Petzl Nao+ Headtorch | Performance

There’s so much ingenious cleverness going on with the Petzl Nao+ that it’s easy to get caught up in and forget that what makes it such a brilliant headtorch is that mostly you can just switch it on and use it seamlessly and effectively for anything from full-pelt technical running through to more pedestrian stuff.

A lot of the Nao+ is familiar from the first two incarnations of the Nao, but there are some changes. First, the maximum light output rises from 575 lumens to a whopping 750 lumens. That sounds impressive on paper, but in the real world, there’s not a huge difference.

Check our comparative beam shots and you can see that there’s not a huge difference between the two lights. Those cones are spaced at approximately 5-metre intervals by the way.

Other changes include a new red LED housed in the rear-mounted battery box, red-coloured accents on the light itself and new stretchy shock-cord rather than the static cord of previous Nao torches.

Finally, the Nao+ is Bluetooth Smart compatible and can be programmed and tweaked using a bespoke  MyPetzl Light app on Android and iOS phones and tablets. More about that later.

Let There Be Light

First and foremost the Nao+ is simply a brilliant, easy-to-use headtorch for moving fast across rough terrain at night. It’s not the lightest out there at 191g on our digital scales, but the battery box sits low and the light feels comfortable and stable on the head.

There’s an optional belt pack if you want to mount the battery remotely for stability or to keep it warm in cold conditions, but we’ve had no issues with the standard configuration. It’ll fit a climbing helmet too if you want to multi-task.

The switch is super easy to use, even with gloves one, and can be locked off for safe transport. Turn forward once to switch on, again to change mode and again to turn off again. To change from the automatic Reactive Lighting mode to constant, just hold the switch forward for slightly longer.

The Reactive Lighting sensor – the top of the three lenses, detects how much light there is in your environment and adjusts the output to suit. Mostly its brilliant and the changes in light output are so smooth, you’re not even aware it’s happening.

Look up across a dark field and the light output ramps up instantly, but turn towards a light-coloured wall and it’s immediately throttled down. The genius of this is that you only use as much light as you need, which in turn maximises battery life.

Petzl claims 6.5 hours on Max Power setting or up to 15 hours on the more conservative Max Autonomy mode. On the bright setting the light’s up for anything you can throw at it up to full throttle descending on technical stuff if you’re up for it.

If you’re used to 3000-lumen mountain bike lights, you might find it disappointing, but at running speeds we found it excellent with the wide spread beam great for balance and peripheral vision, but enough range to pick out mid-ground features like gate-ways or stiles.

It’s a brilliant running light, but there’s no reason why you can’t also use it for walking, mountaineering or mountain biking and the MyPetzl Light app includes switchable profiles for multi-activity, mountaineering, trail-running, trekking and bivouac.

Petzl Nao+ | Verdict

Everyone who used the new Nao+ was impressed. It’s comfortable on the head, easy to regulate even with thick gloves on and chucks out more than enough light to dance your way down technical running descents at night.

The Reactive Lighting mode works brilliantly on the move too despite the odd glitch and, combined with the activity-tailored beam patterns, makes for a good balance of effective lighting and burn-times. You can, if you insist on running maximum whack at all times, burn through the battery, but there’s no real need to do that and with sensible use burn times are decent.

Battery Back-Ups And Apps

Unlike previous Nao models, there’s no AAA cell emergency back-up option, but you can buy a spare Li-Ion battery pack for around £50 if you want an insurance policy on longer outings.

One big change from the previous Nao, is that the Nao+ can’t be programmed with Petzl OS, instead you have to use the My PetzlLight app. Our experience is that it works well and is easy to use, but it’s perfectly possible to use then light without the app.

The one exception to this is that it’s impossible to switch the otherwise admirable rear red safety light without using the app, which is just needlessly complicated if you’re say, hopping between back lanes and trails and want to switch it on and off frequently. A small switch on the back-box would make more sense we reckon. Incidentally, the Bluetooth Smart protocol seems not to impact on battery life.

Overall though, the Nao+ does an excellent job for fast-moving activities with the bonus of added programmability. Some users will love the geekish app possibilities, some won’t, but the good news is that you can use the light without the app and with excellent performance regardless, though you may get a little tired of that blinking red light… Recommended for off-road running in particular.

More Information

See petzl.com