For virtually any outdoors adventure, the right gear can give you an edge. But in few product categories does this ring as true as it does with lighting. For activities at night, an ill-performing headlamp, flashlight, or other source of illumination can literally leave you in danger and adrift in the dark.
I have been there. On Wyoming’s Grand Teton, climbing with a friend a few years ago, we got stranded high on a cliff at night. Our ultra-light headlamps were too dim to reveal how far our rope reached as we rappelled off an edge and into the night.
It was a dicey descent, though it taught me a lesson: Don’t skimp on lighting. In the world of gear, the right light for the job is something I now take seriously while planning any endeavor.
To the point, in preparation for a calendar that included several nighttime events this year, I upgraded my headlamp. The ULTRA BELT ACCU4 from Petzl shines an immense cloud of L.E.D. light into a dark woods. It’s rated at 350 lumens of brightness and has a jaw-dropping price tag to match its illuminating personality.
Indeed, with a price tag hovering over $400 at most online stores, the ULTRA verges on unaffordable. It costs a cool $500 at REI.com, but can be found for less around the Web.
The torch is also an unnecessary tool for most outdoors types and will be complete overkill for hiking or backpacking. Even for biking dark city paths or on the road, I rarely need to use the ULTRA’s high-beam setting.
But for a climber stranded high on Grand Teton and looking to see a rope end that’s dangling 180 feet below? The Petzl ULTRA is worth every penny.
My use this year has not been so extreme. But on overnight adventure races as well as nighttime orienteering events — two of my passions — the ULTRA has lit up the mountains and woods to an enviable degree.
