Petzl Duo

Review Date
September 15, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: peted56(Unregistered User) ,  Climber

Price Paid:  $169.00 at Snowgum Canberra

Summary:
I have used the Duo 8 Led for the last year on extensive caving trips and it has been excellent. I rarely use the Halogen light. Price above is in Australian dollars.

Customer Service:
Not required.

Similar Products Used:
Princeton Tec Yukon HL. This is also a great light but the Duo 8 Led is better for shorter close in work.

Petzl Zoom Zora, good cheap light but is a bit heavy on batteries, good clear light though. Still prefer the Duo 8.

Review Date
July 24, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: WSB-83(Unregistered User) ,  Mountaineer , from Littleton

Price Paid:  $30.00 at Petzl ProForm

Summary:
I'll try and make this quick as possible. I am a huge fan of this light, the added weight of two lights (available in Xenon Halogen coupled with 5 or 8 LED diodes) and 4 AAs which first turned me off to this light is now a mute issue. I've grown willing to sacrifice the added ounces for the added security of 120+ hrs of white LED light, and the versatility of a 100+ yrd halogen beam, it's an unbeatable combo that smoothly transitions from close encounters to walking trails to route finding. The whole package is entirely water tight, the lense and enclosures are made of a super strong impact resistant plastic making the whole unit pretty bomber. A switch on the left alternate between Halogen up, and LED down, with a lock in the middle to prevent burn down. On the right side is a zoom knob for the Halogen, which while being a little tricky to get used to while mounted on your head, is a useful feature so long as you're not clad in gloves, at which point it's impossible to work. Neither of the knobs are at any risk of letting water, so rest tight in rain storms. For having 4 AAs strapped to the back of your head, the whole system is very well balanced and will stayed securely strapped to your head and/or helmet (with clips) through scrambles and trad ascents (barring you don't tank something and take a digger). The battery pack has two lightweight but strong aluminum clamps to secure the battery clip, so no fear of those breaking on you. The battery pack is however unpadded, and if you crank the straps too tight on your head you will feel it digging in, there is however no real reason to be cranking it down that hard . Most mountainering helmets (all of Petzl's) have clips that are accomodating to the Duo's straps -- maybe the lack of padding on the batteries is a product of Petzl's bias toward this application.
While hardcore Alpinists will swear by every gram saved and stick to something like the ion or zipka, the Duo is peerless for versatile light among those who don't shudder at the thought of every ounce. Right now, the Duo is the most verstile and dependable light source ailable, I'm undecided about Petzl's new Myo, BD's Gemini, Supernova, and SpaceShot2 may flirt with it, but PrincetonTec offers no real competition to either.
**4/5 on value just because at $70 retail it is one of the most expensive headlamps out there, so while a "great buy" I wouldn't call it "deal mania."

Customer Service:
I haven't had to deal with cs, but their reps and pr guys are a pleasure

Similar Products Used:
Petzl: Myo, Tikka
Black Diamond: Gemini, Supernova, SpaceShot2, Moonlight, Ion
PrincetonTec: nameless

Review Date
January 2, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: steve-0(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker , from Greenbush, MI

Price Paid:  $65.00 at Adventure Sports, SD

Summary:
This headlight has the best of both worlds. I use to get frustrated as the batteries would die on me while trying to read at night using a halogen bulb. Halogen for hiking and LED for around the campsite, but who wants to pack in two flashlights. The DUO was exactly what I was looking for. 5 LED upgrades are avail. as apposed to the 3 that come with it. I also liked the lockout on the power switch to prevent it from activating accidentally. The battery compartment works easily and doesn't feel too heavy. My only complaint was that the zoom feature for the halogen function wasn't as good or as easy to use as it was on a Petzl Zoom. Well worth the price though and the best all-around headlight I've used.

Customer Service:
Never needed

Similar Products Used:
Petzl Zoom

Review Date
October 2, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: LEE COLLINS(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker , from MONTANA

Price Paid:  $70.00 at REI

Summary:
This review is for the Petzel Duo 3 led model. After using this product several times I am sorry I didn't purchase it before I had already purchased a Petzl Zoom. Although the Zoom is a great headlamp I really like the LED option. I use the LED option 95% of the time and why use more light than you need anyway. The LEDs give plenty of light for hiking out of the woods after a long day of bowhunting and doesn't give me tunnel vision after hours of hiking. In my opinion this the only headlamp anyone ever will need for any condition

Customer Service:
Have never needed any customer service

Similar Products Used:
Petzl Zoom

Review Date
May 25, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by: Starbuck-83(Unregistered User) ,  Mountaineer , from Littleton

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
**To prevent confusion, this is on the DUO L.E.D. (3) model.**
With that out of the way, the first issue is DUO vs. DUO Belt. For me the DUO was more convenient, I wouldn't need to stow the battery pack, it's lighter, and water proof. I've had no issue with the head mounted battery compartment weighing down my head. There's a concern with external battery packs freezing, thus some have relegated this lamp to above freezing use. I've avoided this problem albeit via ghetto methods; in extreme cold I'll tape a heat pack to the battery compartment, problem solved ;). Unfortunately there is no way to get around the better burn times of the DUO Belt (nearly double). I suppose you can carry 4 more AAs and it'll still weigh less than 4 Cs. As for reliability, it's bomb proof. The dichotomy of long lasting LED, for close encounters, and Halogen, for trail spotting, create in this lamp an unmatched diversity. Only complaint, the "zoom" switch, intended to keep the compartment sealed is impossible to opperate when wearing gloves... oh tragedy. All in all great headlamp, comfortable, reliable, bright, and long lasting LED. Best Headlamp I've used.

**Important Note: with fully sealed compartments this headlamp is safe to use in volatile environments, aka haz-mat leaks, as there is no chance of exposed sparks**

Customer Service:
Petzl USA are great guys.

Similar Products Used:
Black Diamond Gimini (only 1 LED & Halogen).
Petzl DUO (Halogen and Long Burn Bulb).
Princeton Tec Solo (Halogen or Bulb).
Black Diamond MoonLight (4 LEDs).
Petzl Tikka (3 LEDs).
Petzl LED Upgrad