Silva
Silva Explore 5 (700 lumens)
- Brightness: 8/10 How much light it gives at full power, for finding your way in the dark.
- Runtime: 9/10 How long one charge or set of batteries lasts at a level you can walk and cook by.
- Weight: 4/10 How much it adds to your pack and your head.
Hillwalking and winter mountain days where you want a bright, waterproof lamp with a 115 m beam
- Brightness
- 700 lumens (maker's figure)
- Runtime
- 10 h at 100 lumens
- Weight
- 116 g
- Power
- Rechargeable
- Water rating
- IPX8
Where to buy
Fresh Air Junkie £62.99 In stock. Free delivery. Free UK mainland delivery on orders under 3 kg (Fresh Air Junkie banner).
View at shop: Fresh Air JunkieUltralight Outdoor Gear £64.99 In stock. Free delivery. Free tracked UK delivery on all orders (Ultralight Outdoor Gear shipping page).
View at shop: Ultralight Outdoor GearSilva £69.99 In stock. Free delivery. Silva's UK store ships from the UK in 2-4 working days. Delivery £6 under £49, free over £49 (Silva UK shipping policy).
View at shop: SilvaPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Brightness
From maker's figures 8/10How much light it gives at full power, for finding your way in the dark. 8: Clearly better than most.
Maker's figure, 700 lumens in Max mode (2-3 hours) with no test standard stated: the 500-799 band, and a maker's figure with no standard is the 4 band at most. UKClimbing says the quoted Max burn time is optimistic.
Runtime
From maker's figures 9/10How long one charge or set of batteries lasts at a level you can walk and cook by. 9: Among the best you can buy for this.
Silva lists the 100-lumen Med Low mode at 10 hours on the built-in 2050 mAh battery (maker's figure), in the 10 h+ band. The 300-lumen Med High mode lasts 4.5-5 hours and Max 2-3 hours; the 15-lumen Min mode runs 50 hours but is under 80 lumens, so it doesn't count.
Weight
From maker's figures 4/10How much it adds to your pack and your head. 4: A bit below average.
Silva lists 116 g with the battery, in the 110-149 g band; UKClimbing says Silva's weight is spot on. Ultralight Outdoor Gear's table says 118 g.
In short
Good for
- Hillwalking and winter mountain days where you want a bright, waterproof lamp with a 115 m beam
- Wet UK trips: IP68 handles 1.5 m of water for 30 minutes
- Walkers who want a helmet mount in the box for climbing or biking
Strengths
- 100 lumens for 10 hours and 300 lumens for 4.5-5 hours (maker's figures)
- IP68, dust-tight and fully waterproof
- Beam reaches 115 m in Max mode (Silva)
- Spot and flood beams combined, with red and orange light modes and a lock
- Helmet mount included; 5-year warranty (2 years on the battery)
Weaknesses
- 116 g, in the 110-149 g band and heavier than the Seek 450 (69 g)
- 700 lumens lasts only 2-3 hours, and UKClimbing found that optimistic
- The 2050 mAh battery is built in: no AAA backup, and Silva does not include the USB-C cable
- UKClimbing found the silicone strip sweaty on a bare head
- No independent comfort or beam score yet: only one review
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.