More than your standard headtorch, the Reactik Plus comes packed with some extra technology to bring lighting into the 21st century. Different light levels and beam patterns are all controlled by a light sensor on the front, reacting to high levels of bounced light (when you are reading a map, say), reducing the output and saving battery. Everything can be adjusted in a phone app, connecting to the light via Bluetooth.
It isn't the smallest and lightest headtorch available, but the Reaktik more than makes up for its slightly bulkier profile with raw power, plus those natty features that prove to be more than just a gimmick.
The most useful feature is the automatic light level setting, which almost instantly adapts to the surroundings via a light sensor on the front. If it sees a lot of light bouncing back it powers down, conversely ramping up when it only sees darkness. That means we leave the Reaktik Plus in the same setting for both reading the map and jumping back on the bike to ride. It calls the shots and it gets it right every time, extending battery life wherever it can.
You can choose three maximum light levels, still under automatic control, and these can be adjusted and tweaked via the Petzl app on your iOS or Android phone. Choose a low setting for tent use, one for walking around and a final one for riding - and at 300 lumens full bore, the Reaktik certainly is powerful enough to ride by. The app also allows you to see your precise battery levels and burn time left, so it is useful on occasion, but we just used it once or twice and left it once happy with what we had set.
Charging is through the handy and ubiquitous micro USB, so the same charger will likely power both the Petzl and your phone, and if you are going off grid you can substitute the battery with a AAA adapter.
An already excellent headtorch with very useable beam pattern and power, enhanced with the automatic settings that vastly improve battery life and ease of use. Once on your head you can forget about it, the days of twiddling power settings according to the surroundings a thing of the past. Not as small as perhaps ultralight fans would like, but well worth it for everyone else in sheer usability.
