Lupine Piko 4

The Piko is the latest diminutive head (or bar) lamp from those clever Lupine folks. The Piko 4 here distinguishes itself from the bigger-batteried Piko 7, with suitably smaller run times. The battery is about the size of two matchboxes while the 55g(!) headlamp would probably fit into a matchbox. You get all the usual Lupine quality – such as waterproof cables, a clever charger and a light indicator that flashes the volts to you in a semaphore of blue and red flashes. If you still don’t believe that, then a press on the battery indicator will give you the battery level in 20% increments.

The 1200 lumen lamp itself features two LEDs and a glowing button used to show battery level and to programme it. Programming is very simple to get the hang of and it allows different modes from the regular high/medium/low, through high/low and high/medium/flashing. There’s even an SOS option. The up/down motion on the head unit is governed by two rubber o-rings, which stay put, though you can’t overtighten them (that would not be efficient, ja?) so there’s always a slight danger of it getting knocked.

Battery life on high is around two hours on full, extending to three, five, even 18 hours if you’re running a lower power option. It’ll fully recharge in three hours and even when discharged, will give you a ‘get you home’ emergency battery capacity.

In use the light is quick on and quick off, with quick cycling through your settings. The button can be a little hard to find with bigger gloves on, and it’s possible to knock the light up or down a little when you do it. If using it as an ‘always on’ backup to a bar light, though, this is a moot point.

Overall: A superbly well-made product. Easy to use and programme, and efficient in operation. A fair amount of cash for a backup or second light, but if running it as your sole source, you’ll get on fine.

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