Petzl - NAO RL

As the other reviewer said, this is a good mix between the Iko and Swift, both of which I have used extensively. The brightness is awesome, but more importantly for skiing, which is all I have used it for so far, the beam is broader than the Swift. I don't use the adaptive lighting setting for skiing. The on/off button is a little tough to use with ski gloves, although as a cold handed person, I am wearing pretty thick gloves. Battery life is good so far. After an hour of use in the medium setting, I usually still have 4/5 battery life. Fits okay on Ski Trab Attivo helmet. The rear retention is not an ideal match though. The other down side is with the back-side battery pack, it may interfere with goggle straps.

This is legit. To my this is a blend of the Iko and Swift headlamps. It’s crazy lightweight and sits very nicely. I run with it and the comfort is uncanny. I didn’t have to adjust it once the first time I used it. Attaches easily to a Sirocco helmet, but not my Poc helmet. Beam has a very bright center that casts a soft glow into the periphery, and I don’t have to angle the lens to what’s just in front of me. Glowing red strobe on the back is icing on the cake. Cannot wait to ski with it. I imagine it will be easier to manipulate with gloves on then the Swift RL, that on/off button is tricky.

Almost perfeckt

I'm amazed by the comfort and brigtnes of this headlamp. It plenty brigt for trail running or even MTB. Reaktiv lighting works well. The storing pautch is a very nice camping gadget. Only thing I can thing of as a problem to some people is the ui because the ligt turns off when you want to switch from highest to lowest(off-low-mid-high-off) it would be nice if you could cycle throught all the modes without turning the ligt off

Amazingly Intuitive

I picked the nao up for training and use in the no business 100. It’s incredibly easy to use and I love the reactive lighting. I’ve used several other headlamps before, but most others are difficult to navigate through. This one is a breeze. I learned all the features in a couple of minutes. All you will need is another battery for long runs or adventures. It’s amazing!

Disappointed coming from the Swift RL for running

I purchased the NAO RL as a successor to my Swift RL which I have used for over 500 miles of pre-dawn running. I'll be frequently comparing the two head to head.The TL/DR is that it's being returned and I'll stick with the Swift RL.I was excited to upgrade from the Swift RL for a number of reasons:- USB C rechargeable- Better weight distribution with the rear battery- More peak brightness is always better- Built-in rear light (right now I run with a separate rear light which is one more thing to charge after every run)- I've been a huge fan of the reactive lighting features and excellent even light quality of the Swift RL and look frward to Petzl's next iteration of that.Brightness - Winner: TieThe NAO RL is objectively brighter at it's brightest setting ... MoreI purchased the NAO RL as a successor to my Swift RL which I have used for over 500 miles of pre-dawn running. I'll be frequently comparing the two head to head.The TL/DR is that it's being returned and I'll stick with the Swift RL.I was excited to upgrade from the Swift RL for a number of reasons:- USB C rechargeable- Better weight distribution with the rear battery- More peak brightness is always better- Built-in rear light (right now I run with a separate rear light which is one more thing to charge after every run)- I've been a huge fan of the reactive lighting features and excellent even light quality of the Swift RL and look frward to Petzl's next iteration of that.Brightness - Winner: TieThe NAO RL is objectively brighter at it's brightest setting BUT the Low and Med settings are both significantly dimmer and less usable than on the Swift RL. The swift *feels* like 30%, 60%, 100%, when the NAO RL feels more like 10%, 30%, 100% across its modes.Light quality - Winner: Swift RLThe NAO RL beam pattern is defined by a very narrow and sharp central beam, and a very dim wide-angle light whenever it's in the Reactive modes. It feels like a bug or a defect. In practice while running on dark trails, I'm constantly pivoting my head to take in my surroundings. The beam lights the terrain directly ahead well, but the peripheral is uncomfortably dim and contributes to the anxieties of running alone in the dark. It's especially weird because that's not the case when moving out of the Reactive mode into the fixed brightness modes. The nearby light is far more usable but disables one of the standout features of the headlamp and significantly cuts down peak brightness. (900 lm vs 1500 lm peak in reactive)The Swift RL has a gentle gradient from a bright central beam which gets smoothly and progressively less-bright towards the periphery. I can comfortably see far out ahead, and also feel comfortable being able to see everything in my immediate surroundings.Comfort - Winner: Swift RLThe strap of the NAO RL is just plain uncomfortable. It's unpadded in the front, and the rear half is difficulty to untangle and make sit well. The power wire from the battery is stiff, and makes the strap contract more on one side, pulling the light too the side over time. Worse is that it's unstable. The light slips up off my head over time - or has to be made so tight that it's uncomfortable and leaves indents pressed into my head. The front light bounces with each stride creating a nauseating flickering sensation and really calls attention to the sharp narrow beam.The Swift RL strap is well padded, easy to put on and has never slipped. My only complaint is that it's a bit of a pain to remove and wash.Reactive Lighting - Winner: Swift RLSomething must have been wrong with the reactive lighting in my NAO RL unit. Even in total darkness of a densely wooded park, the headlamp just refused to approach peak brightness in Reactive mode. Toggling to fixed brightness should reduce the max from 1500 to 900 lm, but in practice was MUCH brighter. The reactive lighting was also very jumpy/jarring in it's transitions. It seemed to have none of the smooth dimming transitions that impressed me in the Swift RL

Great headlamp; comfort could be slightly improved

Front light: I was impressed with how bright this thing is! At its highest setting, it lit up my entire backyard. There's also plenty of adjustability in the brightness. The Reactive mode helps with this as well, but in my use the brightness only changed automatically when I was facing the light towards a white surface that was pretty close to me (about 10ft), not with more subtle changes. The quality of the light beam seemed good to me, with smooth illumination and no hot spot. The center beam is clearly distinguishable from the peripheral lighting, but this wasn't a problem for me.Back light: I've never had a headlamp with a rear red light before, and really like it as an extra safety feature to be visible while walking/running along a road at night, especially ... MoreFront light: I was impressed with how bright this thing is! At its highest setting, it lit up my entire backyard. There's also plenty of adjustability in the brightness. The Reactive mode helps with this as well, but in my use the brightness only changed automatically when I was facing the light towards a white surface that was pretty close to me (about 10ft), not with more subtle changes. The quality of the light beam seemed good to me, with smooth illumination and no hot spot. The center beam is clearly distinguishable from the peripheral lighting, but this wasn't a problem for me.Back light: I've never had a headlamp with a rear red light before, and really like it as an extra safety feature to be visible while walking/running along a road at night, especially with the ability to toggle the red light between solid and flashing.Fit/straps: I'm a big fan of the harness strap system; the fit is secure and very easy to adjust. For the price, I think the strap in the front could be a little more comfortable in terms of padding where the light is. But ultimately I didn't have any issues with the light bouncing around my head while I moved, which is the biggest issue I've had with other headlamps.

I wanted to love it, really, but it's not good

I really wanted to love this headlight. I really wanted it to be brighter than my Petzl Nao+, but it's just not good.Pros: It LIGHT . Like crazy lightweight. I can't believe how much lighter is was than my Nao+. Also, the connector for the battery is WAY better. The old one has this weird clamshell thing, with a keyed, automotive style, twist lock connector. Those about the only "pros" I can think of.Cons: The light beam for the main spot is FAR too small, and defined, so it makes this really weird shaky visual effect, that was causing me headaches. Also, because it's so focused, it doesn't light most of the ground in front of you. The flood part rarely ever kicks in, and even on "fixed" mode, it's no brighter than the Nao+ (which is only 750 lumen). I took the ... MoreI really wanted to love this headlight. I really wanted it to be brighter than my Petzl Nao+, but it's just not good.Pros: It LIGHT . Like crazy lightweight. I can't believe how much lighter is was than my Nao+. Also, the connector for the battery is WAY better. The old one has this weird clamshell thing, with a keyed, automotive style, twist lock connector. Those about the only "pros" I can think of.Cons: The light beam for the main spot is FAR too small, and defined, so it makes this really weird shaky visual effect, that was causing me headaches. Also, because it's so focused, it doesn't light most of the ground in front of you. The flood part rarely ever kicks in, and even on "fixed" mode, it's no brighter than the Nao+ (which is only 750 lumen). I took the lights out, back to back, and the only place the Nao RL was brighter was in completely dark woods, and it was barely brighter.The new head strap design is terrible. It has the standard strap, for around your head, but then the over the top of your head part is this new split elastic strap. The strap "one" piece, made by a sliding plastic piece, that then splits into 2 elastic parts, after the sliding piece, which then connect to the main strap. It caused the thing to be constantly pulled upward, and off your head. I honestly don't know why they went away from the single, fixed center strap that worked so well.The off/on switch is on the bottom of the LED housing, and is self lit in an orange color. You can see it when the headlight is on your head, sometimes. It's really frustrating to have this orange light bouncing in and out of your visual field. You can't turn it off. It's also a small button, tucked away pretty good, so if you have gloves on, it's frustrating.

Light up your nights

The Petzl Nao RL headlamp is a good high-performing, lightweight, and rechargeable headlamp with a few quirks, but would recommend trying it.Pros:Extremely bright - Confident with night rides/runsRechargeable batterySeveral light modes allow for adjustabilityWeatherproof (IPX4)Lightweight and comfortableSafety light on the back of the headbandConsReactive lighting is jumpyTakes time to set up to get the fit dialed inThe dimmest setting seems too narrow to be useful (I would typically use on the brightest setting)

Poor performance, terrible reactive lighting mode

I've owned several Petzl lights, and I purchased this one as an "upgrade" for my Petzl Swift RL, but I've been nothing but unimpressed with the ease of use, comfort, and performance of the NAO RL light.The head strap on the Swift RL is pure genius- easy to use, easy to adjust to different sizes, comfortable, and built for durability. The head strap on the NAO RL is the total opposite- it requires significant effort to comfortably adjust to different sizes, and just to get the thing strapped to my head securely takes some time, and it's not really comfortable once I finally do get it strapped to my head.The whole reason I purchased this light as an "upgrade" to the Swift RL was the promise of 1500 lumens on high in reactive mode. I've used this light for about a ... MoreI've owned several Petzl lights, and I purchased this one as an "upgrade" for my Petzl Swift RL, but I've been nothing but unimpressed with the ease of use, comfort, and performance of the NAO RL light.The head strap on the Swift RL is pure genius- easy to use, easy to adjust to different sizes, comfortable, and built for durability. The head strap on the NAO RL is the total opposite- it requires significant effort to comfortably adjust to different sizes, and just to get the thing strapped to my head securely takes some time, and it's not really comfortable once I finally do get it strapped to my head.The whole reason I purchased this light as an "upgrade" to the Swift RL was the promise of 1500 lumens on high in reactive mode. I've used this light for about a dozen late-evening walks now, and no matter the scenario, I have yet to find a time where the light is brighter in reactive mode than in the regular high setting (900 lumen).The reactive mode on this light is completely unusable. It's currently the middle of winter where I live, and every possible disturbance changes the brightness of the light- the presence of even a few snowflakes causes the light to rapidly change brightness (to the point of being disorienting), and every time I exhale, the little cloud of condensation will significantly dim the light.The battery life on this light is also terrible! I walk my dog for 2 miles each evening (roughly 30 minutes), and I have settled on just using the medium setting in the non-reactive mode. I get 2 walks (60 minutes) before the battery gauge shows "1 bar" left. Petzl's website claims FIVE hours on this setting!I don't know if I got a lemon, or if this light was just rushed to market with insufficient testing, but I basically spent $170 for a light that is inferior in every possible way to the Swift RL- it's unable to produce the advertised 1,500 lumens, has a terrible head strap design, and abysmal battery life!

Very bright

This flashlight is next level of brightness. I don't know maybe I never used good bright flashlight before, but this is so nice, especially if you feel a little bit claustrophobic in dark environment. Battery life is really good, it is rechargeable, except there is no option of convenience of AA batteries. It is water resistant and it works, but for my uses since I live in Evergreen state, resistance rating is not enough. So far I used PETZL NAO for two weeks, three trails, car project, few runs. It is solid flashlight