She likes the ability to swap in AAA batteries because this means the head torch can be used for longer adventures through the night.

We believe 200 lumens are plenty for straightforward trail running on developed trails, and 300 lumens will give you great brightness for more rugged trails. It’s nice to have a setting where a headlamp can produce 500 or more lumens — found in the Fenix HL18R-T Rechargeable Headlamp, the Petzl Iko Core, the Petzl Swift RL, and the Petzl Nao RL in this guide — that allows you to look farther for trail signs, course markers, or to see what’s going bump in the night in the surrounding trees.Most headlamps have a few general modes: a constant or flashing white light and a constant or flashing red light. More complex lamps allow for more adjustments: the lumens of the white light can be turned up or down, affecting battery life, and the width of the beam can widen or narrow, sometimes automatically, as with Petzl’s Reactive Lighting technology, which can be found on the Petzl Swift RL and the Petzl Nao RL.

The headband is simple, soft, and comfortable, and the batteries are easy to swap out on the run, making it easy to recommend this headlamp as a daily trail running companion. Just don’t ask us to say its name aloud five times fast. Trail Runner Free 2 is a comfortable and lightweight headlamp for everyone who loves running. Its features and light beam are optimized for a runner’s needs. The basic version of the Trail Runner Free 2 series is used with 3 x AAA batteries (not included) and the Hybrid battery case. In use, there are different lumen settings of 50, 200 and 400. You press the button on the headlamp to move through the light settings. The button is a good size and easy to locate with your hand/finger while wearing the heard torch. Go Far Or Go Fast: Choose Trail Runner Free 2 Ultra if you want to go for really long sessions with the 4.0 Ah (14.8 Wh) long-distance battery. With Free 2 Ultra you also get the Hybrid battery case which can be used with either 3 x AAA batteries or by complementing it with a Hybrid battery (1.25 Ah/4.6 Wh).You press and hold to turn off, if you see a red light, the battery needs charging or changing. If you see green, all is good. There are two lamps, a spot and wide and they work exceptionally well. The next model in the series is the Trail Runner Free H, where the H stands for hybrid because it comes with a rechargeable 1.25 Ah hybrid battery. Weight: 108 grams. Choose Trail Runner Free with the Hybrid battery case and 3 x AAA batteries if you don’t run on a daily basis, but still value long burn time. Discharge time ~ Max mode -5°C: 5hr +20 °C: 10h Med mode -5°C: 25hr +20 °C: 20hr: Min mode -5°C: 40hr +20 °C: 70hr That said, this is a lot of headlamp — and a lot of cost — for your everyday trail running headlamp. You can very much enjoy running with a headlamp that’s half the cost of this one. Nevertheless, one of the runners on our testing team likes this light so much that they have been using it regularly for almost eight years for both trail running and ski touring. Besides the headband stretching out from being worn over skiing and climbing helmets over the years, our tester confirms that this headlamp continues to perform flawlessly, making it a worthy investment, especially if you regularly run in the dark.

At 400 lumens, the head lamp sits at a very comfortable balance of illumination v battery life. Lumens and brightness are not always the be all and end all for a head lamp, especially when running. For faster sports, MTB or skiing, illumination is crucial because everything is moving so much faster, with running, especially at night, everything is a little slower and 400 lumen works really well. I also feel that our eyes and perception adjust accordingly but I am aware that for some, this is not the case. We found that the battery is a bit more than most people need for a daily trail running headlamp. While we would have considered this headlamp for the ultrarunning category of this guide, it doesn’t have a sweet spot of brightness and run time that works well for a whole night of running on trails. Instead, this headlamp will be incredibly bright for several hours during a pre-dawn or post-dusk run. Unfortunately, it won’t hold steady all night without a battery change. That said, the main downside of this headlamp as a daily runner is its weight. The freein the product name refers tothe power cordbeingintegrated into the headband.This providesa comfortable headlamp experience without distracting cords or tangled wires.The headband is softwith a silicone on the inside to stay in place. Gladly there is just one strap that goes around the head, there is no strap over the top of the head. Our lumen values are measured 30 seconds after switching the lamp on. We measure lumen according to the ANSI FL1 STANDARD. Lumens: This is a measure of the output of a light in terms of brightness. The higher the number, the brighter the output.Trail Runner Free Ultra is the top model in the series and has a powerful, rechargeable battery (4.0Ah) for long distances and weighs a total of only 141 grams. An optimal head torch for ultra-runners.

SILVA Intelligent Light – optimizes the light pattern with a unique combination of a long reach spot light and a close flood light 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. The main downside of this headlamp is comfort. Since all the weight sits on your forehead, you need some fabric underneath as padding for extended wear. Finally, the aesthetic differs from most of the other headlamps we tested, and we think it looks pretty alien-like. Best Running Headlamp for Trails — Runners-Up: Fenix HL18R-T Rechargeable Headlamp, Petzl Swift RL, and ZebraLight H600d Mk IV 18650 XHP50.2 5000K High CRI Headlamp

Silva Trail Runner Free is a super smart, brilliantly bright light, made with Swiss precision to fulfill all the needs of nightrunner

Silva isn’t the most well-known headlamp brand in the United States, but the Sweden-based company has spent a few decades developing equipment for outdoor exploration. While they’re best known for their compasses and navigational equipment, they’ve also recently developed a robust line of handheld and head-mounted lighting systems. We tested their Trail Speed 4XT lamp last spring, which is more of an expedition-size piece in comparison to the Trail Runner Free H, which is designed for faster and lighter movement. When it comes to build quality, the battery case doesn't feel the most robust, but equally - it hasn't (thus far) shown any actual signs of wear. The rest of the headtorch, particularly the strap, feel like they're manufactured to an exceptionally high standard. Before we go too much further it's worth mentioning that there are a variety of models within the Trail Runner Free range, but within this review we'll be looking specifically at the Trail Runner Free H. I'll intermittently reference other models where it's relevant, but these aren't models that we've used. For more information on these, beyond what we've said, visit silvasweden.uk Brightness and Burn Time Lightweight and perfectly balanced with smooth adjustments and a flat, soft textile extension cord that does not tangle.