The Petzl Meteor Helmet started life as a lightweight climbing helmet but it is now much more than that. In response to demands from the adventure racing community the Meteor was tweaked slightly and the buckles changed so that it would also pass the EN requirements for whitewater sports and cycling as well as climbing.
Petzl Meteor III+
Now there is no need to have 3 helmets for 3 sports, just use the Meteor III+.
As a cycle helmet, the Meteor is comfy and works really well. It’s not that vented so might be a bit warm on hot days but conversely it’s great in bad weather. Now it doesn’t look like a classic cycle helmet, so maybe not for your die hard tdF fans but thats a personal choice. It’s climbing heritage means that the Meteor has little clips to hold a headlamp in place, great for winter commuting.
As a canoe helmet I didn’t really notice any difference between the Meteor and any other dedicated watersports helmet I have used, so it seems to do the job just as well. There is no ear protection from the Meteor like there is from some water sports helmets, but there are also plenty of watersports helmets with no ear protection.
Open boating on the Eden
As a climbing helmet, the Meteor is brilliant. Really lightweight so there is no neck strain even on long routes. Great visibility all round plus comfort and good grip from the cradle. Easy to attach a headlamp for pre dawn starts. The only point to note is that for continuous small knocks a polycarbonate shell helmet will have more durability but about double the weight over the Meteor III+. For lightweight climbers and multi sports users it’s perfect.
The marathon season has begun. The Highlander has already happened and the LAMM is only 3 weeks away. I have just refreshed the OMM 2011 article with some images. This article gives a complete breakdown of the kit I carried and wore plus food eaten with a calorie breakdown. Get any bits you need now and get them tested before race day.
The lenses in the Julbo Ultra sunglasses are awesome. When I think of Reactalite lenses, I get this image of a 1980s Polaroid advert in my head but things have come a long way since.
A lens like the photochromic Zebra Light is the logical progression from multi lens glasses sets. Instead of having to predict the conditions or stop and change lenses, it all just happens. The lenses adjust from a pretty clear cat 1 lens to a pretty dark cat 3 lens. I couldn’t say exactly what the reaction times are but I just never really notice it going on, so it must be alright.
The frames are light and comfy and the lenses are held just a little further away from your face than classic sunglasses to make sure they never mist up. Face coverage is excellent with no wind getting into my eyes. The nose piece is adjustable if you need it but it was fine for me as it was. The only adjustment I made is to the width of the arms, the distance between the arms ends when fully open. I have a narrow pin head so find most glasses don’t grip my head properly, which I notice when looking down. My solution to this is to superglue a piece of elastic band to the frame just inside the hinge. This stops the hinge from opening fully and makes them grip my head a little better. Because I use elastic band, it’s sort of like a mini shock absorber.
Dark Lenses
If you compare the 2 images in this post, the top one is in a studio with no UV, so the lenses are as clear as they can be. The image just above is a fairly sunny day on Middleton Moor. You can really see how much adjustment the Zebra lenses offer, photochromic lenses are really the way forward.
Although the days are getting longer and longer, I have taken every opportunity to use my Petzl Nao since I was lucky enough to get a demo unit from Petzl in the early spring. The new Nao is something unique in the high powered lamp market as it auto adjusts it’s own brightness and beam pattern as you use it.
The Nao measures the amount of light that is reflected back at it, and the more light it receives the more it turns itself down. The idea is that if you are looking at a map then a lot of light will bounce off the map and the lamp will adjust to it’s preset reading light level. If no reflected light is received then you are looking into the far distance and the full power long distance beam light is used. If a small amount of light is being reflected then you are probably looking at something in the near to middle distance so medium power and a wide beam flood is used. Apart from not blinding yourself when you look at the map on full power the real benefit of the Nao is that it achieves a really long life from a small rechargeable battery.
It really works! Both for general about camp type use and technical night trail running which are the two things I have used it for so far. The light adjusts so quickly that half the time you don’t even notice it doing so. You tend to see the power go up if you look into the far distance but don’t see it come down as you look at close objects. You can switch between the reactive power levels (up to 5 levels) and constant power levels (again a max choice of 5) with short or long turns of the single knob. The chunky knob was easy to use with gloves on, a trick passed down from the Ultra.
An environmental review of Petzl highlighted that their greatest problem was disposable batteries. Since then Petzl have been promoting rechargeable lithium batteries. First was the Core battery for the Tikka/Zipka range and similar technology is being used with the Nao. The battery is a custom Lithium Ion one. The software on your PC allows you to customise the minimum and maximum light output for the different amount of reflected light. You can even have multiple sets of settings for different sports and change the battery between them whilst it is connected to your PC. This is very quick and as the battery is USB charged it’s often connected to your computer with the included lead. The Nao can also be converted to a remote battery with the Nao Belt Kit.
Nao battery with USB connection
The software is mainly graphical so it’s quite obvious what you are changing and you get an average battery life estimate for your settings. The battery life will always be an estimate because it depends how long you spend looking at what distances. Petzl have down extensive field testing to try to make the estimates as realistic as possible. If you want battery predictability the Nao also has a constant mode where it behaves like any other lamp. You can have between 1 and 5 reactive levels and between 1 and 5 constant levels. If you run your battery flat, you can even replace the rechargeable lithium battery with disposable batteries, however once you have done so the Nao will only run at constant low power.
Nao Software (click to enlarge in new window)
Again I found that the software really works. On the factory preset – multi activity, the flood beam did not come on early enough for me when running so I increased the reading threshold to maximum and also increased the maximum power of the wide beam, now I get more light whilst looking the same distance in front of me as before. I saved this as my ideal run settings and can refine it again if I want.
The next new feature of the Nao is the strap. Petzl have replaced two thirds of the elastic in the headstrap with cord. The front third of each strap is still elastic to maintain comfort and head grip whilst the rest is cord. The idea is that when you stow the Nao in your pack you use the cord lock to pull everything together and then it doesn’t come out of your bag in a tangle. This works well but means you have to adjust the tension each time, but that’s very easy. If you never change between a head, hat and helmet so always want the same tension then a little knot in the string works marks the right place. The optional head strap is minimal and not fitted as standard as Petzl don’t think that most people use them. Maybe it’s just because I do a lot of running but I still prefer a top strap, however a minimal one works just fine. The strap works fine with a helmet and is comfy with a hat but I think lacks a little padding behind the light unit when worn on the bare head.
Headstrap cinched
Headstrap with minimalist top strap
Continuing on with the green theme the Petzl Nao comes in a almost fully recyclable box with no nasty plastic windows or the like. The only part that cannot be recycled is a small magnet that holds the box lid shut. However Petzl are encouraging me to cut this off the box and re use as a fridge magnet. A nice touch or a load of old tosh depending on your stand point.
The Nao has one more surprise up it’s sleeve – the price! The launch price is £135, which for a lithium battery rechargeable lamp kicking out 355 lumens is really good. You can get more lumens per pound but £135 for the feature set and versatility of the Nao seems like a pretty good deal to me. If you are wondering why it’s called the Nao it is Chinese for mind or brain.
Here is a short demo vid of the very first time a Suunto Ambit finds it’s location, fresh from the box.
I am pretty impressed by the performance of the Ambit so far, I can’t wait to test one over several hours, but can’t keep one in stock for long enough!
As we now have just about all of our Summer 2012 clothing range on the website, we needed to have a bit of a tidy up. Therefore all the clothing from Summer 2011 and Winter 2011 has been put on sale at 25% off RRP. Your will find some great winter weight hardshell and a good selection of softshell plus plenty of windproofs and baselayers all on sale at 25% off.
Clothing Sale Page
There is also a very small amount of Winter 2010 gear left which is now at 40% off but size and colour choice is very limited in those styles. There is now a Super Sale category for all items which are 40% off just for you ultra bargain hunters
One of our new products for this spring is the Rab VR Lite Alpine Windshirt. I have been testing one of these for the last couple of months and it’s a beauty. The VR Lite fabric used is the lightest Vapour Rise fabric used to date by Rab and is just about spot on. Marmot have used the same Tricot lining with a lighter outer fabric which I felt wasn’t quite protective enough but the Pertex Equilibrium and lining used by Rab is a great combination of warmth (i.e. not too much) and weather protection.
Rab VR Lite Alpine Jacket
In Jan and Feb I used it for biking and running, and generally wore a baselayer underneath, although if it’s warmer than expected the best solution is to remove your baselayer and put the VR Lite back on. I am disappointed in the performance of cycling gear so have taken to wearing proper outdoor gear on my bike (both road and mountain) during the winter and so have racked up quite a few road in the jacket. The athletic cut and generous arm length made it very comfortable.
However it’s not called the ‘Alpine Jacket’ for nothing and it performed just as well on my ski/touring trip this spring. Whilst the jacket is lightweight at 345g, it still features adjustable velcro cuffs, 2 decent Napoleon pockets and an adjustable hood. I have used a few lightweight products recently which have gone a bit too lightweight at the expense of features that you need. Happily Rab have keep a good hood and pockets rather than chasing the sub 300g weight tag.
Top of the La Legette Du Mirantin
As the weather was pretty good, I wore the VR Lite Alpine as my general jacket for the 2 weeks I was away. I prefer this style of jacket to a softshell as it is much more functional as a layering piece but just as good as an outer layer. In the past I think that the shiny outer on windshirts has meant people have shied away from using them as everyday jackets but the matt finish on the Pertex Equilibrium eliminates this problem. In cooler conditions I can see that you wear the jacket next to your skin and possibly layer over it but as the temperature rises you are better to wear a thin baselayer or techinical T underneath for when it’s just too warm for the jacket. If you use it both ways then it’s can be used year round for most activities.
The only thing I have noticed is that the jacket has suffered friction damage from the straps of my pack when running. This has not affected the function of the jacket but will turn into a hole after a couple of years use. This is not a fault with the jacket but a limitation of lighter weight fabrics. I have had exactly the same experience with the Montane Krypton Jacket that I am also testing. If you want your gear to last 5 to 10 years of constant use then you should steer clear of lightweight fabrics. Most people have a pile of redundant gear which is not worn out, surely it’s better for stuff to be lighter, more comfortable and pretty worn out by the time you replace it than over engineered.
I really can’t think of anything negative to say about the VR Lite Alpine Jacket as I really do love it. Combined with a couple of weights of baselayer and a good shell, it forms part of a proper clothing system.
Along with all the usual suspects which we love like down bags, synthetic bags and softshell legwear we have some new beauties and products which were new last year and big hits;
Firefox Jacket in Gore Active Shell. Been sold out of this one since the middle of winter.
Chill Slackline. One of the 3 ME slackline kits. Been sold out since the middle of last summer!
Orbital Jacket. New lightweight softshell. Great for climbers. My review to follow...
Trojan Hooded. New Gore Tex X Fast. Lightweight and super stretchy windstopper membrane.
Crux T. Our most popular technical t from last summer.
