Find the balance between burn time, brightness and weight
Find the balance between burn time, brightness and weight
keep this in mind when choosing a headlamp
Choosing a headlamp is about choosing the right one. Adequate lumen, adequate burn time and adequate weight. What is adequate depends on the activity you will be using your headlamp for. Lumen, i.e. brightness, and burn time are connected and influenced by each other. Therefore, there are also different batteries to choose from. High brightness and long burn time require a lot of battery, while lower brightness requires a powerful battery for a very long burn time or a smaller battery for a shorter burn time.
HOW MUCH LIGHT DO YOU NEED?
The first question you should ask yourself when faced with buying a new headlamp is how much light you need. Don't buy an unnecessarily strong headlamp, that means a bigger battery.
If you are going to train short sessions in technical terrain, a strong lamp, on the other hand, can be a good idea, then you can use a smaller and lighter battery together with the lamp. Or do like the pros and use different amounts of light during the same session.
How many lumens do you need?
• 200-400 lumen: Suitable for roads and exercise tracks
• 400-600 lumen: Sufficient for most forest trails
• 1200-3000 lumen: For fast-paced technical terrain
• 10,000 lumen: When you want to turn night into day
Keep in mind that:
• With a good light picture, lower lumens are required for the light to be perceived as sufficient
• A high lumen affects the burning time
• For longer activities or at high lumens, a larger battery is required
• Our lights are water resistant according to IPX5 or better
BURN TIME AND BRIGHTNESS
There are crucial factors that affect how much light you get out of a headlamp, and also for how long. That's why there are tables on our packaging that show the burn time of our headlamps
BURN TIME EXPLAINED SIMPLY
Silva uses the American lighting standard ANSI to communicate burning time. The burning time is measured from when the light is switched on until the brightness reaches 10% of the starting value. A headlamp that has 1000 lumens and a three hour burn time will give you 100 lumens after those three hours, according to ANSI.
The burning time is affected by various factors:
• Which light mode is used (max, med or min)?
• Battery size
• Ambient temperature
• Wind or speed wind (as this affects how efficiently the lamp is cooled):
A lot of cooling = a lot of light, a little shorter burn time
Less cooling = less light, longer burn time
Extend the burn time
Battery burn time and how much light illuminates your path ahead is affected by the light mode you use. The battery's burning time is significantly longer at warmer temperatures and by storing the battery close to the body, your battery will last longer when it's cold outside.
The extension cables from Silva make it possible to move the battery between the pocket, the backpack or the bicycle frame. The extension cable is also good to have when you attach the headlamp to the helmet. A tip is to carry an extra battery on longer trips so you can easily switch to a new and fully charged one when the first one runs out.
Silva advises:
"What sets professional headlamp users apart is that they keep track of their batteries, and they don't want to carry more battery than they need. To maximize the battery's burn time, they turn down the light as much as they can when they're running, for example flat and untechnical or going up the mountain on skis. A top user has their light on maximum power all the time, even when it's not needed."
POWERFUL HEADLIGHTS
Powerful headlamps need cooling to function optimally. Our lamps are developed to optimize cooling through smart design. High speed requires more light, and the speed wind is important in itself to contribute to the cooling of the lamp. In fact, all of our powerful lights need cooling to give maximum lumens, but when a light is maxed out, more of the battery is used. If you stand still with your powerful headlamp, the lack of cooling will automatically produce less light, it is the lamp's own protection against overheating. Less light requires less of the battery – which gives a longer burn time. There are thus many factors that affect the burn time of your headlamp.
Our different models
Free series
Silva Free is a ground breaking innovation and the world’s first true modular headlamp series. More light, more freedom.
Spectra
Extreme sports call for an extreme headlamp. Spectra’s incredibly strong light output of 10 000 lumen turns night into day and gives you more training hours, more commitment, more speed and more adrenaline.
Trail Runner Free
Running means different things to different people. You can run to keep fit, to win medals or for community and charity. Maybe you run towards a goal, because you love the feeling or to relax and de-stress. Trail Runner is the headlamp for you who run, regardless of your reason.
Explore
Explore was created for adventures – on land as well as water. They’re about experiencing, discovering, and well, exploring. So, if you enjoy doing things like mountaineering, kayaking, hiking or sailing – or if you’re always ready for a new adventure – then Explore was designed for you.
The art of choosing
correct battery
Our range of batteries gives you great opportunities to find the right mix between burn time and weight. We have light-weight batteries that sit comfortably on your head when you want to run fast - and powerful batteries to keep in your backpack when you want to hike really far.
Find your battery
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LAMP temperature
LEDs generate heat. To prevent the lamp from overheating and burning yourself, a maximum temperature of 65 degrees is generally allowed for the lamp's contact surfaces. A sensor in the lamp will sense the temperature and dim the light level if the outdoor temperature or wind speed is not sufficient to cool the lamp down.
Choose the right headlamp for your activities
We help you find the perfect headlamp for your needs.
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