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Reviewer's
Impressions:
The Duo LED is an evolutionary step forward from the
original Duo by incorporating energy efficient white
LEDs in place of the low output incandescent bulb. Although
the standard for serious hikers/climbers/cavers for
a long time, I can see that the new Petzl
Myo has taken from the lessons learned by Petzl
in the long manufacturing history of this headlamp.
Specifically there are 4 areas that glaringly need improvement
in this headlamp, and all 4 issues were elegantly resolved
in the design of the Petzl Myo series. Although still
the workhorse, I predict that the Duo may eventually
be phased out as the Myo takes hold.
The body of the Petzl Duo Belt LED 8 is made of yellow
plastic mounted on a gray plastic forehead plate. Two
elastic straps hold the lamp onto the head; one around
the circumference and one over the top. Both straps
are easily removable for cleaning or replacement. At
the rear of the strap assembly is a plastic attachment
point with reflective tape to make the user visible
from behind. The lamp assembly on the front is vertically
adjustable for angle and ratchets into place.
Immediately we encounter what I consider
to be the first area needing improvement. The
headlamp ratchets up much easier than downward,
requiring 2 hands to pull it forward and down
to avoid pulling the entire assembly off of the
head. If the ratchet were reversed, one hand could
be used to pull it forward and down, and since
pushing it up against the forehead would allow
greater leverage, it would not matter if the upward
ratchet were more difficult; one hand could still
be used. Optimally it should ratchet smoothly
in either direction.
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Around the front of the lamp is a "tank tread"
bezel cap which is twisted around the bezel to remove
the lens and the reflectors to change the bulb. A spare
halogen bulb is included with the headlamp in a storage
socket behind the reflector. The reflector itself is
a large slivered plastic assembly with a textured reflector
area around the LEDs and a smooth reflector surrounding
the halogen bulb. A slot in the reflector allows you
to see if you have a spare available and a plastic tab
allows for easy removal of the spare from its socket.
The reflector is the second area that
needs improvement. The wide focus is absolutely
terrible with large patches of darkness and large
patches that are very bright. A textured reflector
would easily solve this problem while still maintaining
good throw on the tight focus setting. As is,
the only reason I see to focus the headlamp is
to get a tight beam and leave it there after a
bulb change. The LEDs can be used for all close
to medium range area lighting.
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On the user's left you will find the lever switch with
a lockout to prevent accidental activation. Press the
red tab back to lock it in the off position, forward
to turn it on. Flipping the switch up turns on the high
powered incandescent bulb which lasts about 9 hours
on 4 C batteries. Flip the switch down to turn the LEDs
on "optimal" setting. Turn quickly off-on
again to activate "high" setting, and quickly
off-on again to activate "economy" setting.
The switch contains the third area
for improvement. The lockout switch works almost
too well and a gloved hand cannot easily disengage
the lock. In fact an ungloved hand may have trouble
if the user has stout fingers.
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The halogen bulb puts out a good amount of light,
enough to see at a very good distance when set on its
tightest focus. The 8 LED array is current regulated
so that it will have nearly constant brightness throughout
the life of the batteries. As the batteries get to the
point of being nearly dead, the LEDs will dim but should
provide enough light for you to reach a safe place to
change the batteries. The LEDs produce a very nice flood
of light which is more than adequate for most tasks.
On the user's right you will find the zoom lever to
adjust the focus of the main halogen lamp. Twisting
up and down zoom in and out, allowing for either a tight
beam for distance or a wide beam for close and area
work.
The zoom lever is the last real area
of needed improvement. First, it requires two
hands - one to hold the bezel, the other to twist
the zoom lever. Otherwise the headlamp ratchets
up. Second, the bulb does not move smoothly forward
and backward, instead tilting in the hole in the
reflector, thereby changing the angle and sharpness
of the beam.
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The battery pack is a simple battery tray which slides
into a nylon pouch held shut with a of velcro closure.
A second Velcro flap wraps around the body of the pouch
and can be looped around a belt to carry the pack on
the waist. There is also a strap across the top of the
pack which can be used to hang the pack. As a result
of having the batteries in a tray and not in a box of
some sort, the battery pack is not really water resistant
at all. The attachment point of the cable is clamped
in place inside the battery tray housing and should
not fail. The fact that the headlamp runs on 4 C batteries
that are carried in a separate pouch with a long cord
means that you will get great runtimes and you can tuck
the battery pouch inside your jacket in cold weather
to protect the alkalines from the elements. Alkalines
tend to perform poorly when cold.
The headlamp itself is advertised as water resistant
and has a seal between the lens and the bezel.
All in all, it appears that the LED array, which is
available as an upgrade for users with older Duo Headlamps,
is an attempt to modernize a design which may be nearing
the end of its life cycle. Newer Petzl designs are
a big improvement over the Duo and I dare say that the
Myo 5 Belt headlamp could easily take the place of the
Duo Belt LED 8 with all of the "areas of improvement"
mentioned above already resolved. Of course, this is
the nature of an evolving set of designs.
I have no doubt that the Duo design was one of the
most advanced headlamps at the time of its first manufacturing,
so I'm probably going to get a lot of flak about this
rating from the diehard Duo fans out there. An OK headlamp,
with a good LED array and circuit. However, the poor
incandescent beam, stiff zoom control, tilting issue,
the tiny lockout switch, and the lack of water resistance
in the battery compartment in my opinion justify this
rating.
Pluses and Minuses in a nutshell:
Water resistant bezel (but not battery compartment),
Focusable incandescent lamp (but poor, blotchy beam
and very tight control), Lockout switch for packing
(but difficult to disengage), Vertically adjustable
for convenience (but works much easier in one direction
than the other), Switchable between LED and Incandescent
bulbs, LEDs are regulated, LEDs have 3 brightness levels
that are easily selectable.
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