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Petzl Tikka CORE Headtorch | Tested and reviewed

You could say that French brand Petzl was born in the darkness. Their story began with founder Fernand Petzl’s passion for caving, back in the mid-1930s. Out of that passion, Petzl started to design innovative gear to help him move around underground – not just rope safety equipment, but also pioneering hiking headlamps. In time, Petzl kit was co-opted by alpine climbers, mountaineers and skiers.Today, Petzl remains one of the leading technical brands in all these fields. The product range is now split into two core categories: lighting – which includes some of the world’s most advanced head torches; and verticality – highly technical equipment designed for those venturing into the world’s loftiest mountain ranges as well as the globe’s deepest, darkest places.

Petzl VOLTA 9.2mm & VOLTA GUIDE 9mm Triple Rated Ropes

For the past 18 months I have been using two Petzl triple rated ropes for much of my climbing: the 9.2mm VOLTA (all Petzl product names are in shouty CAPS) and the ultra skinny 9mm VOLTA GUIDE. Each has been used for a wide variety of activities. The VOLTA GUIDE accompanied me as my only rope for a week long trip to Swiss Alps, while the VOLTA spent two weeks as my main rope in the low grade trad climbing paradise that is Red Rocks. In addition to this both ropes have been used for a stack of UK trad climbing, and Scottish winter climbing, whilst climbing as a three, and even the occasional sport route.

Pairing up the VOLTA and VOLTA GUIDE on Cloggy

© Tom Ripley

I've used both these ropes singly a lot; I've also used them together as a nearly-matched pair. When climbing with them as a matched pair the difference in diameter is obvious, the VOLTA feels much thicker in your hand than the skinny VOLTA GUIDE. This is even more apparent when the ropes are coiled, when the GUIDE is substantially less bulky and takes up less space in your pack…