostly on the higher settings not only to see well but so that cars could see me coming a mile away.  The headlamp has a light output up to 160 Lumens in the boost mode(for even more light) but an always on mode of up to 140 Lumens.  In order words, this thing is crazy bright.  Comparatively speaking, it's about double the light output of a normal headlamp.  Normally on another headlamp I use, I also use a separate blinking red light but I did not feel the need for it because you could see cars moving away from me as they got closer to where I was running(opposite of traffic).  The unit will shine about 77 meters.  That's over half a football field length away!!!

The headlamp has several modes that you can put this into including basically high, medium, low and blinking.  Within these modes, you can program the unit to be less bright or more bright.  In the flashing mode, you can program it to be slow, fast or even give the SOS signal(a great feature if you're on the trails or a remote area)  In addition, you are able to adjust the light to a large area like a flood lamp or a focused area.  I primarily used the large area.  I could certainly see a great use of using this if you are always running trails at night when there is no other light around.  You will be able to see the trail very clear to keep you from falling.  

I would say that you probably do not need to use this on the high mode especially since it will go through the batteries much faster.  About 50 hours on high mode, although I did not quite get 50 hours out of the batteries that came with the unit but the new batteries I put in it seem to be standing up to this.  This would be a perfect headlamp for an ultramarathon that would be several days/stages without worry of batteries going out.  There is also an indicator to tell you when the batteries are getting low.

The light is also adjustable so you can have it facing directly out in front of you or you can move it down more towards you.  The band on the headlamp is very easy to adjust with one easy pull in or out.  In addition, I was able to use the light in all weather conditions - snow, rain, very cold, hot and it performed flawlessly.  It was actually sent to me in the perfect time given the change of seasons.  It's also waterproof to IP X4 - basically great for in the rain and sweat but not under water.

Here's a couple close up's.  You can see that there is a filter on the light to make it a flood light or a pinpoint.  Just flip it up or down depending on what you want.

Here is a close up on the battery compartment.  You can also see that there is a cord going from the battery compartment to the headlamp in the front.  With the batteries, this weighs about 6.2 oz.  I know that it sounds like it's heavy, and it is heavier than their other headlamps, but it's still very comfortable to wear.  Plus, given all the light it throws off, I'm willing to accept more weight for the sake of being seen even better.

You can see in this picture, the two orange buttons on the top of the light.  These are used to turn the headlamp on and off, program it and use the boost mode on it.  This also gives you a good idea of how the lamp will tilt with one simple movement.

Here's a picture I took just before going out for a cold run.  As you can see, even though the unit itself looks large, it's not really that big at all but so powerful.

 When I took this picture below, it was pitch black so it gives you an idea of how bright the headlamp is.  Amazing!

Below is a picture I took before I actually went running in it with my cap on.  Many people probably don't use their cap and their headlamp together but it works great and you can position the tilt of the lamp so you can get it where you can see well with it even with the bill of the hat sticking out.  The reason I use both is that I the hat helps with sweat and if it's raining.

Haha!  This is a picture of me trying to show you what it looks like from the back with the battery compartment.  As I said, it does not move around so you don't notice it at all.  It also rests nicely against your head so it stays in place.

I logged at least 20-25 runs with this, mostly runs under 8 miles, and it has worked great and made me feel much safer on the streets.  It's unfortunate, but early in the morning, people do not pay attention so you need a headlamp so that you can be seen when running.  I never run in the dark without one.

Would I recommend it?  Absolutely.  I think that the unit is best suited for people that run in the dark in remote areas where there is no other light around.  Not everyone needs the power of this light but it does keep you safe.  You won't be able to live without it once you use it.  It is a little more costly than some of Petzl's other options but I think most of you will see the quality and strong power will be worth the extra expense to keep you safe.

Want to learn more?

To go their website:  HERE

To go their Facebook page:  HERE

To go their Twitter page:  HERE

Up next, I'll be doing a review of one of Petzl's other headlamps, the Tikka 2 XP.

• Note I was given a Petzl MYO RXP headlamp for review purposes only and this unit will be sent back to the company.

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!!