Just a couple of tips for the Petzl Nao, both to do with the string cradle.
Over time the cord lock gradually twisted the string on the headband and made it a real pain to tighten and loosen, it wasn’t until I tried to extend the string to fit the light around a helmet that I realised that you can just lift the knotted end of the string out of the plastic cradle at the back and untwist it. It would also be really easy to replace it if your string is twisted beyond redemption.
The cradle as it is is not large enough to go over a Meteor helmet, so I added an extra bit of cord to each side and it worked perfectly. The Nao is bright enough for night riding on roads, good tracks and non technical terrain but doesn’t quite have the punch for technical night riding. The Nao is also a good helmet light if you have a light on your bars. When you are looking forward the reflected light from your main bean turns the Nao down but when you look at a different angle to the bars then the power comes back up.
I was riding the Relentless 24 so wanted to be able to change batteries on the Nao quickly. Having it helmet mounted did make it very hard to access the clip to release the battery pack. I added a little bit of cord to the clip, secured with a drop of superglue so I could pull the clip down without getting behind the battery. I’m not sure how many people will be in this situation but it’s a neat solution.
I have used the Nao quite a lot in the last year and think it’s an excellent torch. You really do get excellent battery life using the reactive lighting, and the power for the cost and size is one of the best out there. Bright enough for everything bar technical night riding.