Most walkers who need a head torch in Snowdonia never planned to switch one on. The descent took longer than the map suggested, or the cloud came down early, and the light went.
For that job the Ledlenser MH5 is the one to buy. It is the only torch here you can get going again with a battery bought in a village shop.
Every figure below is the one its maker publishes. Nothing here has been tested on the hill.
The links to Amazon below are affiliate links. Should you buy through one, a small commission comes back to the site, and your price stays as it was.
The three compared
The three differ on one thing that counts for more than brightness: what you can do when the battery is flat.
| Torch | Brightest setting | Burn time there | Longest setting | Water rating | Batteries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ledlenser MH5 | 400 lm, 180 m | 4 hours | 20 lm for 35 hours | IP54 | Rechargeable cell or one AA |
| Silva Explore 5 | 700 lm, 115 m | 2 to 3 hours | 15 lm for 50 hours | IP68 | Built in, USB-C |
| Blukar two-pack | Seller states 2000 lm | Not published | Not published | IPX5 | Built in, USB-C |
Ledlenser MH5
Best for the walker who carries a torch and hopes never to use it.
Ledlenser MH5 head torch
400 lumens for 4 hours, or 20 lumens for 35
Runs on its rechargeable cell or one AA
Read the full specification on Amazon
What Ledlenser publishes for it:
- 400 lumens on high, with a beam quoted at 180 metres
- 20 lumens on low, with a beam quoted at 40 metres
- 4 hours of runtime at full power, and 35 hours on low
- Runs on its rechargeable 14500 cell or on one standard AA
- Rated IP54, and the lamp head lifts off to work as a hand torch
That 35 hour figure is the one the listing leads with. It belongs to the 20 lumen setting, which Ledlenser pairs with a 40 metre beam.
The power source is why it heads this list.
If the battery is flat you can still fix it at seven in the evening in Llanberis. That is not true of a torch with a sealed cell in it.
IP54 covers spray from any direction. On the water digit that is a 4, against a 5 for the Blukar and an 8 for the Silva.
Not for you if you walk after dark most weeks. The Silva has the highest water rating here, and the longer usable burn time.
Silva Explore 5
Best for long descents and hours of Welsh rain.
Silva Explore 5 waterproof head torch
700 lumens, IP68, submersible to 1 metre for 30 minutes
116 g including the battery
Read the full specification on Amazon
Silva publishes a burn time and a beam distance for every setting:
- 700 lumens for 2 to 3 hours, reaching 115 metres
- 300 lumens for 4.5 to 5 hours, reaching 75 metres
- 100 lumens for 10 hours, reaching 20 metres
- 15 lumens for 50 hours, reaching 8 metres
The 100 lumen setting is the one that matters here. Ten hours of light at 20 metres is more than any descent off Snowdon asks for.
Silva rates the housing IP68, which it defines as dust tight and waterproof to 1 metre for at least 30 minutes. The stated weight is 116 grams with the battery in.
There is a red mode for night vision, and an orange one Silva says is for reading a map. A four step indicator shows the charge left.
Not for you if the torch will sit in your bag between walks. The battery is built in, so there is no cell to swap when it runs flat on the hill.
Blukar two-pack
Best as the spare that lives in the car.
Blukar rechargeable head torch, two-pack
Two torches, both charging by USB-C
IPX5, rated for spray rather than immersion
Read the full specification on Amazon
These are sold as a pair, and both charge by USB-C. The listing rates them IPX5, which covers water jets rather than immersion.
The seller quotes 2000 lumens.
Silva states that it measures to the ANSI FL1 standard, and Ledlenser to ANSI/PLATO FL 1. This listing names no standard at all.
So that number cannot be compared with the two above.
Not for you if this would be the only torch you own. Buy one of the two above for the hill, and keep these for the car and the shed.
What actually decides this
The power source matters more than the brightness.
A torch that sits in a rucksack from March to October holds an unknown amount of charge. One that takes a shop battery can be brought back on the day. A sealed cell cannot.
Black Diamond builds the same idea into the Spot 400. Its specification calls this Dual Fuel: a rechargeable pack, or three standard AAA cells.
That is the property to look for in any torch you find outside this list.
Read every burn time next to its setting.
Silva’s own table shows the cost. 700 lumens lasts 2 to 3 hours, and 100 lumens lasts 10.
On a descent you are lighting the ground three metres ahead, not the far side of the valley. The middle setting is the one you will use, so it is the number to compare.
Water ratings are not interchangeable, and the makers define them:
- IP54 covers spray from any direction
- IPX5 covers water jets
- IP68 and IPX8 mean tested immersion
Three hours of rain on the Rhyd Ddu path is closer to the third case than the first.
The top of the lumen range is not worth paying for here. It empties the battery fastest, on the makers’ own figures, and a descent does not need it.
When you do not need to buy one
If you walk in June, leave the car park at eight and are back by four, the torch in your kitchen drawer will do. Put fresh batteries in it and put it in the bag.
The failure worth preventing is not a dim torch. It is no torch at all.
A phone is not the substitute. It is in your hand rather than on your head, and its battery is the one you want left for a call.
Which one goes in your bag
If the torch is insurance against a slow day, buy the Ledlenser. It is the only one of the three you can revive with a battery bought on the way.
If you walk in the dark by choice, buy the Silva. The higher water rating and the ten hour setting are what the extra money buys.
If you already own a torch that works, keep it and spend the money elsewhere.
Whether you need one at all comes down to working backwards from sunset. That sum is settled by the time each path up Snowdon takes, before you leave the car.
Carry it on the mornings you are sure you will not need it. Those are the mornings it is for.