Lupine Piko X Light Review

If you’ve ever needed to buy gear for a 24-hour adventure race, you know that it can be expensive. I’m always looking for ways to get more for less, and over the years have experimented with both cheap and expensive solutions to gear up for these type of events. Sometimes the cheap solutions work great, but with some items you really do “get what you pay for”. In the long run, the extra expense of a quality, high-end product is well worth the money.

The number one item that I will happily spend more money on is a compass, but since this isn’t a compass review, I’m not going to tell you why.  The second most important piece of gear, and the focus of this article, is a good headlamp.

Until this year, I have never been able to find the perfect AR headlamp.  Adventure racers ask for more out of their gear than most users, and the technology has only recently advanced to the point that manufacturers are capable of designing a light that can meet all of the requirements. As a competitive racer, I need a light that:

• Works equally well while running or biking.  “One light to rule them all”.
• Is small and lightweight
• Is durable, reliable, and can take a beating
• Is waterproof
• Is comfortable to wear for long periods of time
• Has a long battery life
• Has multiple light levels
• Is extremely bright on its highest setting, to help locate hard-to-find CPs

At the beginning of the 2011 race season, I looked at all the lights on the market (as well as a few home-made solutions) and found that the Lupine Piko X was the only one that appeared to fulfill my long list of requirements.  It was a little more expensive than some of the other options, but after a full year of racing I can say without a doubt that it has been worth every penny.

Some Specs

Lupine has recently upgraded the Piko making it even better than before.  This review is for the original 550 lumen light, but I’ll try to point out the improvements of the new model as I go.

Build quality, size, and durability

When I first opened the box and held the Piko in my hand, I was amazed at how small this headlamp was. I had seen the pictures and read the specs, but was still impressed by its impressive lack of weight and size.  The next thing that caught my attention was the build quality. It was immediately obvious that I was holding a professional piece of equipment. From the bead-blasted finish to the flexible cabling and easy-to-use connectors, everything seemed to be made with high quality materials. There was a world of difference between the construction of the Piko and some of the other lights I’ve used.

In the past, I’ve always ridden with two lights while biking at night, just in case one of them failed. With the Piko I’m completely comfortable riding with it alone. I don’t feel like I need a “backup” light.

The Piko is also waterproof and tough enough to stand up to the abuse of adventure racing. I used this light exclusively during the six-day Raid The North Extreme in the wilderness of British Columbia. It is one of the few pieces of gear that was not ripped, torn, scratched or broken during our epic, multi-day bushwhacking experience.

Ease of Use, Light Levels, Battery Life and Beam Angles

The button on top of the lamp unit is easy to feel and operate. I switch levels often during a race and have never had any problems getting into the setting I wanted.

I’ve found that for hiking or trekking, the low mode creates plenty of light and the battery will last for multiple days. Low power is also good enough on the bike for long climbs or other times when you can’t move very fast due to the terrain. However, I think that the medium setting is the best for most biking situations. Medium gives almost as much usable light as high, but uses far less battery power. The only time I ever use the high mode is when searching for a hard-to-find checkpoint or orienteering flag.

By actively switching between the low and medium modes as necessary, and only occasionally using it on high, I can get through an entire night with only one 2.5Ah battery! During the Raid the North Extreme, I only used a single 2.5Ah battery over two and a half days by keeping it on low for much of the time.

However, I always carry a second battery with me, even on 24-hour races. I don’t want to be stuck using low, due to battery life considerations, if the situation calls for something more. Plus, most gear lists require extra batteries. With two 2.5Ah cells, I can have as much light as I need for 24-hour races and not have to worry about my battery life. The newer model Piko has slightly shorter run-times due to its higher output. With the new model, I think two batteries would be a requirement. With the original model, you might could get by with just one, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

The original Piko, with the XP-G LEDs, has a beam angle of 15 degrees.  This configuration works great for most situations, but I found it slightly lacking for technical trail running.  The issue is that the beam didn’t have quite enough spill to fully illuminate the area directly in front of my feet.  On average trails this didn’t matter much, but when things got really steep, rocky, and sketchy I would need to slow down. I was able to mitigate this by applying a light dispersion film to the outside of one lens. It slightly reduced the reach of the light, but filled in the area in front of my feet a little more. The new Piko uses XM-L LEDs and has a 22-degree beam angle. I haven’t had a chance to field test the new one yet, but I’m betting that it will completely solve this minor issue.

All Lumens Are Not Created Equally

One problem when comparing lights is that manufacturers have different ways of measuring output. Some use the theoretical maximum, while others measure the actual output. Among those that give actual output, the methods of measuring may not be the same.

Lupine uses a calibrated integrating sphere to measure the output of their lights. This usually results in a very conservative rating, which can make them appear to have less output when comparing specifications. However, in actual usage they’ll likely be brighter than comparably rated lights from other manufacturers.

As an example, my 550 lumen Piko was visibly brighter than a 900 lumen output (theoretical) light, when compared side by side.  Lupine claims the newer 750 lumen Piko has a theoretical output of 2000 lumens!  This is just something to keep in mind when comparison shopping.

Internals, Modes, and Reliability

Some of the best features of the Lupine lights are things you can’t see, such as the internal electronics.

Like many lights, the power button will change colors when the battery gets low.  But, since you usually wear the light on your head and can’t see it, this isn’t very useful. Lupine solves this issue by having the light flash once when the power button changes to red.  And when the battery is almost depleted, the light will start flashing repeatedly. This has happened to me a few times while racing. It definitely gets your attention, but keeps the trail illuminated and gives you plenty of time to stop and swap batteries before the light switches itself off. 

The Piko can be programmed to use one of three different modes:  2-level, 3-level, and 2-level + superflash. For adventure racing, I think the 3-level mode is perfect.  For a 24-hour mountain bike race I might change to the 2-level mode, so I could switch from a medium output (for climbing) to high output (everything else) with only a single button press.  I’ve never used the superflash mode, but I guess it might be nice as a safety feature for daytime riding.

Another nifty feature is the battery voltage indication. When you plug in a battery, the power button will flash blue for each volt and red for each 1/10 volt of battery power.  So, 8 blue flashes followed by 2 red flashes mean the battery is currently at 8.2 volts (fully charged and ready to go!)

Most people will probably just plug in their batteries and wait for them to be fully charged.  But I like having that extra bit of information, so I can monitor the state of my batteries over time.

Mounting Options

The Piko now comes in a few different configurations.

The Piko 3 comes with a helmet mount, 2.5Ah battery, and extension cable. The battery is light enough to be worn on the helmet and creates a really clean setup that is free of cables flopping around. It does come with an extension cable, however, if you prefer to keep the battery in a pack or pocket instead.

The Piko X comes with a headband, 2.5Ah battery, and extension cable. The headband is very comfortable and easily adjusted. My only criticism of this system is that it does not provide a place to mount the battery. I was able circumvent this issue by using a thin piece of velcro to mount the battery onto the headband. (see photo)

The Piko Duo (new this year) comes with a headband and two 1.7Ah batteries. The batteries are made to quickly click into a holder on the back of the headband, so I guess I wasn’t the only person wishing for this feature. This may surpass the Piko X as the perfect AR headlamp, but I’m not sure if two batteries would be enough; a third might be needed.

See my other post, “Add Headlamp Clips To A Helmet For $1“, for details on using the Piko X headband with a bike helmet.

Superior Customer Service

We purchased our team’s lights from GretnaBikes.com, who is the U.S. distributor for Lupine. Out of the five light sets that we purchased, one of them had a minor issue with moisture getting behind the lens. Admittedly, this was after riding in the pouring rain for about 10 hours, but these lights are supposed to be waterproof.

I contacted the guys at Gretna and they offered a solution I could try at home (if I wanted to).  That sounded like a good idea to me. Why waste time with shipping if there was an easy fix that I could do myself?

Unfortunately it didn’t work (or I’m just not good with directions) and there was moisture again after another ride in the rain. When I got home that evening, I sent an email to Gretna and planned to follow up with a phone call the next day.  However, before I even had a chance to call, I received a reply to my email saying that a replacement light unit was on the way! Two days later I had a new light and a prepaid shipping label to return the defective one. Kudos to Gretna Bikes for outstanding customer service…far above what I would normally expect.

Since then, my replacement unit has been in more water than it probably should have, and I’ve had zero problems. Also, none of my teammates have had any issues with their Pikos. So, this does not seem to be a common issue, and I’m chalking it up to bad luck. In the rare event that you need warranty service, Gretna/Lupine takes pride in standing behind the products they sell and will take care of you.

Conclusion
The Lupine lights may be a little more expensive than some others, but their build quality, features, warranty, and customer service make them well worth the price.  Our team could have gotten another manufacturer’s lights at a steeply discounted price, but we decided to get 5 of the Lupine Piko X instead. After using and abusing these lights over a full season of adventure racing, from 24-hour events to multi-day expeditions, we can confidently say that we made the right choice. Personally, I don’t think there is a better adventure racing headlamp on the market.