Petzl NAO Headtorch Run

Crisp, Fresh, Stinging. Winter is here in the High Desert and the words needed to describe the air have transitioned beautifully. You can feel the peaks waiting in earnest for their white, fluffy blanket to arrive. They were teased in early October with a dusting but now well into November, that big humid air mass of the future is receiving mental call after mental call from a good number of the people in our town. With this arrival of winter comes the continual chopping away of minute by minute. Maybe not so much of a chopping away as a transformation from a day minute to a night. That gentle leaning of our planet now gives me a new challenge. One that I am actually perceiving to possibly be the most interesting and enjoyable of my time out on the trails. I will now be pushing my runs far through the disappearance of the sun!

Sunset over Kendrick 

 Now, I have always been quite the collector of headlamps. My time climbing out on the multi-pitch cliffs of the West, usually produce the need to carry one deep in my pack. My yearning for full moon excursions into The Canyon, whether on a Rim-to-Rim or marathon distance loop hike, necessitate not one, but two headlamps on occasion. Anyone who knows summer in The Canyon knows that "sunset starts" are the most comfortable of options and a good headlamp is not only nice but vital.

Grand Canyon night fun!

Enter, night trail running. As I have become more and more hooked on my Ultra goal, I have been seeking (and finding) inspiration through Podcasts. They give me ideas, tips, and stories to use throughout my runs. One of the tips that constantly comes through is the recommendation of the Petzl NAO headlamp. What? Are you serious? $175 for a headlamp! That's insane to a budget watching, gear mongering, school teacher like me. But wait! What's this? An old gift card from Bass Pro Shops? I already have 3 kayak/boats; I am set with my fishing gear; I have yet to be drawn for an elk tag. Ooooh, headlamps! OOOOOHHH, the Petzl! This dropped the unreachable 100 to an...eh... "affordable" 75 bucks. Click, click... sold.

Sometimes UPS tracking #'s can be fun, sometimes they are a curse. It seemed to take forever to slug across the country (man, how spoiled are we these days?). Eventually, that little brown box was waiting for me at the front door. Open...cut...pull...unfold...scan...plug...click...smile. Wait, plug and click?  The NAO comes with the ability to program different activities right into the product. Complete customization! Because the NAO has a sensor that receives light and adjusts the output accordingly, you will no longer get blinded when looking down at your guidebook or map. I have also found that it is nice when I look up to the side of the trail to check out a peculiar shape. The torch will sense the darkness that it is pointed towards and beam a 300 lumen spotlight at, what turns out to be, a large stump. How sick is that? I now have a program for my backpacking, one for Grand Canyon and one that I am currently tweaking for trail running. Don't worry if you don't want to mess with it too much or at all. I found that 2 of the pre-programmed options are actually really good for just about everything.

Slightly Excited

So, this past Tuesday evening was my 4 mile run and the way things were looking, I better take torch. I cruised through the run at aerobic pace, but somehow still made it back to my driveway with no need of external illumination. The next evening I came home from work and had my 6 miler on the schedule. This time I almost spaced the torch, having to turn around mid driveway and retrieve it from the counter. I set off knowing this was sure to be the first of many experiences with my new friend...partner...coach...& tool. Its performance was great (once I got used to the different modes and how to find them). The weight was surprisingly light for a rear battery headtorch too. All in all, I love the tech, I like the feel, and I can't wait to turn to my running partner and NOT blind them off the edge of the Canyon!



Peace