In the outdoor world Silva is well known for its quality navigation products, so it came as a surprise to me that the Swedish company launched its first head lamp in 1933 – the same time as their first compass. Its clear passion for all that is outdoors shows in the Trail Speed Elite.
One feature that stood out is that this unit is incredibly light weight: 62g in all. The quoted 660 lumens are provided by two LEDs mounted in a small, neat aluminium body. Output isn’t record breaking, but when I’m night riding I like to light up the trail with both a bar mounted light and a helmet mounted unit for reading and following the trail ahead, therefore found it provided plenty of output for my needs.
A large button on the side can be operated with gloves on. It switches between three modes (high, medium and low), as well as on and off. The external rechargeable battery sits in a smart pocket with a velcro-style strap. I managed to strap the battery to the back of one helmet but not the other, so check it fits your lid. The head unit and battery are connected by a coiled lead, which tidies everything up nicely, but was a little tight if the battery was in a backpack.
Silva only provide one stick-on helmet mount. It has a slot on either side for you to attach with a strap, although no strap is provided. I did find a strap that worked well and held the light nice and tight.
Overall: It’s a well-made tiny, multi-purpose light. To increase the number of helmets it would fit, providing a strap would have been great.
Review Info
| Brand: | Silva |
| Product: | Trail Speed Elite 2 |
| From: | Silva, silva.se |
| Price: | £210.00 |
| Tested: | by Richard for |
Comments (0)
Leave Reply
Post Comment
These look lovely. But it is frustrating that magazines (even the usually very even handed singletrack) only report on the lights that big manufacturers send them to play with that cost a ton.
I bought a £10, “1000 lumen” (it’s probably more like 700) torch off ebay and a £24 bar light with three CREE LED’s which kicks out about 2000 lumens. This £35 set up kicks all my friends’ one year old lights into the middle of next week, including hope R4’s etc etc.
The field is moving so quickly, it doesn’t even matter if they have a short lifespan. At cheap chinese prices you can replace your set up every season without batting an eyelid, and keep up with the new tech – which you’d be loathe to do if you paid out £300.
On behalf of Silva (a client):
The Trail Speed Elite is sold with a both headband including mount, and separate mount for use on helmets or handlebars.
The headband mount features a wide ‘footplate’ which stops the lamp bobbing if used when running.
An extension is also included allowing the battery to be placed in a rucksack or if handlebar mounted, on the top tube using the wrap around battery cover.
Trail Speed Elite is designed as a multi-sport light for advanced running, riding and skiing.
For more info, go to: http://silva.se/products/sport/trail-speed-elite
Thanks for the review STW