Incredibly powerful modular head torch system for fast-paced activities in technical terrain
As a rule of thumb, the faster you're going, the more powerful your head torch needs to be. An 80m beam might be plenty long enough if you're night hiking, but you're going to hit the end of it a lot faster if you're on a bike or a pair of skis. Fortunately, the headlamps in Silva's FREE range offer next-level illumination for the most demanding nocturnal adventures. The FREE is a modular head torch with a separate lamp and battery pack, and the power cord is integrated in the headband to keep it out of your way. This modular design means you can switch in different lamps or batteries from the Silva FREE range depending on how much light/power you need – and you can also get different mounts for bikes, helmets etc. Lamps this powerful have a tendency to overheat, and Silva have got around this by employing a specially designed aluminium and plastic cooling system that uses wind and convection. This version is the FREE 3000 M (ie. 3000 lumen lamp + medium battery) – an incredibly powerful torch that's ideal for mountain biking, fast skiing or summoning Batman. It offers three different brightness levels and a maximum beam of 3000 lumens (215m). The chunky 36 Wh USB-C rechargeable battery will give you up to 35 hours of burn time, and they've included an extension cable so you can stick it in your pocket if you'd rather have the 202g battery weight off your headband.
- Powerful head torch, ideal for biking and skiing in technical terrain
- Weighs 144g excluding battery (346g including battery)
- 3 brightness levels
- Powerful 36 Wh Li-ion 5Ah battery with 5-level charge indicator and USB-C charge cable
- Includes 130cm extension cable so you can place the battery in your pocket or backpack
- Lamp blinks to let you know when there's only 10% power left
- 6hr charge time
- Headband with integrated electronics, meaning no loose power cords if you mount the battery on the headband
- Uses Silva's Intelligent Light system – a combination of a long reach spotlight and a close flood light
- Vary the light pattern depending on your activity
- Air flow technology for optimal cooling through speed, wind and convection
- Modular technology for easy mix and match of lamp heads and batteries
- Water-resistant
- Red safety light at the back
- 2-year warranty
| Light distance max | 215 m |
|---|---|
| Light distance med | 125 m |
| Light distance min | 45 m |
| Lumen max | 3000 |
| Lumen med | 1000 |
| Lumen min | 80 |
| Weight battery | 202 g |
| Weight excl battery | 144 g |
| Weight incl battery | 346 g |
It’s a bit of a cliché to say, ‘this brand needs no introduction…’, but sometimes it really doesn’t. If you ever did scouts, guides or cadets, got epic blisters on a D of E expedition or went on an outward bounds residential, chances are you did it with a Silva compass in the pocket of your boil-in-the-bag cagoule.
Like so many world-changing inventions, the Silva compass began as a problem that needed solving. Back in the day, your standard compass wobbled all over the shop, making it tricky and time-consuming to get a decent reading. That is, until 1933, when four Swedes invented a liquid-filled compass. The resistance from the fluid slowed and stabilised the needle, meaning you could nail a reliable bearing in seconds. Navigation was never the same again.
But iconic as the compasses are, they’re only one part of the Silva story. They were one of the first companies to make reliable electric head torches for the outdoors, and they’ve also branched out into optics, trekking kit and other navigational gear. Tried and tested for the better part of a century, Silva’s precision instruments have literally been the difference between life and death for generations of outdoor adventurers – and as brand pedigree goes, that’s pretty much impossible to beat.
