By Mark Buskwood
I used the Petzl Ultra on the High Peak Marathon, a 40 mile fell-race for teams of four which starts & finishes at Edale. The circular race route follows the Derwent Watershed, climbing Lose Hill, Win Hill & High Neb, before crossing the Bleaklow & Kinder plateaus. Teams start around 11pm on Friday night and finish approximately 10-12 hours later. We came 4th out of around 40 teams.
As you can imagine, running across rough, boggy and featureless moorland in the middle of the night in early March can present a few challenges, and having a good headtorch is essential. Over the years that I’ve taken part in the HPM we’ve progressed from Petzl Zooms to smaller & lighter LED headtorches. Last year I used a combination of a Zipka on one wrist and a Tikka XP on my head, but these provided a level of light only just sufficient for the conditions.
The brightness and increased range of the new Ultra headtorch was quite simply staggering. For the first time we were able to look out through the darkness and recognize features in the landscape 50 or 60 metres away, which was a great help in navigation. The power and range of the beam meant we made fewer route finding errors over the rough ground.
Initially I was concerned that the Ultra might prove too heavy or cumbersome for running, but my fears were quickly put to rest. Although (I think) a little heavier than a Petzl Zoom, the Ultra is well balanced and sits very securely on the head. Battery life seems good also. I used the torch continuously through the night for around 7 hours, mainly on the economy setting, and the beam did not appear to lose any of its brightness.
The controls were also well thought out and easy to use. My only criticism of the torch would be that removing the battery for re-charging seems a little fiddly. The plastic housing had been damaged at some point by a previous user (as you had pointed out), so clearly someone else had had similar problems. Having said that, the design looks like it will remain pretty water-resistant and the battery charged quickly.
Overall 9/10. Easily the best headtorch I’ve used. Mark Buskwood.
NOTE: The one that Mark tested was a prototype and the design of the battery connector was revised prior to production based upon such feedback.