New Petzl NAO !

[arizona1]

I think this is an interesting product but is ridiculous at the same time

It looks like you can't hold your head up when you walk on a trail. You have to hold your head slightly down otherwise you get a spot beam and can't see where you are walking. In the photos they magically have local light when the hiker holds his head up but it doesn't appear to come from the headlamp.

It seems to be optimized for a high level of brightness in general because "that's what you need at night"?

Why is it better to have to charge your battery with a computer (USB)? This will be as annoying as my cell phone trying to guess what word I'm starting to text so it can "help" me out.

It looks like every time you move your head up or down the light will be changing...flood..no spot...no flood. Annoying.

It's like the keyless door lock pads on some cars a few years ago. It's a solution in search of a problem. It's much better to have intuitive manual control of more variables...easy to switch from spot to flood or to have both with variable output adjustment.

It satisfies a certain gearhead desire I'll admit but programming and charging on a computer rather than having intuitive options on the unit itself would be a nonstarter for me.

The real purpose in all the gadgetry is to justify a higher price/profit margin and to push Petzl software across the entire product line.

The closest legitimate use for this technology is adventure running (or whatever it's called) however I think it would be annoying even for that.

Could not have said it better myself

 

[gcbryan]

Interesting I am sure, but not to me. I can't see how these automatic features would benefit me much at all and I am sure I would get aggravated with them. I prefer to be in control of everything that I can, dont need no auto headlights on my vehicle nor automatic transmission, full manual on camera is great too, and a flashlight is the last thing I would need automatic controls on. When is the gps enabled one with a camera and phone built in coming out? lol

That would be December 2012

 

[mattm01]

This is certainly a product that has potential. I'll wait to pass judgement until I USE one.
As a rock climber I can certainly see benefits to the auto mode. You'll often be looking right in front of you at the rock and then look up to see far ahead of you. Letting go to adjust manually isn't really an option...

RE: USB charging: You certainly don't need a computer to charge with. Options that are much much smaller (and also used for OTHER devices) are available. The tiny 1amp iPhone wall brick is one example. They also make micro 1 amp 12v cig USB chargers that can easily be run off a solar panel. (Goal Zero etc). That's not to say you can't bring along a 12v DC 18650 charger but being able to leave a proprietary charger behind is nice.

When hiking on trails at night you HAVE to look down a bit (especially on rough terrain) to see where you're going. You only look straight ahead on smooth and flat terrain.

The local light is for the product shot. To take a good "ad" picture you'll have to have non-source lighting. It'll be up to CPF users to do real beam shots...

High level of brightness will be user adjustable via the OS I suspect...

I bet you can adjust the sensitivity and "response time" of the light depending on needs.

Theres' a "static" mode for manual override if needed.

$175 MSRP - really not all that bad. Zebra H600 $89 +$18 18650 + $50 Pila Charger (yes, you can go cheaper) + $15 for 12v cord(robbery imo) gets you in the same range. even if you go budget and save $50 I think that extra $50 for the Petzl is worth it (assuming the tech works) since it's a MUCH nicer all-in-one package and includes the AAA backup as well as the OS customization

Petzl makes gear for highly outdoor activities and the NAO is aimed at that crowd more so than the CPF user set. Granted there's probably some overlap but I doubt its much.

 

[gcbryan]

This is certainly a product that has potential. I'll wait to pass judgement until I USE one.
As a rock climber I can certainly see benefits to the auto mode. You'll often be looking right in front of you at the rock and then look up to see far ahead of you. Letting go to adjust manually isn't really an option...

RE: USB charging: You certainly don't need a computer to charge with. Options that are much much smaller (and also used for OTHER devices) are available. The tiny 1amp iPhone wall brick is one example. They also make micro 1 amp 12v cig USB chargers that can easily be run off a solar panel. (Goal Zero etc). That's not to say you can't bring along a 12v DC 18650 charger but being able to leave a proprietary charger behind is nice.

When hiking on trails at night you HAVE to look down a bit (especially on rough terrain) to see where you're going. You only look straight ahead on smooth and flat terrain.

The local light is for the product shot. To take a good "ad" picture you'll have to have non-source lighting. It'll be up to CPF users to do real beam shots...

High level of brightness will be user adjustable via the OS I suspect...

I bet you can adjust the sensitivity and "response time" of the light depending on needs.

Theres' a "static" mode for manual override if needed.

$175 MSRP - really not all that bad. Zebra H600 $89 +$18 18650 + $50 Pila Charger (yes, you can go cheaper) + $15 for 12v cord(robbery imo) gets you in the same range. even if you go budget and save $50 I think that extra $50 for the Petzl is worth it (assuming the tech works) since it's a MUCH nicer all-in-one package and includes the AAA backup as well as the OS customization

Petzl makes gear for highly outdoor activities and the NAO is aimed at that crowd more so than the CPF user set. Granted there's probably some overlap but I doubt its much.

When do you think you'll have them in stock?

What makes you think the CPF user doesn't use a headlamp for outdoor activities? I'm a rock climber as well.

I don't do a lot of rock climbing at night but there is some overlap (day/night) in getting off the rock.

How are you managing now to see the rock and look ahead to figure out the route/find anchors, etc.?

 

[hank]

So, will the next model out recognize all the mobile phone/trackpad standard hand gestures?

 

[mattm01]

When do you think you'll have them in stock?

What makes you think the CPF user doesn't use a headlamp for outdoor activities? I'm a rock climber as well.

I don't do a lot of rock climbing at night but there is some overlap (day/night) in getting off the rock.

How are you managing now to see the rock and look ahead to figure out the route/find anchors, etc.?

Ha, not a dealer. Just making friendly counter points.

Not saying there isn't overlap or that CPF users aren't going outside, just that Petzl probably did product development with the hard core alpine set rather than those of us with Digital Volt meters and 6 18650s etc etc.

I too try to avoid getting darked on on the wall. Right now I climb with an old BD Zenix. Last time I "night climbed" I spent most of my time in 5mm LED flood mode. When I could stop I would switch over to spot mode and search for the anchors. The key is WHEN I COULD. I had to take on the rope a few times because the climbing was too strenuous to stop and I need to see "which crack" was the right one.

I could also see the auto feature being REALLY helpful while rappelling in the dark....

 

[gcbryan]

Ha, not a dealer. Just making friendly counter points.

Not saying there isn't overlap or that CPF users aren't going outside, just that Petzl probably did product development with the hard core alpine set rather than those of us with Digital Volt meters and 6 18650s etc etc.

I too try to avoid getting darked on on the wall. Right now I climb with an old BD Zenix. Last time I "night climbed" I spent most of my time in 5mm LED flood mode. When I could stop I would switch over to spot mode and search for the anchors. The key is WHEN I COULD. I had to take on the rope a few times because the climbing was too strenuous to stop and I need to see "which crack" was the right one.

I could also see the auto feature being REALLY helpful while rappelling in the dark....

I do think it's an interesting concept and as long as you can turn that feature off...great but then again if you do that there are a lot cheaper ways to go.

If I'm rappelling in the dark and I can manually put it on spot I'm good. It would be annoying for it to go to flood every time I looked at the wall.

I don't give a great deal of weight to Petzl or any other manufacturer and the testing that they do because I see what they end up with and it generally appears that no testing was done even though I'm sure that's not the case.

The Petzl Tikka XP2 has a clear plastic housing so one gets glare. No climber or outdoors person would want that and would complain about that immediately. It also doesn't have a real low. Black Diamond with the Storm offers spot and flood but the only way to choose one or the other is to turn the unit off and then back on again. It toggles between the two. If you always use spot mode it will always be in the wrong mode when you turn it on.

Again, I don't see that any meaningful testing is actually done. Maybe they give units to their staff or customers and ask them to try to tear it up to make sure it's robust but it looks like testing is done after the design is already finalized since feedback from most anyone would result in certain basic changes that just aren't done.

Princeton Tec EOS has no low mode either or red LED. The Storm uses a plastic that is somewhat translucent as well although without as much glare and the clear bodied Petzl XP2.

In theory I agree it's cool to have the headlamp "know" when to switch between spot and flood and high and low but I'm skeptical.

 

[robostudent5000]

I'm skeptical.

that should be in your sig line bro.

 

[gcbryan]

that should be in your sig line bro.

Haha...it's implied

 

[Bolster]

Anybody here wear bifocals?

You're always arguing with them. You need the distance vision to go down stairs (but you get close-up magnification instead) and if you need to take a close look at anything eye level or above, you have to crick your neck like crazy to get the magnification into play.

This light will be the "bifocal" of headlamps. It'll be fun to run it on automatic for awhile, then you'll need to switch it to manual when you're done playing around. It may work as advertised for specific applications. I suspect the manual mode will be used a lot.

Just a prediction. We'll see when it arrives.

 

[MikeAusC]

Anybody here wear bifocals? You're always arguing with them. . . . .

I meet two types of people who have tried bifocals - those who just can't adjust to them - and those like me that persevere and find them very effective.

Similarly car GPSs - some people hear the turn and speed instructions and follow them, where appropriate - and those who say "how can you cope with that thing telling you what to do" (and they're the ones with a serious number of speeding fines !!!)

 

[Bolster]

Count me as the third type of bifocal wearer--they work very well in certain situations (sitting in a classroom, writing notes), and are frustrating as heck in others (walking down stairs, nailing in crown molding).

Anyway my comment was meant to be an analogy, not a thread derail. I think this light will cause people fits in some situations. But if it's easy to switch into manual mode, great. Wish there was a "manual mode" on my bifocals!!

 

[Baddog]

i can just see disaster happening with this automated technology, i prefer to be in charge of output and beam shape at all times, but thats just me, keep up the good work mr Horton.

 

[eh4]

what would be great would be if there was a "gain" dial for adjusting the light sensor, and a switch for turning the feature off -with a traditional manual input as well.
Sounds like a great idea, only problem I see other than the sensor itself failing is if you got a bit of leaf or mud blocking the sensor.

 

[gillestugan]

May actually work well.
Im not very concerned about the possibility of blinding people when you look up. It is a general rule not to point the beam at other peaples eyes, so why do it now?
And when I walk and dont need to see far ahead, I usually tilt the lamp downwards to get the main beam close, so it will then go to low level automatically.

 

[carrot]

From Petzl's press release:

Lighting is controlled via a large rotating on/off switch, which can be locked in the 'off' position. The switch allows the user to choose between Reactive Lighting or Static modes, with high/low output options in each. Static lighting gives a fixed output (non-reactive).

In Reactive Lighting mode the headset uses a single high-output LED in a wide-angled beam. In Static mode the headset uses both the wide-angled beam and a second high-output LED configured for a focused beam. Maximum power output is 355 lumens. Performance profiles can be customised via Petzl's OS 2.0 on your computer.

For 'emergency use', the battery pack will accept 2 x conventional AAA batteries.

Hope this clears up any misinformation.

 

[nein166]

Hey carrot thought we lost you there for a while glad you came back

From the press release:

For 'emergency use', the battery pack will accept 2 x conventional AAA batteries.

This explains the strange animated pic on Petzl's site that shows a Lithium Ion cell and 2 smaller silver things. They must be the AAA cells.
There was no explanation as to what the picture illustrated. I wonder if the LIon comes out can we carry a spare LIon cell and plug that in instead.

I'm still wondering if this light senses the actual white light reflected back or if there is an IR beam coming out of the 3rd eye as well as a sensor. It looks more like a focusing optic than a sensor eye. If it sensed white light levels it would shut off if you stepped into a brightly lit area, how bad would that be if a car was coming at you on the road and your light shut off due to the cars bright lights shining at your headlamp. Or what would happen if you put two of these head lamps face to face to fight it out? Would they start flickering as each dimmed and brightened? Would they turn on and off in unison, or would one win the fight? Is it light or distance this thing is measuring? Maybe both?

 

[carrot]

Or what would happen if you put two of these head lamps face to face to fight it out?

Sounds like something to test at the next PF

 

[ryguy24000]

From the video I think it looks cool! Would love to test it brand new then beat the living crap out of it for a while and see if another test would produce the same results as the first. I worryabout Too much technology in tough situations.

 

[k594]

definitely looks cool, but i could see the downfalls with me using it on the job site