Our reviews are 100% organic. We do not accept payment for reviews or bundle with advertising budgets. In most cases, the brand is providing the product to our reviewers free of charge. For many years, Petzl’s NAO headlamp has been high on the list of lamps that could dependably keep ultrarunners moving through the night. This year’s update has significant improvements that seem mutually exclusive: increased brightness with decreased weight. It also incorporates Petzl’s exceptional Reactive Lighting (RL) technology with design elements first seen on the company’s IKO lamps that improve its overall function, comfort and versatility. The result is Petzl’s top-of-the-line option for fast movement over long distances across all kinds of terrain.
Multiple LED array; black circle is reactive lighting sensor
The most significant and noticeable upgrades to the NAO RL are literally right up front, in the completely revised front lamp casing. Petzl completely revamped the bulb configuration, using a seamless array of nine LED bulbs in a very thin housing unit connected to a rear battery compartment. The layout is capable of producing up to 1500 lumens of brightness on its max setting, which is double the max brightness of the previous version. Eliminating the bulk and decreasing the weight of the front casing has two additional benefits: there is practically no bouncing of the lamp at high speeds, and the casing has a much wider pivot range compared to the previous model. One concern with a massive increase in brightness is heat output from the bulbs, and Petzl addresses this by positioning the casing away from the head to allow natural venting and heat dissipation. In our testing, the bulbs have some warmth, but haven’t ever felt hot or uncomfortable. The front casing also contains a sensor for the Reactive Lighting technology—more on that below.
Profile view; notice the narrow lamp casing with air gap for heat dissipation
Beam operation is controlled through a single button on the bottom of the front casing, which is used to cycle through all three levels of Reactive Lighting and three levels of constant lighting mode, with a simple press-and-hold to alternate between the modes. The LED array creates a field of light that has pleasant uniformity to it—this is an advantage of using multiple bulbs rather than one or two super-bright bulbs—with a hybrid distribution that covers the periphery while also projecting an impressive distance forward. We most frequently use this lamp in the standard Reactive Lighting mode, which has a beam of 100m, allowing us to see far down the trail as needed and also to catch the eyes of critters rustling in the woods. One missing feature we hoped Peztl would incorporate here is a “burst mode” that automatically jumps to max brightness for a period of time (usually 15–30 seconds on other lamps we’ve used), but the single button is easy enough to cycle between brightness settings, even while wearing gloves.
Beam brightness, distance, and burn time stats
For those who are unfamiliar with Petzl’s Reactive Lighting technology, a simple explanation is that it senses ambient light in your surroundings, as well as your proximity to the objects in front of you, and adjusts the brightness of the headlamp accordingly. This mirrors the natural function of your eyes—think of the critter example above as they transition from staring downward at the trail to quickly looking up into the distance—and allows you to conserve battery life in circumstances when full brightness isn’t needed. This last aspect is especially helpful in two specific situations in ultras: 1. when you are running with a large pack of runners at the beginning of the race, and 2. when you forget to turn your headlamp off entering an aid station. In both of those scenarios, the Reactive Lighting sensor will dial back the power output of the lamp to reduce unnecessary battery drain. It’s a brilliant (pun intended) technology, and Petzl has tinkered with it over the years to make the light transitions smoother. We noticed the switch from low brightness to high is more natural and less “jumpy” on the NAO RL than on previous versions.
Rear view
Updated design elements of the NAO RL are taken from Petzl’s innovative IKO lamps, with the elimination of a full headband in favor of a bungee tightening system and balanced weight distribution for optimal ergonomics and comfort during periods of long use. The straps are easily adjustable with a single pull and latch system, the rear battery pack rests very securely against the back of the head and as mentioned earlier, there is virtually no bouncing of the front headlamp casing during activity. This version of the NAO weighs approximately 45g less than its predecessor, but the difference seems even more substantial than that due to the balanced ergonomics. As with Petzl’s IKO lamps, the NAO RL comes with a stuff sack that can be configured as a small lantern in a camp setting. The one downside of this IKO styling is that neither of the lamps (IKO or NAO RL) collapse down to the size of old-school compact headlamps, and they take a bit of wrangling to stuff into the sack for storage.
R1 battery with USB-C port on L, quick-release lever on R
More multi-functionality is apparent in the rear R1 battery, which is removable from the band. It slides out with a press lever, is charged separately from the lamp, then clicks back into the band for use. We found the initial setup of the battery and cable connection somewhat tricky, but once the cable is established in the battery housing, switching the battery in and out is fairly simple. Petzl incorporated a USB-C charging port instead of the previous micro USB (this seems to be the trend among other brands also), and the NAO battery can be used as an external power source to charge a phone, watch or similar device if you have the correct interfaces on hand. Depending on what time of year you are running, a single charge is probably not enough to carry you through an entire night at anything above the lowest brightness setting, but additional R1 batteries can be purchased separately (for $70), allowing you to carry a fully charged backup battery at all times. The R1 has a lock-out function so the battery won’t accidentally drain while being stored in your pack, and when in use, a 5-level battery meter tells you how much juice remains. Finally, the R1 units have built-in red bulbs that can be set to strobe setting, continuous brightness or turned off entirely.
With extensive updates to function as well as form, the NAO RL creates a wide overlap in the Venn diagrams of traditional headlamp use. It maintains its reputation as a bright, strong and durable option for all-night adventures, but is also lightweight, comfortable and convenient enough for day-to-day pre-dawn training runs. All of the updates and modifications work well from our testing, and if that wasn’t enough incentive to consider this model, Petzl also dropped the MSRP by $30 from the previous version.
The Petzl NAO RL headlamp is available at www.petzl.com.
Features and Specs:
- Weight: 145g/5.1 oz.
- Brightness: 1,500 max lumens
- Reactive lighting or standard lighting options
- Lighting levels: max burn time, standard, max power (see chart above)
- Mixed beam pattern, combination of wide and focused
- Max light distance: 200m (reactive) or 140m (standard)
- Standard brightness (medium setting) burn time: 5 hours
- Energy and charging
- 3200 mAh Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (included)
- Charging time 3.5 hours with USB-C port
- Water resistance: IPX4
- MSRP: $170