Personal Illumination page updated
TacTikka XP – This is the military version of the popular Tikka XP that was introduced in ’05. The compact yet powerful TacTikka XP shares all the features of the civilian version. It uses a single 1 watt LED light powered by three AAA batteries. The LED has four light levels – economic (lowest), optimum, maximum and “boost” (which almost doubles the maximum setting for momentary use).
There is also a “blink” mode, where the LED flashes on and off for signalling. The light is turned on and off by depressing a rubber button (the left one). Pressing it once and leaving it turns it on at the maximum setting. Pressing it again immediately after first turning it on toggles it through the optimum, economic and flashing modes.
The button on the right with the lightning symbol is the “boost” button and when pressed, the LED gives off a very bright light as long as you hold down the button (an automatic power limiter drops down to maximum after 20 seconds to prevent overheating of the LED). On the side of the body is a small window which lights up and flashes 5 seconds after the light is turned on. This is the battery life indicator. It blinks green when the batteries are fresh, and orange when about 30% of the life remains, then red when they need to be replaced.