I’m looking for a red light flashlight with these features
Does ONLY red, with no white light mode.
Modes: Bright/dim I need to be able to adjust the brightness
Run Time: Minimum 3 hours, Much longer would be better so I don’t have to charge after every use. I’ll use it about twice a week
Brightness: I will use this for hiking on dirt trails at night. It needs to light up an area near my feet and also extend about 6 to 8 feet ahead. The point of red light is to preserve night vision so the brightness needs to be “no more than needed, but not less”. (so this means maybe three levels) It is hard to talk lumens with red light but I’m thinking up to about 200 lumens. The beam needs to be wide, maybe 3 feet wide after about 4 or 5 feet. I’ll never use it to project a beam into the distance. This will be used to light the ground I’m walking on. I’d like to be able to adjust the brightness.
I have one of these AA/14500 lights
With the 1.2 volts Eneloop, the light is almost bright enough on high setting. The Eneloop has good-enough run time with its 2000+ ma capacity but I’m afraid a 14500 LiPo would have the brightness I want but also have poor run time with its 750 ma capacity. I think I want a 18650 battery-powered flashlight. This $9 flashlight is almost good enough.
I could use a red headlamp but they tend to shine in other people’s eyes and I’m usually on the trail with others so a flashlight held below the waist works best.
So they sell parts that can be assembled? That brass head looks good. What all would I need to order?
Is there any standardization in the industry so parts from different vendors can be mixed? I assume not and it is required to order everything at the same time.
Just choose “w KDLITKER E6” - that means you order brass head(so called Drop-In) together with the body for 1x18650.
If you want the body for 2x18650, then choose E6S.
Click on the “With KDLitker E6” or “With KDLitker E6S” buttons for the flashlights. Here is a different model with a similar red LED.
The drop-in is compatible with most “P60” lights. I would not install it in a plastic one like the old Surefire 6P, as it may not dissipate heat adequately. I have a cheap Ultrafire WF-502B that is heavy but rugged that would work. It’s at least 10 years old, and an updated model is $5.
And this is likely pretty similar to your wallyshine, but with mine, I can’t tell any difference in brightness with the 14500. I use them on my bike with a 14500, and since they change modes every time I go over a bump, I don’t have a good runtime estimate, but I’ve gotten 2.5 hrs at least.
My Soshine 14500s claim 900 mAh capacity. Don’t forget that 900 mAh at 3.7v (lithium) is a lot more capacity than 900 mAh at 1.2v (NiMh).
I like red as much as the next guy, but that many lumens probably isn’t so great for your night vision? 200 lm red vs ~3 lm white?
Melatonin and sleep certainly are a different issue.
Just a thought, don’t let me stop you building a light
I don’t know how to even estimate lumens of red light. Does my $9 Wallyshine light with 1.2-volt battery on 100% make 20 or 100 lumens? I have no idea.
We know 900 MAh is impossible for a 14500 and the Enelop has a reliable 1700 mAh. The advantage of the 14500 Lithium battery should be brightness but possible the flashlight has a really good DC/DC switching power supply that feeds the LED the same volts no matter what voltage battery has. This would explain why the battery time does not affect brightness.
Let’s say the 14500 has 750 mah, that is roughly 2.8 Watt-hours. Eneloop is 1700 mah at 1.2 volts or 3.4 Watt-hours. Eneloop actually stores more energy but not by much both are about 3 Watt-Hours. If the driver PCB is really doing its job then the LED gets the same volts no matter what and what matters is the amount of energy in the battery.
In any case, it looks like this new flashlight will be a P60 style with 18650 battery.
