Petzl MYO RXP Headlamp
Hi Friends! I promised you a review of the headlamp that I used for the Moab 100 and here it is. I know a few of you have been looking into a headlamp for night running. If you have any questions feel free to contact me personally or post a question in the comments.
If your going to run all night, your going to need some serious light. While I have a few super lightweight headlamps for camping I was worried that none of them would provide enough light to run and see the obstacles that are in the way in the trail.
I wrote to Petzl and asked if they would like for me to review one of their headlamps during my race. They were super kind to send along a Petzl MYO RXP Headlamp which is built for night running, mountaineering or any other sport where size, performance, and burn time are important.
The first thing I noticed when I took the Petzl MYO RXP out of the packagiang was that it is shockingly lightweight. The battery pack for the Petzl MYO RXP is worn on the back of your head and with past headlamps I've worn, this has made for a heavy head. After a few hours, any sort of head squeezing will create a headache. I was really surprised when I put the MYO RXP on my head. I could barely feel it. During the Moab 100, 8 hours with this puppy on and no headache, still couldn't feel it!
Running into the aid station for the Moab 100
Okay, so lightweight doesn't matter much if you can't really see the ground. It's gotta be a heavy hitter when it comes to lighting the trail. I checked out the directions and you can program three light settings into it, based off of 10 light options. I thought that was a nice feature. But, for me, I knew I was going to put it on full blast and was willing to replace batteries as much as I needed.
Full Blast! 140 lumens! Wowzer. The one mistake I made was that I didn't arm my pacers with the same headlamp. This puppy produced some serious light and my pacers headlamps couldn't even hold a candle or a flare to this bad boy. Next time, everybody gets a Petzl MYO RXP! Running along during the Maob 100, the MYO RXP lit the the trail very well and when I ran behind my pacers it created such a shadow that it made it tough for them to see where they were going. The light beam could also be put in straight and narrow mode (like you are looking for a geocashe in the middle of the night), or in wide beam mode (that's where I kept it) with the flip of a cute little plastic piece on the front of the headlamp. It was easy to flip and you could do that while running if needed.
Sitting down after the Moab 100, didn't take off my headlamp, because I forgot that it was on.
I changed batteries (uses alkaline or lithium, and you can get a rechargeable compatible one as well) half way through the night, and I only changed them once (I used alkaline). On the brightest setting I was expecting to go through a set every lap but the lamp hung strong. It also gradually got dimmer and i only changed the batteries when I was ready for a freshening up. The light didn't go dark on me or anything (and there is a little light on it that indicated battery status that warns when the batteries are 70% and 90% discharged).
Although I handed the headlamp to my crew to change the batteries I didn't feel the need to educate them in how to do it. Many other headlamps require cuss words and a degree in rocket science to get them open. I think Annie (4 years old) would have no problem changing the batteries in the MYO RXP. It has a malleable plastic cover over the battery area. It's very easy to slip off and change out the batteries. A major plus for me.
All in all, the Petzl MYO RXP gets a two thumbs up from me. It did it's job and served me very well. Next time I have night time pacers I will make sure they are wearing one as well. This headlamp completely eliminated the need for a hand flashlight, I just wish it would come with a feature that would have made me lift my feet up a little more over the obstacles that I could clearly see. Ha!