The Petzl MYO RXP is a fantastic head torch for the trail.  A couple months back I was looking for an upgrade from the basic $25 headlamps that I’ve been using for the last several years.  No knock against the Tikkas, they served their purpose for the price, but I was in need of a new light that would be more versatile for long night runs on hilly and often foggy Coastal California trails.  The headlamp I wanted needed to be powerful but still lightweight enough to not feel uncomfortable on the head while running or for bringing along backpacking and climbing.  I noticed that Petzl had a “trail running” section on their website and started doing some research into the MYO RXP, an update to Petzl’s “MYO” series of headlamps.

There are two main differentiators that the MYO RXP offers vs. other comparable headlamps: Programmed Levels and Regulated Lighting.  These two features really make the RXP a fantastic headlamp that has exceeded my expectations to this point.  Here are these two features explained.

Programmed Levels: The MYO RXP has 10 light settings to choose from in addition to SOS strobe and boost modes.  The 10 light settings range from the highest Program 10 (140 lumens), to the lowest Program 1 (8 lumens).  Having this range is a great feature as you are able to easily save three light settings at a time according to the lighting necessary for your activity as well as battery life required.  On a recent nighttime trail run on Mt. Tam I programmed in settings 8, 5, and 2.  I wound up mostly running with the RXP set on Program 2 and would jump up to 5 when needed on especially technical sections of trail.  I still had 5 brighter modes to choose from as well as boost.  Wow.

Regulated Lighting: Does your current headlamp lighting begin to dim according to battery life remaining?  My two old headlamps do this, it drives me crazy as the light output reduces, and it astounds me each time I replace the batteries and find out how much light I was missing out on.  The MYO RXP solves this problem with Regulated Lighting.  For Programs 1 through 8, the RXP regulates the light output so that you have a consistent beam of light with no dimming (based on brightness setting).  Each program level varies on the amount of time for guaranteed regulated lighting, from 1 hour on Program 8, up to 35 hours on Program 1.  I’ve been running with the RXP mostly set on Program 2 which has 22 hours of constant, regulated lighting, nice!  Even after the batteries wear beyond what is required for regulated lighting, the RXP switches back to how normal headlamps operate, providing additional hours of lighting but with unregulated output (50 hours of total battery life at Program 10 and up to 95 hours at Program 1).

Additonal MYO RXP features include:

• Boost mode
• SOS strobe mode
• Wide-angle diffuser lense that easily drops down
• Water resistant
• Works with rechargeable batteries (NiMH and Lithium)
• Battery Charge Indicator (Green=fresh, Orange=70% charge, Red=replace batteries)
• Removable top head strap
• Tilting head-piece locks into place covering the switches for travel (light wont turn on in your bag)

This headlamp has exceeded my expectations and in my opinion is well worth the $99 MSRP.  I picked mine up for $80 and free shipping through Backcountry.com with a 20% off coupon.. cha ching.

My big test for the MYO RXP will be when using it during the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Mile on July 18.  I’ll add a comment to this post after the race with my quick thoughts on how the RXP performed for the 9+ hours that the headlamp may be needed throughout the night.