Petzl  NAO RL Headlamp

The Petzl Nao RL headlamp is a good high-performing, lightweight, and rechargeable headlamp with a few quirks, but would recommend trying it. Pros: Extremely bright - Confident with night rides/runs Rechargeable battery Several light modes allow for adjustability Weatherproof (IPX4) Lightweight and comfortable Safety light on the back of the headband Cons Reactive lighting is jumpy Takes time to set up to get the fit dialed in The dimmest setting seems too narrow to be useful (I would typically use on the brightest setting)

I purchased the NAO RL as a successor to my Swift RL which I have used for over 500 miles of pre-dawn running. I'll be frequently comparing the two head to head. The TL/DR is that it's being returned and I'll stick with the Swift RL. I was excited to upgrade from the Swift RL for a number of reasons: - USB C rechargeable - Better weight distribution with the rear battery - More peak brightness is always better - Built-in rear light (right now I run with a separate rear light which is one more thing to charge after every run) - I've been a huge fan of the reactive lighting features and excellent even light quality of the Swift RL and look frward to Petzl's next iteration of that. Brightness - Winner: Tie The NAO RL is objectively brighter at it's brightest setting BUT the Low and Med settings are both significantly dimmer and less usable than on the Swift RL. The swift *feels* like 30%, 60%, 100%, when the NAO RL feels more like 10%, 30%, 100% across its modes. Light quality - Winner: Swift RL The NAO RL beam pattern is defined by a very narrow and sharp central beam, and a very dim wide-angle light whenever it's in the Reactive modes. It feels like a bug or a defect. In practice while running on dark trails, I'm constantly pivoting my head to take in my surroundings. The beam lights the terrain directly ahead well, but the peripheral is uncomfortably dim and contributes to the anxieties of running alone in the dark. It's especially weird because that's not the case when moving out of the Reactive mode into the fixed brightness modes. The nearby light is far more usable but disables one of the standout features of the headlamp and significantly cuts down peak brightness. (900 lm vs 1500 lm peak in reactive) The Swift RL has a gentle gradient from a bright central beam which gets smoothly and progressively less-bright towards the periphery. I can comfortably see far out ahead, and also feel comfortable being able to see everything in my immediate surroundings. Comfort - Winner: Swift RL The strap of the NAO RL is just plain uncomfortable. It's unpadded in the front, and the rear half is difficulty to untangle and make sit well. The power wire from the battery is stiff, and makes the strap contract more on one side, pulling the light too the side over time. Worse is that it's unstable. The light slips up off my head over time - or has to be made so tight that it's uncomfortable and leaves indents pressed into my head. The front light bounces with each stride creating a nauseating flickering sensation and really calls attention to the sharp narrow beam. The Swift RL strap is well padded, easy to put on and has never slipped. My only complaint is that it's a bit of a pain to remove and wash. Reactive Lighting - Winner: Swift RL Something must have been wrong with the reactive lighting in my NAO RL unit. Even in total darkness of a densely wooded park, the headlamp just refused to approach peak brightness in Reactive mode. Toggling to fixed brightness should reduce the max from 1500 to 900 lm, but in practice was MUCH brighter. The reactive lighting was also very jumpy/jarring in it's transitions. It seemed to have none of the smooth dimming transitions that impressed me in the Swift RL