There are many good excuses out there to avoid running during the winter months: its cold, its dark and Stranger Things 2 needs watching for a second time; but winter is when we need to exercise the most; it keeps your mind healthy in the gloomy months, not to mention burning off all that extra booze and mince pies. The Silva Trail Runner 3X could make things slightly better by brightening up your evening runs.

This powerful little head torch designed specifically for running, with three different light modes: Max, Min or Blink, you can find the right setting to light your way. The Trail Runner uses a rechargeable 1.8Ah LiPo battery in an external battery pack that comes in a multi-attachment Velcro soft case. It provides a burn time of up to 18 hours depending on the setting, and it recharges via USB (4 hours for a full charge) - there is also an indicator with a low-battery warning. The Trail Runner 3X is lightweight; the battery pack is quite large, but the torch itself is discrete and kicks out some big light for its small size - 250 Lumen to be exact. The ‘SILVA Intelligent Light’ provides you with two light patterns: a long reach spot light (up to 65m) to pick out all those glowing eyes in the hedgerow, and a close flood-light to make sure you avoid any obstacles. The Trail Runner is water resistant and the head band has silicone grips to keep it in place whilst you get your sweat on, and at only 124g it feels light on your head.

Running with the torch was a lot of fun; because of the well-designed way the two beams are produced it doesn’t bounce about, and the torch also rotates up and down so you can get the perfect angle. My only complaint is that the plastic the torch is fixed onto could be softer, as it isn’t the most comfortable. It’s not enough to put you off wearing it, but you will need to get the adjustment of the headband just right. All in all, the Trail Runner 3X is a great little running buddy and will help you keep fit and visible on dark trails. RRP £99.99

4.5 out of 5

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Pros

Lightweight

Two beams long and short distance

Water resistant

250lumen

18hour burn time

Silicone grip on head band

Cons

Plastic mount could be more comfortable9