FOR THE ONE-TRACK-MIND DAD: Petzl

logo-petzlWhen you think of headlamps, you probably think Petzl.

Unless you're me.

Then, you never think about headlamps. Ever. So the brand Petzl would mean nothing to you.

But to my husband...Petzl stands for something. Petzl is a trusted brand when it comes to technical equipment and gear for caving, rock climbing, mountaineering, trail running, fishing, and more. Since he enjoys all of those pasttimes, Petzl is a brand he knows well.

Sometimes, we'll be driving around in the car and he'll get this serious, thoughtful look in his eyes.

I'll have been thinking about a million different things - "How should we discipline our 2-year-old? What is the most effective method? She was kind of whiny earlier. I wonder if she's hungry. What should we have for dinner? I need to make a grocery list...and I should probably pick up a birthday present for our niece and a gift for so-and-so who just had a baby. Speaking of babies, did she poop today? We should probably give her a bath tonight. And I still have 200 e-mails in my inbox. I need to call Disney and touch base with that PR company. And, there's that project for work. Oh, and I still want to get my PhD. When would be the most logical time to start that? Look, there's Michael's. I should probably stop and get a frame...and maybe a gift for an elderly relative. I really need to think about other people more. Oh yeah, I have to call World Vision and I haven't sent a letter to "our little boy" in months..."

And then I'll ask him: "What are you thinking about?"

"Caving." He'll reply. (Or "dirt biking." Or "4-wheeling." Or "backpacking." Depending on the day). He'll say it nonchalantly.

"And...what else?"

"That's it. Just caving."

And here I was contemplating world peace and family matters and our future.

And that, my friends, is the difference between men and women.

All that to say, if your husband is an outdoorsy kinda guy, he likely knows about Petzl.

petzl tikka xpThere are a lot of excellent gift options there to consider, but today I'd like to bring the TIKKA XP to your attention. Why? Because it's the perfect gift for ANY GUY. He doesn't have to be a world-class athlete to appreciate this handy headlamp. It's equally well-suited for outdoor expeditions or tinkering around in the garage..and, at under $50, it's a real "steal."

WIN IT! One winner will receive a TIKKA XP by Petzl. To enter, leave any topic-related comment on this post prior to Monday, June 8 at midnight (Don’t forget to follow the rules…all generic comments like “Enter me!,” “Love it,” and “Cool stuff!” will be disqualified.).

*UPDATE* The winner is #61 barbara wright. Congratulations!

Leave a Reply to Kyle Neusch Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

171 comments on “FOR THE ONE-TRACK-MIND DAD: Petzl”

  1. We (he) could use one of these for a plumbing job we have coming up. It could help keep the spiders at bay while we (he) are crawling under the house!
    smchester at gmail dot com

  2. Well I've been finding all types of things I've never heard of while looking over your blog! Looks like something hubby could find useful though!

  3. My hubby loves to tinker on cars, and his friends bring their cars over at all times of the day and night for oil changes, to put in a starter, work on the motor, you name it. Sometimes it gets pretty dark outside and all the flashlights just don't cut it-besides who wants to hold a flashlight when you're working on a car? This would free up his hands and allow him to finish in one day (or night!) so he could spend the next day with ME! lol

  4. I have been working with a friend doing video and light shows for local bands. This head light would be super helpful to see our equipment when we are working in dark night clubs. Thank you for the chance to win.

  5. I work out every night, and sometimes it lasts until dark and beyond. I think this would help me avoid stepping on cute little frogs as I jog.

  6. I would be the greatest wife ever for these. My husband loves to go caving and exploring. Thank you

  7. What a great thing to use to walk dogs and keep your hands free for the leashes and for carrying the pooper scooper with bag any time of the year. Everyone walks their dogs after dark in the summer because of the heat during the day, and in the winter it just gets dark so early.

  8. that looks like a great product i guess it would be good also for my hub when he works under the hood :)

  9. I like the headlamp that I have for reading in bed actually! It also would have been handy to have one of these back in my Boy Scouting days, but maglights were all the rage back then.

  10. This would be useful when the light go out. It happens sometimes around where I live b/c of thunderstorms. Thank you.

  11. These headlamps are world-class! My good buddy has one and I've been jealous of it for years. I have a menagerie of flashlights I bring along, from the standard slide buttons to the LED bike lamp, but I've always liked the ability to see what I'm doing while keeping the hands free to do it!

  12. This would be useful in many situations, including exploring in the basement when the power is out...

  13. My husband just broke his on our last camping trip - but it was nowhere near as nice as this one!

    I guess you get what you pay for...

    Also: make sure you keep them on your head, not your back pocket - doh!

  14. My husband does this thing called orienteering, he belongs to a local club and they go up to the Adirrondak Mountains and try and find their way out of the forests up there. He only goes twice a year, but I know for a fact that this very cool TIKKA XP headlamp from Petzl is something he most definitely can use on those trips. It get dark early in the Fall up there and it is pitch black dark and kind of scary in those woods, this would be awesome for him to have!

  15. My husband could sure use this! I smell a dead rat in our house again and this would help him crawl around down there in the crawl spcae and find it! Sad but true and boy does this smell!

  16. Pop would love this. He works in the shop all of the time and this would free his hands while working on closeup work

  17. My son has a headlamp that he bought for camping but my husband does not have one. He would love it, though.

  18. Mike loves his head lamp that he's had since college, he would be thrilled to get a new one!

    He uses it all the time when we go camping!

  19. My dad has been putting off starting his summer biking because he says he needs a front light so he doesn't get smacked in traffic. If I won this for him, he would have no excuse not to get on that bike and go!

  20. I've never heard of a Petzl, but I'm sure my husband has. After reading some of the previous posts, I am sure he would appreciate one of these as a Father's Day gift. Thanks for the offer!

  21. My fiance would go crazy over something like this. I'm sure he would find hundreds of uses for a light you wear on your head. haha Plus he's going camping soon and I'd like for him to be at least a little bit safe out there.

  22. great idea for a product, I would give it to my daughter to use when she goes out with her moped at night, can't have too many lights at night

  23. Wow- this would mean I wouldn't have to stand out in the driveway for hours holding the flashlight for my husband as he picked and jabbed at the engine!

  24. This would be the PERFECT Dad's Day gift for my Honey/Hubby. He has an old crotchedy one (which he uses all the time) but this one would take the cake!

  25. This would make getting things out of the storage trailer so much easier at night. We are moving soon and it is difficult to hold a flashlight in one hand while balancing a box in the other.

  26. Hey Stephanie -

    I've been trying to come up with just the right Dad's Day gift for my Honey/Hubby (for Father's Day which happened to coincide this year with the 17 year anniversary of our getting engaged. And thanks to you (and Petzl) - I've struck gold!

  27. this is up my husbands alley i have never heard of petzl either will might have from the hubby who lives to go hiking and climbing and geocashing which sometimes he does in the dark this would be perfect when he looking for a tiny camo container in the woods at night thanks for the great giveway tina

  28. These are the best ideas. What man doesn't need a little extra light once in a while. I enlighten my hubby all the time. I need a break!

  29. I could use this prize for my midnight cigar trips outside on the porch. Please accept my entry. Thank you.

  30. i don't know what my husband would use it for but i think it would be ideal the next time he checks to see if that really IS a raccoon in the backyard!

  31. When I saw this offer I immediately began thinking of the countless times my husband has commented on having some type of hardhat or other headgear that has what amounts to be basically a flahlight on the forehead. Add to that the Petzl's features of a flashing mode and variable beam focus and the result is a perfect father's day gift for my husband! :)

  32. My father in law would LOVE this! He is always coming over to our house to do odds and in for us because my hubby is not Mr. Fix it. I am always holding the flashlight for him and he is training my daughter really young to be a flashlight holder too! He would love this.
    [email protected]

  33. My husband would totally use this! Every time he is searching in our storage closets he complains about not having enough light and then we can either never find a flashlight or he needs both hands and knocks the light over anyway... What a good solution!

  34. My husband would REALLY like this! When he crawls under the house or does repairs in dark areas, he's always borrowing my bike light or a big, heavy headlamp I've had forever, and neither is as convenient as this. Hmmm...if I don't win one, I'll probably go buy one as a Father's Day gift (thanks for the idea!!).

  35. We live in the country and ride four wheelers a lot. My fiance would absolutely Love this! Hope to win!

  36. I think new moms should get a headlamp for those midnight (diaper)changes...then you don't have turn on the other lights and your can see right where you need too!

  37. this is such a great idea, my daughter rides a moped and I would give it to her for an extra light when she is riding at night

  38. Yes, this sounds gross, but I would use it to extract black heads from my 2 teenagers faces.

  39. My SO would love this! It would be great for him when he is tracking a deer in the woods! Thanks!

    sherri419 at gmail dot com

  40. My brother in law could use this more than my husband. My BIL is a maintenance man/welder and my hubby is a networking specialist/office manager!

  41. This is AWESOME! This is my headlamp, about 3 generations ago. Love it!! Would be fun to give my husband this one, as he plays with mine. It's so handy, and not just for camping. I use it sometimes to cut our son's fingernails. They're so small and hard to see! ha, ha.

  42. This would reduce my husbands excuse for not mowing in the dark, lol. I actually think he and my son would loves these while they are camping with the cub scouts.

    Great contest!

  43. My husband is a welder and maintenance worker. He often is in tight places and has to have someone hold a flashlight for him. This product would be perfect for him.

  44. We could totally use this when rummaging around our storage room. It's dark....then again, I may not want to see all the creepy-crawlers that have been lurking in the corners! Thanks for the chance to win it!

  45. Wow I never thought of this as a gift! Jesus loves to ride mountain bikes now and has even started riding to work. This light would help make him more visible and maybe help my anxiety level a bit at the same time. Would love to win this for his fathers day! He is such an amazing dad. As a bonus I could use it to read in the car on our longer trips!

  46. This would be great for camping or when we end up trapped under the house during a tornado warning. Arrgh. One hit a few blocks away before.

  47. I like the Petzl headlamps and so does 3 year old C, especially if they have the red light setting.

  48. I do think about headlamps when I'm camping and have to find the trail to the outhouse at 2 a.m.

  49. Wearing this, you can pretend that you're a coal miner! Seriously though, my sweetie likes to take long runs at night and I'd feel much safer if he wore this! Thanks for the chance to win it!

  50. I would love having this for when our power goes out (which is frequent). Last year it was out for four days in a row and it was miserable. THis would be so much easier than walking around carrying a flashlight. Thanks for the chance.

  51. The site says one of the uses is glacier-hiking,not likely for my husband,but he could find uses for this headlamp.

  52. Oh yes! This would be wonderful for hiking... Petzl I've actually heard of once and heard good things about it. Husband and I like some night adventures in the woods and headlamps are a lot easier than carrying a flashlight so it helps a lot. Even would use it for doing jobs where light is needed like changing the oil filter.

  53. My Dad like to tinker in the garage at night and the lighting is not the greatest and neither is his eyesight. I had never thought of using a headlamp like the ones on the Petzl site but they would defintely help to shed some light on the situation at hand.

  54. this is a cool product never heard of it. but want to win for hubby in winter incase he cant find his flash light.

  55. I just read the TIKKA XP product description on the Petzl site....I was completely unaware such a product exsisted. What a wonderful gift idea!

    Thank you. :-)

  56. We take walks in the evening & my grandaughter would love to have this. She wouldn't have to carry a flashlight anymore.

  57. My Father in law would LOVE one of these for Fathers day. This would be perfect for him. He works in an oil field and has houses that he rents and is always having to go under the houses to fix things and hold a flash light at the same time. I'd have to get one for my son though as he loves to help grandpa and daddy out when they work on the houses together.

  58. Yep, my husband knows about Petzl. And he'd find some great uses for the headlamp, too.

    I like the comment about giving one to a 3-year-old- I happen to have a 3-year-old myself and I can only imagine the fun he'd have with one of these!

  59. i could really use this headlamp as my eyes ain't what they used to be and i'll probably buy one anyway!

  60. This would be perfect for my daughter who runs early every morning I always worry there is not enough light.

    :) Thank you for the wonderful giveaway! :)

  61. My husband uses headlamps when he has to go under a house or is working on something outside at night. He's a plumber and has gone through several of these in the last few years. This one looks durable.

  62. My hubby loves flashlights, headlamps, etc. of all kinds. I know he would love to add this gem to his collection.

  63. I live in Louisville, Ky. First we lost power during the hurricane winds in oct...Then we we lost power during the ice storm in Jan...I am now putting together an emergency power- outage kit! Everytime the lights flicker, I get a facial tick!!!!

  64. My midwife used this when she was stitching me up after my son was born. But, I can think of better uses, like riding a bike at night, camping and hiking at dusk. My husband would TRIP if he got these for dad's day. I'm sure he could think of 10 more uses.

  65. My son is REALLY difficult to buy for, but this would be SOOO great! His hobby is geocaching, and he never wants to quit even when it gets dark. I can't tell you how many flashlights has has left at his last cache, so I've been looking around for flashlights that you can somehow attach to your body. This would be even better!

  66. This is such a wonderful idea! We've could have used this a number of times. Just last week, my husband had me hold a flashlight for him, while he was trying to remove a splinter from our son. This would have been wonderful to have. What a great idea and what a great Fathers day gift this would make.
    Thanks so much for this giveaway.

  67. This light might help prevent some arguments. I never seem to hold the flashlight right where my husband needs it. This light would enable him to keep his hands free and shine the light where he needs it.

  68. My hubby loves headlamps for camping & moving. It's cool to have hands free light, and it cracks me up when he's looking around for something! ;-)

  69. ooh, I bet my nephew would love this for geocaching - it would be especially helpful after sunset!

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  70. After many years of living with an outdoorsy husband and four boys, I know Petzl. This would be fabulous. Thanks for sharing~

  71. I do some civilian volunteer work with my local police department grom 10 pm to 3 am on weekend nights. This is a walking patrol and this headlamp would come in mighty handy.

  72. My husband is a handyman mechanic. Lately and unfortunately we've been having trouble with our car and he believes that if he can fix it why pay someone else to do it. The problem is that if he spends 3 hrs fixing the car I have have be the 3 hrs right beside him holding a flashlight. The Petzl headlamp would be perfect for this job; he would have the light that he so desires and I the time that I need for the house.

  73. I am trying to get motivated to lose the extra fifty pounds that I have been carrying around. This might help.

  74. my husband has one that he is always hiding from the kids. It would be great to have another one to use.

  75. Woman are from Venus, Men are from Mars...is that how the saying goes? This is exactly the kind of thing that happens to us when we're out and about. We own one VERY old headlamp. We did some caving last year with the oldest and it was a blast. It would be cool for both dad and son to have their own.

  76. My father would love this but the girls would get way more use out of it than him. I don't know what it is about flashlights but the girls love them. You can barely keep them out of their hands.

  77. This may make you laugh but about 2 months ago my husband broke his head lamp and he was devastated. I didn't understand why he couldn't just go out and get a new one. He acted like he lost a buddy or something. Maybe winning this would help heal his heart! lol

  78. I agree that the word PETZL had no connection at all, except to remind me of pretzels! I'm sure my father is familiar with it though. At 57 he is one of the most active outdoor activity man I know. He is in such great shape and loves new gear. I would love to win this for him!

  79. Although he's only been once, this would be nice for Chris for the next time he goes caving. In addition, it would be good for other projects for which two hands are beneficial, such as car repairs and night time diaper changes and ...

  80. Oh my hubby is a garage tinkerer (is that even a word? LOL) This might work well for when he works under the truck hmmm very cool.

  81. My dad has one of these in camo green and my husband has been drooling over it for sometime now. It really is a handy tool and keeps me from having to be the flashlight girl who inevitably will never hold the light exactly where it needs to be anyway :)

  82. My husband is a great example of the quintessential
    handyman. One night, our neighbor came over to tell us that part of our fence had fallen over. So, there was Jon out putting up a section of our fence in the dark! This Petzl headlamp would sure have come in very handy! Please sign me up!
    I always appreciate it. Many thanks, Cindi

  83. Not something I would have thought of! But I bet my hubby would get a kick out of owning one of these and I imagine it could come in really handy.

  84. I'm not sure how much use my husband would get out of this, but my dad or my sisters husband would use this a lot while they're working on things that need mor elight. I'd love to be able to give it to them.

    mommainflipflops AT gmail.com

  85. You know, this really is one of those products that I would never even think about, but my husband has had our el cheapo version save him major headaches in the past when he's been working in the garage. So on behalf of him, I say "headlamps rock"!

  86. I grew up caving with my dad and brother...and we all wore Petzl headlamps. My dad sure would love this for all of his activities, he even wears them when he's making repairs around the house and needs some extra light!

  87. This would be so nice for those times when you need an extra hand to hold the flashlight, but dont have it...or the extra hand just gets in the way.

  88. How funny that I haven't heard of this brand till I had a hubby! Things we still have to learn. I would love this for my hubby because when he goes night fishing I know he'll have light and that will give me a little piece of mind.

  89. I fell in love with my husband with a head lamp on his head! You see we met while on a camping safari in Africa. This would be a great gift to give him as this is his first fathers day. So appropriate!

  90. Oh my gosh, I just cracked up reading this. Luke and I have that EXACT conversation. All. the. time. So glad to know I'm not alone.

    (You don't need to enter me-- my hubby actually sells Petzl products in his store!)

  91. Ha! Your post made me laugh! On our part, the conversation goes something like this:

    Me: (Asks a question related directly to one of the zillion things running through my head.)

    He: Umm, yeah, I wasn't part of the entire conversation you had going in your head that led up to that question. Can you fill me in?

    On the headlamp topic, I think we have about four headlamps sprinkled around the house. They are way better than flashlights! We (meaning, the husband) can always use a new and improved one.

  92. Ha! Your post made me laugh! On our part, the conversation goes something like this:

    Me: (Asks a question related directly to one of the zillion things running through my head.)

    He: Umm, yeah, I wasn't part of the entire conversation you had going in your head that led up to that question. Can you fill me in?

  93. I've never thought of head lamps either.

    I think my hubby would really like this, but not for any kind of outdoor thing. He would use it for working on computers. There's never enough light and I think this would help solve that.

  94. Wow, that would be great for Father's Day! I can just see hubby using this for around the home projects (especially those under the sink ones)and playtime with our son. So many uses for this headlamp!

  95. Our husband and I made a goal to take our kids camping more after we moved. Now it's finally warm enough, and we don't even have a plan to go sometime. We definitely get on top of that. This headlamp would be great for all those (fingers crossed) future camping trips.

  96. Well, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought, "HUH?!" after reading the title of this post. LoL!! But after seeing all the neat features & cool design, this is actually a pretty awesome giveaway! Thanks!

  97. My husband is always in "Man Land"! He always has hunting, offroading, fishing, hiking,etc. He has a few headlamps, but they are from when he was in highschool. I know that he would love to have a new and improved one. He likes bringing them when he is stationed for Wildland Fires too. You really get cool stuff to review, Steph!

  98. This would be the absolute perfect gift for my husband for Father's Day! We go camping for 10 days straight (no showers or anything!) once a year, and have been looking for a nice headlamp! I could totally use it too (=

  99. Your post made me laugh!
    I'm with you...never heard of Petzl, I totally followed your stream-of-consiousness and I'm pretty sure we've had a similar conversation.

  100. My husband would love to have this while tinkering in the garage or finding his way into the basement in a power outage. The kids have headlamps, but dear old Dad is missing out.

  101. I love headlamps! I use one every night to read by. A lamp keeps my hubby up, so I use a headlamp. My kids love them also! I find them to be so handy, I check on the kids with them and everything!

  102. I bet my husband would LOVE this for when he is working on his bicycle. We don't have a car, but we ride bikes a lot and he's always having me a hold a flashlight in strange places. This would benefit both him AND me!!

  103. There are those random times that this would be needed, but during those random times it sure would come in handy!! My hubby would love to have this in the toolbox.

  104. Oh we know ALL about Petzl. My husband and I are both rock climbers, so we know how great they are. My husband would love this Petzl for all of his projects that he works on till late in the evening.

  105. My kids were given headlamps for Christmas one year and my husband loved them so much that he keeps borrowing one! It is his garage must have (and just fun for the kids). I bet he'd love to have a better quality one of his very own. Thanks!

  106. I love this post & how you described the vast number of varied thoughts that are flying through your mind at any given time compared to the more, shall we say "focused", thoughts our husbands tend to have - that is so true! :) My hubby is definitely a Petzl fan - he loves his LED headlamp and uses it all the time. We even bring it on long nighttime car trips for me to use to read by - the uses are endless!

  107. This brings me back to the day when my son was out in the garage trying to help dad with something under the hood of the car--it was "hold up the flashlight higher! To the left! Wait . . ."

    Sounds like a headlamp like this would have made both their lives easier!

  108. LOL - sooo true! In the early years of marriage I thought for sure Andrew couldn't have been having such simple, one-tracked thoughts! So I'd try asking creative questions (over and over again!)to break through and hear what his REAL thoughts were. ...And I quickly learned - he really was thinking about nothing! or just that project at work! So now I enjoy hearing about his one simple thought and have learned to enjoy or companianable silences :)
    And he LOVES gadgets that are well designed - so I'm sure he'd really enjoy having a nifty head lamp!

  109. This is such a great idea for a runner! With our heat, we have to run EARLY in the morning, and living at the base of a moutain makes for some interesting coyote meetings on those runs. What an awesome idea!

  110. Head lamps are used by bicyclists at night where I live. Also, some indoor climbing facilities have "night climbs" which are a tremendous amount of fun! Once again, this is an item that my teenager would use as a book light!

  111. My husband has introduced me to Petzl. He would love this. After reading comment #1, I may have to get one for our son, too! :)

  112. Sugar loves to play with our cheap headlamps. Hubby has become enthralled with the "cat eyes" that clip to the bill of his baseball cap or other hunting hat but he does keep looking at the nicer headlamps like this one too!

  113. So, this one is definitely for "dads" but have you ever bought an inexpensive one for a little boy? They LOVE them! And there's really nothing funnier than a three year old running around the house with a headlamp on!

MetropolitanMama - See The World, One City at a Time
©2024 Metropolitan Mama - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram