View Full Version : Red LED flashlight
Astronomers use red LED flashlights to preserve their dark adaption. Does anyone use them for hiking at night?
Have not used my headlamp for night hiking, but I do use the red filter when I need to make a late night run to the woods... it does help!
My Petzl Tactikka came with white, red, green, and blue diffuser filters. I prefer the blue one.
fiddlehead
09-29-2008, 22:19
I hiked with an ex-army ranger in '95. (i don't know if they call them ex- but he was out of the service and had been a west point graduate)
Anyway, i was surprised to see him use a red light at night.
I asked him why and he said it's what they use because it doesn't blind you so that when you turn it off, you still have some night vision naturally. (maybe that's what you mean by dark adaptation above)
I said, but why on the AT? and he said: "just habit, not necessary."
I have a couple different colors of the photon II lights as i sell them. I prefer the turquoise color but white seems a little brighter.
Check out this thread:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36542
It shows the red light(s) I use for night hiking.
Another trick i learned (from MythBusters) is to have one eye covered (pirate style with a patch) so that one eye is adjusted for bright white light, but then you can take the patch off and see in the dark MUCH better. I've tried this and it works (as they demonstrated). And you get to talk like a pirate (ARRRGH! matey!) :-)
To cover one eye will cause you to looks depth perception, this is a dangerous thing when walking at night in an unknown place.
the red light is also good to keep bugs away
the red light is also good to keep bugs awayWhat do bugs have against red lights? :p :)
They hate to get all that speed built up just to have to stop at a red light…
there's times i've decided to do things in the dark b/c turning on my headlamp has brought every moth and mosquitto within miles to my face :o
Tennessee Viking
09-30-2008, 01:03
I use 2 Energizer headlamps. One has a dual white LED & single red LED. My other one has 3 white LED settings, and one red LED.
I usually only use the red LED whenever I am at camp with other hikers. The red doesn't bother others as much as the white.
But I got to agree with the night vision comment. Red does help you see better but the light range doesn't go as far as white .
Thanks
Campmor.com and backcountry.com don't seem to carry red flashlights. I was wondering if I was looking for something weird. Red LEDs should use less power than white ones, get to see the star when you turn it off, and your not blind if the battery goes dead.
you could always paint your bulb red w/ a heat resistant paint. if it doesn't work you're out a couple bucks for a new bulb
or a piece of red cellophane over the lens of the light, held on by a rubber band. they had us do that when we went to the zoo at night to observe the animals w/o bugging em
They're out there. Red LED flashlight just don't seem to be part of orthodox camping equipment. The amatuer astronomy sites have them. Orion has a cool crank one but I can't figure out how much it weighs.
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=flashlights/~pcategory=accessories/~product_id=05762?id=cadf&CAWELAID=130323451 (http://www.telescope.com/control/product/%7Ecategory_id=flashlights/%7Epcategory=accessories/%7Eproduct_id=05762?id=cadf&CAWELAID=130323451)
NICKTHEGREEK
10-05-2008, 11:45
Just don't make notes on your map in red pen and expect to see it under red light.
NICKTHEGREEK
10-05-2008, 11:53
These are high end lights with various color filters. I bought some for my kid who is a LAV driver in the Marines, and kept one for my own use. I like it, but suggest you don't spend money for the compass accessory. http://www.pentagonlight.com/products.cfm?id=5&fig=5
trouthunter
10-05-2008, 12:58
The above posts are correct, red light does preserve your night vision (your eyes don't dilate as much) much better than the brighter white light.
Also I have found UV headlamps to be good at night.
They are just like the blacklight we all had as teenagers. Those of us who night fish for Brown Trout use them a lot more than red light because all your fishing line is luminescent, it just makes it so much easier to tie knots and see where your line is at night.
Same is true in camp with any thing that is luminescent, maps, guy lines, toilet paper. HaHa!:-?
maybeFritz
10-06-2008, 10:24
Wide usage with the military for just that reason (less impact on night vision). I wouldn't night hike with one-eyestrain would kill me, and to be bright enough, i think the benefits of the red would be moot. But staggering out of the tent or finding something in a pack, definetly usefull.
Surefire makes a couple handheld lights that are outstanding-my favorite has red LED's and a white halogen. Dowside is A: price, B: batteries are hard to find and expensive. Great light though, and indestructable.
Crazy_Al
10-06-2008, 20:14
Smith & Wesson makes a red flashlight. I use it. It has 3 LED lights. It costs around $15.
Montana Mac
10-07-2008, 07:38
Most Wal-Marts have red led lights in the hunting /sports section. I do horse back guiding and we use red all of the time around the horses and it doesn't bother them. Turning on a white light is a different story. The blue light is supposed to be better for following a blood trial if you are hunting. I have no experience with the blue.
I have seen baseball caps with the led lights built right into the front of the brim.
take-a-knee
10-07-2008, 10:47
Most Wal-Marts have red led lights in the hunting /sports section. I do horse back guiding and we use red all of the time around the horses and it doesn't bother them. Turning on a white light is a different story. The blue light is supposed to be better for following a blood trial if you are hunting. I have no experience with the blue.
I have seen baseball caps with the led lights built right into the front of the brim.
Any colored light will preserve night vision to a degree, red slightly more so than the others. Like the pirate eye-patch mentioned in an earlier post, closing one eye before you turn a light on will do more to preserve your night vision than anything else.
NICKTHEGREEK
10-13-2008, 17:14
They hate to get all that speed built up just to have to stop at a red light…
:D You may just have something there bob. Wonder if it'll work on skeeters like the toll booth did on the bad guys in Blazing Saddles
I found a red three led replacement for the bulb in my mini-mag at Dicks Sporting Goods that cost $5.00. I can put the bulb back if I want white light. A multitasker I like it.
Red led is great for messing about camp in the dark, but it sure messes up my
"color coded bag" vision. Might be my eyes, but colors "wash."
NICKTHEGREEK
10-18-2008, 20:40
Red led is great for messing about camp in the dark, but it sure messes up my
"color coded bag" vision. Might be my eyes, but colors "wash."
That's how color works
I bought my Petzl Tikka on sale at REI and they had a small bag with a replacement red white and blue lens for like $4. Works like a charm.
rocketsocks
05-20-2013, 17:09
21688Here's my go to set up for reading star charts/and text, not bright enough to hike by. You can buy the bulbs at Radio shack (2 bulbs for about a dollar and a half) trim the leads, they'll fit into the mini mag brand flash light...not sure about the "mini" mini mag though. they sell two sizes, get the smaller of the two bulbs, the larger will not fit through the reflector.
Don't trim your leads to short...speaking from ex...eh hmm...in-experience :o2168921690
Wise Old Owl
05-20-2013, 18:38
Yes RS has a great Idea and it works..
For more info on red light, check out my blog.
http://www.backpackingengineer.com/blog.php/12
White light sucks for the person not wearing it! Suggestion: if you only have a white light, wear it down on your neck when talking to people, so you aren't rudely blinding them!
Regarding covering a white light with red: I attended a NP Talk where the rangers covered flashlights with a red balloon and rubber band, which gave the light the "red effect."
rocketsocks
05-21-2013, 06:09
For more info on red light, check out my blog.
http://www.backpackingengineer.com/blog.php/12Redseal enjoyed reading your blog, lots of good stuff here.
Redseal enjoyed reading your blog, lots of good stuff here.
Thanks for the compliment!
http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/headlamps/super-compact/zipka-plus
flemdawg1
05-22-2013, 17:53
Astronomers use red LED flashlights to preserve their dark adaption. Does anyone use them for hiking at night?
Typically astronomers (I'm one) use the red light for close in work (finding eyepieces, looking at star charts, not tripping over the stool as you walk around). It doesn't haven't enough "power" to see far down the trail. They are useful however for nighttime tasks in camp and shelters such as reading without disturbing people sleeping nearby.
TheYoungOne
05-23-2013, 11:00
the red light is also good to keep bugs away
+1 I learned that quick the first time I did a midnight hike on the AT. My dad was in the Marines in Vietnam and they use to wear red tinted glasses at sunset right before they went out on night patrols, so I knew about the whole red light thing. I have a Petzel headlamp so I started hiking in the dark with just the red light trying to be all bad ash. It was OK at first, but when you are hiking alone, in the dark, with just a red light, everything looks creepy. So at some point I said heck with this, and switch it to full blast white light.
So I'm hiking along, with the bright headlamp on my head, and I felt one little tap on my headlamp, then another, then a moth the size of a small bird flew straight into my face. I assumed that was a freak incident and that it would not happen again, but it did over and over until I switch it to the low white setting. The bugs were less frequent and less excited with the low white setting , and with the red settling they pretty much ignored the light. From then on out I usually hike with the red setting, and switch to white to get a better perspective of rough terrain, or to look at/for something.