Petzl CORE Rechargeable Battery Pack Review

Every now and then a product is developed that serves such a great purpose that you wish it would have been around years ago. Considering the hundreds of dark mornings I’ve ventured onto the trails, and the thousands of hours of headlamp battery life I’ve burned in the process, Petzl's CORE rechargeable battery pack is one of those products.

Petzl CORE pack and USB cable; all photos from Petzl website

Then again, I doubt that this pack could have been developed a few years ago, because the technology that’s involved is fairly cutting edge stuff. It also has smart features and design elements that make it versatile, durable, and very easy to use.

Lithium ion polymer battery pack

Most importantly of all, it’s green: Petzl’s CORE is a rechargeable battery pack that is compatible with the brand’s entire line of TIKKA 2 or ZIPKA 2 headlamps. It uses a lithium ion polymer battery that is guaranteed for 300 recharge cycles, thus sparing the consumption of at least 900 regular AAA batteries. And it’s not only eco-friendly, but wallet friendly as well, because it pretty much pays for itself after just a handful of recharge cycles.

Although a few larger headlamps (such as my personal favorite, the Black Diamond Icon) have utilized rechargeable battery packs for a while now, in the realm of compact headlamps – which the vast majority of road and trail runners use because of their convenient size – there was a huge void in similar green technology. Yes, some compact lamps are compatible with rechargeable AAA batteries, but from my experience those batteries don’t burn nearly as brightly or as long as alkaline batteries. The CORE doesn’t remedy that situation to perfection – there’s still a bit of a brightness dropoff, as I’ll explain shortly – but it represents a huge step in the right direction.

Since the TIKKA XP2 is my compact lamp of choice (see my review), that’s the one I tested the CORE pack with most frequently. Here’s how it works: instead of opening the battery case as you normally do, you separate the headlamp into two separate pieces with a twisting motion. I was a bit apprehensive in doing this the first time, because it kind of feels like you’re breaking the thing completely apart. (The dude on the demonstration video embedded below makes this looks extremely easy, but I have to say that I still feel a bit of hesitance when twisting my casing open.) The CORE pack then snaps into place between the two pieces you’ve separated, and powers the lamp just as your alkaline batteries did. Headlamps with the CORE pack still maintain the specified water resistance of the standard casing.

CORE wedged between front and back of standard casing

Placing a new middle compartment between the original housing pieces makes the overall profile of the headlamp visibly thicker, but in practice it wasn’t extremely noticeable. The only times I noticed additional bouncing was when I really hammered the pace, particularly when running downhill – but for 95% of my mileage, it’s hard to tell a difference in bulk attached to your headband. That might be thanks to the overall weight of the CORE, which at 30g is nearly identical to the three alkaline batteries (typically 10g each) that you've replaced. Even better for me from a practical standpoint is that the lamp is still small enough to tuck into the pocket of my waist pack when I’m continuing my run after sunrise.

LED indicator circled in red

The CORE pack has an LED battery indicator to tell you precisely what percentage of charge remains: either greater than 75 %, 50-75%, 25-50%, or less than 25%. It recharges via a standard USB cable into your computer or any other power source with a USB port. If your wall outlet or car charger has a USB adaptor, you can charge the CORE there as well. Recharge time is approximately three hours from a fully drained start.

Cable port underneath protective cover

As mentioned earlier, the CORE is compatible with every model of Petzl’s TIKKA 2 and ZIPKA 2 series headlamps, but since all of those lamps have different light outputs, an ideal battery pack would be able to determine how much power is needed to produce the necessary brightness level for various lamps with maximal efficiency. That’s where the “smart” element comes into play, with the help of a free software package called Petzl OS.

After downloading OS onto your computer, you open the program and plug your CORE pack into the USB port. The program then asks what lamp you’re using the CORE with – you can use multiple profiles if you have more than one lamp – and what brightness settings you’d like to program into the pack. You can customize the brightness settings to whatever levels you want (within the range of the original lamp specs, obviously), and if you’re a visual person, the OS program features graphs to help demonstrate the brightness vs battery life relationship of various settings (the video below this post has a great demonstration of this).

OS interface

Unfortunately, what you can’t do is get the same lumen output or light distance with the CORE as you can with alkaline batteries. For example, a normal XP2 has a maximal output of 60 lumens on the high setting and shines a distance of 60m in spot mode, but the brightest burn you can get with the same lamp using a CORE pack is 50 lumens and 46m. In my opinion, this is the most significant drawback to the unit, because as a trail runner, brightness is king when it comes to the overall utility of any particular headlamp.

As recently as one year ago, the Tikka XP2 had a substantial brightness advantage over its main competitor, the Black Diamond Spot. Then BD went and raised their game significantly, packing 75 lumens into the updated Spot, and 100 lumens into a similarly-sized casing for a new model to be released very shortly. (And in case you’re wondering – yes, I have each of those, and I’ll be reviewing them soon.) I’m all for being eco-friendly when the performance dropoff is marginal, but stepping back from 60 to 50 lumens at the same time that I have an equal-sized lamp putting out 75 isn’t quite the tradeoff I was hoping for. I’ve found the brightness from the CORE plenty sufficient for neighborhood running, groomed trails, or fire roads – but if I’m venturing onto highly technical trails in the dark, I like a little more candle power to light my way.

Think green!

Aside from the highly demanding lighting needs I just described, the Petzl CORE pack is truly a wonderful option for anyone who uses the company’s line of compact headlamps. It has outstanding versatility and customization, and from a social responsibility standpoint, it’s an absolute home run. Hopefully future models will have a bit more muscle to burn a little brighter, but in the meantime, the current version fills a much-needed void in the greening of compact headlamps.

The Petzl CORE pack retails for $40 from TravelCountry.com, where you can also buy the TIKKA XP2 headlamp for $55.


"CORE Rechargeable Battery" by Petzl (click to play):



* Product provided by Petzl
** See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling,com.

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Beauty in the Darkness

A quick update before today’s post: You can still enter the drawings to win Orgain nutritional shakes or the Hood to Coast DVD – winners of each will be announced this weekend. Click over, then come on back!

**
“Just another night –
With a sunset and a moonrise not so far behind –
To give us just enough light –
To lay down underneath the stars, listening to Papa’s translations –
Of the stories across the sky –
We drew our own constellations.”
- Jack Johnson, “Constellations” (video after post)

Ever since running her first 5K races last spring, my 9-year-old daughter and I have a standing date to go jogging together one night per week after I get home from work.

For the past couple of months, that’s meant running in the dark for part or all of our time together – a prospect that was initially met with some reluctance by my daughter, but one that she’s gradually embraced a little more with each passing week.



Her progression started during the Christmas season, as our first mile typically took us through neighborhood streets lined with holiday lights. She inevitably slowed down to take in the displays that seemed far more cozy, joyous, and welcoming when traveling on foot through the cold winter air than they ever did from the confines of a passing automobile. We quickly learned to adjust our planned route based on which houses had the most impressive lights.

Midway through our run we typically turn onto an abandoned airfield, where the road turns into a dirt path, and the ambient light disappears from our immediate vicinity. It’s here that the darkness becomes expansive, and we embrace the quiet solitude with nothing but each other’s companionship to carry us through it.

Sometimes we gaze at the stars, looking for the familiar shape of Orion, and using its landmarks to visually track the dog star Sirius, or the surrounding constellations of Gemini, Taurus, and Pleiades. We talk about some of the stories across the sky, and contemplate the billions of tales that have never been told but are are scripted in the heavens above.



Other times, we focus on the beams of our headlamps, lighting up our path just a few steps at a time. There’s beauty in that darkness as well, although it’s more intangible than picking our favorite stars from the sky. It’s a beauty that I’m well familiar with, however – and it also led to one of my favorite exchanges with her:

Daughter: This is kind of neat, with everything quiet while we’re staying in this little dome of light.

Me: I know. This is actually one of my favorite things about doing my long ultra races – you spend a lot of time running in the dark like this.

Daughter: Are you always by yourself?

Me: Sometimes I’m with somebody else, running and talking exactly like this. Other times I’m by myself, just enjoying the darkness and silence.

Daughter: It’s peaceful.

Me: Yup. And a lot of other things. I really love it.

Over the course of several runs with my daughter, I’ve recalled how my own affinity for running in the dark was assembled in small doses from one early morning to another, from one rewarding moment stacking upon others, until the inconveniences of the task are nearly forgotten. At first the darkness causes an uneasiness, akin to feeling adrift on uncharted waters – but once you’ve navigated through it a number of times, that sensation becomes familiar, and you develop a greater appreciation for the experience of traveling through.

Sailing through that beautiful darkness with my daughter, soaking in all the lights – whether decorative, celestial, or functional - has been the biggest unexpected pleasure of these dark, cold months. Not enough for me to hope winter sticks around any longer than necessary, of course – but certainly enough for me to not dread it quite so much.

**
As for the song ... with this daughter, it pretty much has to be Jack Johnson. And this one just happens to be one of our favorites.

Jack Johnson, "Constellations" (click to play):

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Hood to Coast Movie Screening Event

Every now and then – hopefully more frequently than not – I like to think my website provides you with some temporary relief from boredom. Realistically though, that diversion only lasts for a few minutes (or even shorter if you’re one of those who just skims through to see whether or not there’s a contest at the end) – but today, I have the opportunity to offer a longer period of relief. Approximately the duration of a feature-length film, to be more specific.


Last month I received an advance copy of Hood to Coast, a movie that documents the annual race of the same name that has become one of the best known running events in the world. It chronicles the history and growth of the event from its inception in 1982, and profiles four notable teams on their quest to conquer the 36-hour, 197-mile-long running relay.

The film was an official selection of the 2010 SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival, and provides a nice glimpse into the craziness that goes along with such an undertaking. Although I have no personal experience with the event to base this opinion on, the movie struck me as a bit heavy on the emphasis of descriptions like arduous, grueling, heroic, and impossible to describe the challenge – but maybe that’s just my own “impossible is nothing” bias as an ultrarunner. There’s no doubt that H2C is a wonderful event; I’m just not sure it ranks up there with Badwater, TransRockies, or even Western States among the most extraordinary feats of human accomplishment.

Nevertheless, the film is entertaining for anyone who likes compelling human interest stories within the sport of running. It’s also very visually appealing, as it was filmed entirely in HD and features several very cool shots of the landscape the runners traverse on their way from the mountain to the coast. It definitely offers a hefty dose of mojo, either to sustain your New Year’s running commitment or just to better appreciate the sport we participate in.

Hood to Coast is having a special one-day cinematic release on January 11th, in 500 theaters in all 50 states; you can click here to find the theater nearest you that is showing the film. Following the premier screening you’ll see videotaped interviews with notable runners such as Mary Decker Slaney, Bart Yasso, and race founder Bob Foote discussing their previous Hood to Coast experiences.

So if you’re sitting around looking for something to do tonight, consider this a recommendation. If you need something more to whet your appetite - or for the severely attention-span-challenged folks out there - I've embedded a three-minute trailer below. And if you happen to see the film, I’d love for you to stop by here again and leave a comment with a brief review.

(But if all you’re looking for is a contest … fine. I’ll mail my copy of the DVD to one commenter below.)

"Hood to Coast Trailer", from SXSW 2010 (click to play):

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Orgain Nutritional Shake Review and Giveaway

Hey, guess what? Remember all that giveaway madness that went on back in December? It’s not quite over yet. Today’s giveaway might not be as exciting as a pair of killer trail running shoes, but it’s a pretty nifty prize for anyone who’s interested in trying healthy nutrition alternatives or having a handy meal replacement for life on the go.


A couple of months ago I was contacted by Orgain to try its organic nutritional shakes, which were born from a life-altering experience of the company’s founder. Dr Andrew Abraham is a cancer survivor who was dissatisfied with the traditional chalky meal replacements that patients were often subjected to. He recognized the need for nutritional alternatives that didn’t rely upon artificial ingredients, that tasted good enough to enjoy, and could provide balanced nutrition for optimal health at all stages of life.

(Actually, the whole tale kind of reminds me of the CLIF bar origin story … except in place of “guy on a long bike ride” you’d say “guy with cancer”, and instead of “all-natural, better tasting energy bar” you have “all-natural, better tasting milkshake.” And Southern California [Orgain] instead of Northern California [CLIF]. But you get the idea.)

Orgain was founded in 2008, with the expressed vision of becoming the healthiest beverage company in the world. Dr Abraham has also stated that, “When you drink Orgain, you gain health, energy and life.” Pretty lofty goals, huh? No one will ever criticize the company for lack of ambition.

From company website

So what exactly is Orgain? It’s a ready-to-drink 11-ounce shake made entirely from certified organic ingredients which can be stored for up to a year without refrigeration. It has 255 calories in a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein (16 grams worth), along with 24 vitamins and minerals, heart-healthy fiber, and the antioxidant equivalent of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables. They are gluten-free, caffeine-free, and contain absolutely no preservatives, corn syrup, saturated fat, antibiotics or hormones. It comes in a completely recyclable package, so you can be eco-friendly after you’re finished. All good stuff, to say the least.

Of course, none if this really matters if the finished product still tastes like chalk. I received samples of two flavors – Sweet Vanilla Bean and Creamy Chocolate Fudge – and had a taste test with my 9-year-old daughter one morning. I started with the vanilla flavor, since that’s pretty consistently my favorite flavor of anything – and after drinking about half the container thought to myself, "This stuff is pretty good." But I didn’t want to influence my daughter’s opinion, so I kept my mouth shut. That’s when we had this exchange:

Me: So how does yours taste?

Her: Great. It’s like drinking chocolate chips.

In kidspeak, that means "this stuff is pretty good." Then we each took a drink of the other’s, and agreed that the taste was quite impressive for something that had sat in our car for two hours.

As to why it was stashed in the car … that was because my daughter and I had just run a 5K together, and we only had about an hour to drive across town, get changed, and show up for her cowboy poetry recital later that morning. Along with the bagel and orange slice she had after the race, the Orgain shake worked great as a meal replacement since we didn’t have breakfast before or after running.

I can also see how these shakes would be a great source of quick, healthy calories after a hard workout, or a wholesome nutritional boost for anyone who’s sick and trying to bolster their immune system (remember, they were first designed for cancer patients). Their extended shelf life and convenient use makes them easy to keep around the house for a while or stuff into a workout bag when you know it’s going to be a long day.

As you’ve probably guessed with keywords like “organic”, “meal replacement”, and “gluten free”, Orgain isn’t exactly cheap. An 11-ounce pack sells for $3.50 from the company website, and may be marked up slightly higher in retail health food markets like Whole Foods. That’s why it’s great to know someone who does giveaways!

In conjunction with this review, three winners will receive a 12-pack case of Orgain shakes, divided equally between vanilla bean and chocolate fudge flavors. To enter, leave a comment below this post by Thursday, January 13th, and I’ll pull three winners out of the “Random Numberinator” and announce them on the weekend. Thanks very much to Orgain for sponsoring this contest, and good luck to everybody!

*Product provided by Orgain
**See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com

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WRC Black Diamond Icon Giveaway Winner; VIVOBAREFOOT Neo (or Evo?) Winners; Random Shots of Beauty

It's time to announce our final winners from December's huge giveaway bonanza!

First, the winner of the Black Diamond Icon headlamp and Wilderness Running Company gift card is ... Shel! Contact me at the link below.

Moving on to the main VIVOBAREFOOT drawing - remember the ground rules here: depending on your shoe size and overall availability, you'll either receive a pair of the Neo shoe I reviewed, or the Evo, which in my opinion is a better overall shoe. With that in mind ... Marathon Maiden, Tim Butterfield, and treklightly, you're the lucky winners! Send me your address, and I'll pass your information along to my VB rep.

To everyone else who is interested in the Neo: check this product page to see if your sizes and colors are still available, or to put your name on the wait list for their official launch this spring. Thanks to everyone for playing!

*

As for this weekend's Random Shot of Beauty: I haven't written much lately about bike riding with my son, but it's still something we do on a regular basis. This photo was taken last week while riding through the Fort Ord open space:


Go ahead and add January bike rides to the long list of reasons I love living here.

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Icebreaker GT 200 Sprint Legging Review

Quick administrative note: the Black Diamond Icon contest is officially closed, but you've got a little bit of time left - until close of business Friday - to enter the VIVOBAREFOOT Neo running shoe giveaway. Winners of both contests will be announced over the weekend. In the meantime, a review post for your enjoyment ...

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When your choice of workout wear has a positive impact on your marital relationship, that’s a pretty cool thing, right?

That was one of the conclusions I drew after reviewing Icebreaker’s merino wool garments last year, thanks mainly to their outstanding odor-control properties. I’ll spare you the whole back story (but you can read the previously linked review if you’re interested), but my wife was even more grateful for my discovery of their performance tops than I was.

So when I had an opportunity to try a bottom layer from Icebreaker, I quickly jumped at the chance.

Icebreaker's GT fabric is still composed almost entirely of merino wool, but incorporates 3% lycra for improved fit and shape retention (my BodyFit shirts tend to shrivel just a bit coming out of the wash). You still get all of the benefits of pure merino wool – comfort, breathability, odor-resistance, and thermoregulation – in this fabric that Icebreaker calls the most technical and athletic of its product line.

Like other Icebreaker products, the GT garments are categorized by fabric density, ranging from 150 (ultralite) to 320 (expedition weight). The Sprint legging is made of GT 200 fabric, which makes it a light- to midweight layer that can be worn on its own, or as a base layer underneath a looser pant. I’ve worn them by themselves for running in temperatures into the upper 20s, and underneath a pair of MTB shorts for cold afternoon bike rides.

Icebreaker Sprint legging ... on a model that's NOT me. Alas.

Merino wool is renowned for its comfort, and the Sprint legging is constructed with additional comfort features such as a brushed elastic waistband, a guseted crotch for freedom of movement, and flatlock stitching throughout to prevent irritation along seam lines. However, from a comfort standpoint, I’m kind of lukewarm on these: there’s certainly nothing irritating or uncomfortable about running in them for a couple of hours, but the feel of GT 200 fabric against bare skin isn’t as soft as what you might feel with some synthetic performance fabrics. (One case in point is Salomon’s Trail III tight, which definitely feels nicer against the skin.)

A couple other minor drawbacks I’ve experienced are that the elastic waistband doesn’t have a drawstring for cinching in place, and there’s no available storage (like a key pocket) anywhere. The overall design is really more like thermal underwear than an outer layer ... which kind of makes me question whether I should have just admitted that I wear them by themselves a lot. (And not to get too personal here, but I do wear underwear underneath the leggings. In case you were wondering.)

All of the performance aspects of Icebreaker gear are present with these leggings: they provide an ideal blend of insulation and breathability during high-demand activity, and of course the odor resistance thing is still a huge selling point. Another strength of this fabric over synthetic materials is how it maintains effective thermoregulation even when it's wet or sweaty. The leggings are probably best suited as a base layer, but versatile enough to be used on their own in moderate conditions. If you’re looking for a single bottom layer to use for multiple purposes, the Sprint legging is an attractive option.

Icebreaker’s GT 200 Sprint leggings retail for $90 from Amazon.com as well as the company website (links above) and other online vendors.

*Product provided by Icebreaker
**See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

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Hot Laps at Laguna Seca

A couple of administrative updates to lead things off ...

1) I'm still waiting to hear from Julia, a winner of the Ryders Eyewear giveaway. You've got until the end of Thursday night, January 6 to contact me before I pick another winner.

2) Everyone still has a bit of time to enter the VIVOBAREFOOT Neo and the Wilderness Running Company / Black Diamond Icon contests. Get going, then come on back for today's post.

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In more than 50 years of existence, Monterey County’s Laguna Seca Raceway has been the home of countless world-class events.


It’s primarily known, of course, for motor sports; every year, the track hosts multiple races ranging from historic sports cars to American Le Mans to Champ cars to AMA superbikes. Pick a summer weekend, and chances are that you’ll hear the roar of engines drifting over the nearby Fort Ord open spaces, or that you’ll be stuck in traffic behind thousands of gearheads who flock here from all over the world.

In recent years, the venue has hosted a wider variety of events, including music festivals and the wildly popular Sea Otter Bicycle Classic. One of the only racing events it has never hosted is a running race – but a friend of mine is trying to change that.

Even better, this friend is the kind of guy who has an ideal combination of passion for the sport and a long list of contacts to actually make his plans come to life. So he made a few phone calls, talked to some people, and checked a list of requirements for what it would take to pull off a running event on one of the most famous racetracks in the world.

And then he sent out an e-mail to a handful of friends: We’re doing a feasibility study for a race on the Laguna Seca Raceway – you’re invited to come run a few laps.

This isn’t the kind of invitation that comes along everyday; for obvious reasons, the course is pretty much never open to the public, and track management is extremely strict about keeping the course clear for various driving teams to run practice laps throughout the week. I had never set foot on the track in my whole life, and if my friend’s race plan somehow fails to materialize, I might not get another chance again.

In other words, I was in.


Which was how I found myself in an empty paddock (click to enlarge any of these photos) inside the raceway at 6:30 on a weekday morning a couple of weeks ago, along with a few other lucky friends willing to run a few hot laps under the guise of information gathering. After a few basic instructions - basically, 1. Stay on the road, and 2. Be off the track in exactly one hour - we were on our way …


… beginning, of course, at the track’s start line, to commence a series of 2.2-mile loops through motor racing history.


Several features of this track are legendary among auto race aficionados, such as the Andretti hairpin just beyond the opening straight. Honestly, the curve didn’t seem like such a big deal to us at approximately 8 miles per hour; I suspect that at 120mph it might be a different story.


The hairpin drops you in the main infield area, where you enjoy one of the few flat stretches of the raceway ...


... as Laguna Seca is more famous for its hills and curves, such as this climb up the Rahal Straight …


… leading to one of the most notorious spots in all of racing:


Turns 8 and 8A, known more commonly as The Corkscrew. It’s an S-shaped curve down a steep drop that is always a gathering spot for race fans generally looking for one of two things: spectacular wipeouts or spectacular passes. Even on foot, our first reaction to the downslope was, “Whoa, this is steep” – the thought of negotiating the turns in a Formula 1 car or a crotch rocket motorcycle was a little more than any of us wanted to fathom. I suppose that’s a reason why we’re runners instead of race car drivers.


After the Corkscrew, there’s a short straightaway before reaching Rainey Curve …


… and eventually the final drag in front of the grandstands to complete your first lap. By this time, our group was nearly unanimous in our belief that having a footrace on this track would be awesome – but since we still had plenty of time left over, we decided to do a couple more laps just to confirm our theory.


On our second trip around the course, I noticed a few maintenance people on the track, blowing pebbles off the asphalt, grooming the shoulders, or sweeping the blue and white course markers, and it occurred to me: this is probably one of the most well-groomed and well-maintained roads in America. Meaning, of course …


… that I had to try it barefoot. I kicked off my shoes for the final lap, and was amazed at how smooth the ground felt underfoot. If every road in America were like this, I’m pretty sure there would be a lot more barefoot runners out there.

Unfortunately, time ran out on us after the third lap, so we climbed back into our cars (which still weren’t allowed on the race track, by the way) and headed for work, agreeing to compare notes and discuss the possibility of hosting an event here sometime in the future. There are still a lot of considerations to account for and hurdles to overcome, but one thing seemed clear: this would be an ideal setting for a race.

Hopefully things will come together for such an event to happen, but even if it doesn’t, I’ve got some cool memories of our hot laps in the dead of winter this year.

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