Petzl Swift RL Headlamp Review

Over this past Summer, I went on a motorcycle-based camping trip around the Olympic Peninsula. I know, that’s only partially on track with the general bent of this site. I’ll keep the motorcycle talk to a minimum. Back then, I was testing the Black Diamond Distance LT 1100, and loving its raw power in the dark nights around camp. My friend was sporting a Petzl Swift RL. It was blazing through the night just as well as my BD lamp was. This makes sense, since the two lamp’s lumen stats are identical and their settings are fairly similar at first glance, but I picked one up myself to get a better long-term comparison.

Petzl Swift RL Headlamp Features:

• 1,100 lumens allows you to see up to 155 m away
• Choice of 2 lighting modes—Reactive Lighting® or Standard Lighting—that can be selected with a long hold
• Reactive Lighting® analyzes the ambient light and automatically adjusts brightness and beam pattern, optimizing battery usage
• Lock function can be used to keep the headlamp in any setting
• Red light for use around camp with others
• Mixed beam meets the need for high-performance lighting during outdoor activities with proximity or distance vision
• Reactive Lighting mode has a 7 hour minimum burn time
• Ergonomic and adjustable headband
• Split headband construction contributes to stability
• Shell LT ultralight storage pouch allows the headlamp to be transformed into a lantern
• Lithium-ion 2350 mAh battery is rechargeable via the USB-C port
• Battery charge indicator with 5-level gauge allows you to monitor the battery charge level
• MSRP: $140

A Lamp that Auto-Adjusts Brightness

Petzl has a long history of high quality headlamps. That’s true in the market generally, and that’s true in my life. If I’m honest with you, I can only think of one personal favorite lamp of mine over the years which hasn’t been a Petzl. For me, that preference has always come down to intuitive operation and reliable performance. On all models I’ve used, settings have been easy to get to, buttons have been easy to press, and battery life has been at least reasonable. To keep it high-level for now, I’ve been pleasantly unsurprised to find that the same is true for the Swift RL.

Let’s start with power and power-related settings. In its standard lighting modes, the Swift RL pumps out 10 lumens in low, 160 lumens in medium, and 700 lumens in high. Those modes are fairly standard-fare for a modern headlamp. Perhaps the medium mode is on the lower side compared to some other headlamps in the same class. Still, the true heat comes in other settings.

In Reactive Lighting modes, the lamp auto-adjusts the brightness based on a sensor. When the sensor is receiving more ambient light, it makes the lamp dimmer, and when it’s receiving less ambient light, it increases brightness. All of this happens without you needing to push a button. In the Reactive Lighting low mode, it adjusts from 18 to 100 lumens. In medium, there’s a 25 to 275 lumen gradient. Finally, in the high setting, the lamp achieves its max power at the top end of the 30 to 1,100 lumen range.

If you’re noting the difference between the max power of the standard lighting high setting vs. the Reactive Lighting high setting (700 vs. 1,100 lumens), I’m right there with you. It’s a stark contrast. After thinking about it and living with it for a while, I think it makes sense. The whole point of Reactive Lighting, as a feature, is to optimize battery consumption while still providing the right amount of light for the situation. Having a static 1,100 lumen output would suck the battery dry in no time. With the real-time auto-adjusting of Reactive Lighting though, high mode can last anywhere from 2-35 hours.

Reactive Lighting quickly became my preferred mode on the Swift RL. I found that it was better at quickly adjusting to my lighting needs than I was. Certainly, I was less lazy about changing light levels when I walked to brighter or darker areas. In situations where I would either deal with my lamp being slightly too bright or too dim and would otherwise wait for my eyes to adjust instead of changing settings, the Swift RL would make those changes for me. It’s very cool.

I’ve also found that if I ever disagree with the Reactive Lighting’s determination on how bright the lamp ought to be, I can override it to the mode’s highest setting by putting my finder directly on top of the sensor. Interestingly, this ends up being very much akin to the Black Diamond LT 1100’s PowerTap feature, where you tap the side of the lamp to engage the 1,100 lumen setting for 10 seconds. With the Swift RL though, so long as you have the lamp in Reactive Lighting High, you can cover the sensor for as long or short as you want, to get that 1,100 lumen blast for any period of time. It’s a pretty effective little hack, and it’s quite helpful for route-finding at night.

Getting through the various modes of the Swift RL seems like it ought to be a challenge, simply because there are many of them (all those noted above plus a red mode, a red strobe, and a lock mode). With that said, navigation through the modes is more intuitive than most headlamps out there, certainly more so than the Black Diamond Distance LT1100.

I found that I was able to achieve what I needed to with a bit of trial and error if I’d forgotten the actual way to get to any given mode. A two second hold switches the light between standard and reactive lighting modes, a four second hold switches into red light mode, and then simple presses of the button flip the lamp through low, medium, and high settings, then cycling to off. Once the lamp is off, a six second hold can lock the headlamp. With a little practice, all of this starts to feel easy.

By way of comfort, the Swift RL has an adjustable headband which splits in the back. The idea behind this is that the two bands at the back of the head might provide more stability. For folks with smaller heads, I’m sure that’s true, but that isn’t me. When I wear the Swift RL, I have the band adjusted on the larger side so that the effects of the headband split are negligible, at best. Still, I find that the lamp sits stably on me. I’ve even gone out running pre-dawn with the Swift RL, and I’ve been pleased with the lack of bouncing and jostling.

Does the split headband make attachment to a climbing helmet more difficult? I wondered the same when I saw the design at first. Happily though, I haven’t found it to be a challenge. I flip between using a Black Diamond Half Dome and Petzl Sirocco helmet, and the Swift RL is easy to mount on both, with no additional challenge presented by the split headband.

For any lamp you’re going to rely on for big trips, the battery is a key question. The burntime for the Swift RL is decent, but not exceptional in standard modes. It hits 100 hours, 7 hours, and 2 hours, for low, medium, and high, respectively. In Reactive Lighting modes however, low, medium, and high settings deliver 10-70, 7-45, and 2-35 hours respectively. Much more efficient. If ever there were an argument for the Reactive Lighting feature, that’d be it.

The battery itself on the Swift RL is rechargeable one. Frustratingly though, it’s not part of the Petzl Core family. That means that it’s not replaceable by 3 AAA batteries in a pinch, therefore either forcing users to buy an additional proprietary battery, opt not to use the Swift RL for longer adventures, or bring an additional backup headlamp altogether. That’s unfortunate. I very much wish that Petzl had opted to use their existing Core system. It was easily the most adaptable setup for headlamps on the market.

Too bad about that, but that’s another point that puts it in line with the Black Diamond Distance LT1100. Having tested both headlamps for months across various activities, from night hiking to camping to climbing, I know which headlamp I prefer. Both have their quirks and their strengths, and both are burdened by annoying battery decisions. The Petzl Swift RL is going to take it for me though. That primarily comes down to the super-effective Reactive Lighting feature and the ease of switching between modes. They’re both great, but I’m reaching for the Petzl first.

Buy Now: Available at REI