Silva Trail Runner Free Hybrid Headlamp - SS22

Product Information

Among our running head torches, you will find the popular series Trail Runner Free – a head torch optimized for running because it is extremely light and has no disturbing cords that hang down. Trail Runner Free H is a comfortable and lightweight headlamp for everyone who loves running. Its features and light beam are optimized for a runner’s needs. Free H comes with a rechargeable Hybrid battery (1.25 Ah/4.6 Wh) and the Hybrid battery case. A unique combination of long reach spot light and a close flood light - giving you a clear view of both near and far obstacles

The two unique selling points of this otherwise much heavier head torch is that: first, it’s completely waterproof; and second, it boasts an innovative swiveling bezel around the lamp, so you can switch from floodlight to spotlight and everything in between – great for personalizing your illumination.

Comfort of the Silva Trail Runner Free H

Trail Runner Free H is a comfortable and lightweight headlamp for everyone who loves running. Its features and light beam are optimized for a runner’s needs. Free H comes with a rechargeable Hybrid battery (1.25 Ah) and the Hybrid battery case. There is even a great swivel bezel on the lamp to give you full control of the flood or spotlight beam. The plastic lamp housing and design aren’t as sleek or stylish and don’t seem quite as durable as some of the others here, but who can argue with this price tag? We're working out what we think about Silva's Trail Runner Free 2 Ultra Headtorch, we'll add our comments here in due course.

Battery weight is the limiting factor in beam life – the lighter you go, the less time and less bright you can expect your lamp to burn. And be aware that regular AAA and AA batteries drop off gradually in power soon after use, whereas rechargeable lithium batteries hold a more consistent level until almost exhausted. Weight The lamp offers only three brightness settings, and you can’t select different lights (beam/flood). But it has a combination that works well at running speeds—a floodlight hits the ground nearest you while a sharper beam is cast farther ahead. In our tests, it held its max brightness consistently for the first two hours, but fell off a cliff by the end of the third hour; its light was so dim you couldn’t find your way out of the woods on a moonless night. Another really cool feature is the ability to toggle a rear red light for road running. Inside the battery case, a switch can be set to off, on, or blink.

Specification of the Silva Trail Runner Free H

Customized light distribution: With the 2:nd generation of Trail Runner Free, the cooling has been optimized with a more powerful cooler that lets the lamp produce up to 550 lumen (depending on battery type) while keeping its comfort and low weight. Our ultra runners have been an important part of the design process and the Trail Runner Free 2 series is made for running in every aspect. All three headlamps in this series feature Silva Intelligent Light. This means that you get a double light beam technology in your headlamp, with light settings that are perfect for running. Our unique combination of a long reach spotlight and a close flood-light, results in less head movement, better control, improved balance, less fatigue and higher speed.

The top-quality optics deliver a balanced beam that delivers a perfect combination of distance combined with a close-up flood of light. This means you don’t have to move your head as much because one of the LED emitters gives a wide spill of light just in front of your feet, while the other throws light further ahead.

Cons of the Silva Trail Runner Free H

The head torch is rechargeable and has a hybrid case battery that allows you to use both hybrid batteries and alkaline batteries. Trail Runner Free H is a comfortable and lightweight headlamp for everyone who loves running. Its features and light beam are optimised for a runner’s needs. Free H comes with a rechargeable Hybrid battery (1.15 Ah) and the Hybrid battery case. The Trail Runner H features what Silva describe as 'true lumens', meaning that they're measured by what they (and we) believe is the most reliable method available - the ANSI FL1 flashlight basic performance standard. This has become the industry standard and acts as a guarantee for more meaningful figures, in a market that can be guilty of some dubious and misleading claims in terms of both brightness and burn time. Other reviewers have speculated how hard it might be to replace the wiring, given that it's integral to the headband. Whilst this is - to an extent - an interesting question, and we should definitely be thinking more about how we can repair the equipment we own, my question in return would be - if you break any other brand of headtorch's wiring - how easy would that be to repair? Generally, not very, so I don't think it's a concern peculiar to this design.