Petzl Actik CORE Headlamp Review

There are a million reasons to have a headlamp and it’s not just for the dawn patrol skin track or that early start on a Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim day. Sometimes it’s to walk the dog, set up camp at night or work on that busted old Chevy in the middle of the night. With the Petzl Actik CORE, you can be prepared for all of the above with the versatility of a rechargeable battery pack or three AAA batteries — player’s choice.

Petzl Actik CORE Headlamp Features:

• 625 lumens brightness (7/100/625 modes)
• Mixed beam for proximity and distance vision
• Red lighting mode to preserve night vision
• Rechargeable CORE battery with 3.5h charging time
• Battery charge indicator
• Compatible with 3 AAA/LR03 batteries
• IPX4 weather resistance
• 5-year guarantee for the lamp and 2-year guarantee for the CORE battery
• Lock function to prevent accidental turn-on
• Adjustable and removable headband made from recycled materials
• Weight: 88 grams
• MSRP: $87.95

The Actik advantage

Petzl isn’t new to the lighting game. As one of the foremost players in the space, they have been innovating for years. Like, all headlamps, they too have been packing brighter and brighter bulbs into each new iteration, but being the brightest isn’t always the goal (but it helps). The primary feature of the Actik CORE is the flexible CORE battery pack system.

With the CORE, you get a separate, rechargeable battery pack that’s easily charged via USB-C. It can be charged by rotating the body around and opening the back port. or, it can be removed and charged while you use a spare CORE battery ($34.95) or use three AAA batteries. This is not the first hybrid battery design, but it’s pretty slick and allows a little better weather resistance than an exposed port offers.

When heading out in the dark, it’s easy and intuitive to turn it on — a single button click turns it on. To advance to the three brightness settings, another tap or two needs to happen within about 3 seconds to move from 7 lumen to 100 lumen and onto 625 lumen. For taps will cycle through at the white light modes. To switch to red light for night use, long-press during those first 3 seconds and you have a solid red or flashing red (safety mode). It does remember the last setting (red/white) and after those 3 seconds another single tap turns the lamp off. Simple, intuitive and easy-to-remember.

While I have used the Actik CORE for outdoor adventures, my daily use is walking the dog at night. It’s so easy to adjust brightness, as needed. And, when she wanders off at the park, all it takes is a few clicks to get into the 625 lumen mode where I can see just about everything from a hundred yards away. I’ve used it to chaperon a late-night dance in a farmer’s field and to work on my cars.

The strap is comfortable and easy-to-adjust. And, the size-to-light ratio is solid. I do wish it had longer run time in super bright mode, but 7 hours at 100 lumens is really a great sweet spot for any early ups I’m ever going to have. An added bonus feature is the phosphorescent glowing ring around the main lamp that glows for several minutes after use — making it easy to find should you pull it off in a tent at night and need to use it again. As an added bonus, the green or red light shows briefly on startup to indicate battery strength.

It’s easy to wear alone, on top of a hat or a beanie and the rotating head allows me to direct the light in just the right places down the trail.

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