I got the C01R and I love it. The low is pretty low but okay for close-hand fiddling with dark-adjusted eyes. I mostly find myself using it in medium and high modes. It gets warm on high and AAA has limited capacity. I want a stronger, longer-lasting flashlight with a similarly rich red output for stargazing hikes at night.
The C01R uses an XPE2 to generate ~660nm “deep red”. Can I get this or something close in an AA format? How about 18650? School me on the world of “deep red”.
The SP-10R might be a good candidate. I know that Hank at Intl-Outdoor has done custom builds with red emitters in the past. Someone specified a red Osram D18 once, and he built it. It might be possible to get the 5 amp linear regulator and SST-20 DR in something like a KR-4 or D4V2.
- uses the older UI so you need to “hold” to go to a low mode (fiddly)
- floody
- no throw
it’s small, so if you’re holding it in your hand you might want to pinch it between your thumb and index finger to avoid light illuminating your hand (fiddly)
I haven’t gone stargazing or hunting with it (lockdown due to pandemic).
Thanks for the replies so far. I signed up at the SP10R interest thread.
This is my first experience with a red LED flashlight. All I know for sure is that the “deep red” at around 660nm is beautiful. I definitely want more of that in my life.
Now I’m also wondering about regular red. How different is it? Has anyone tried the Jaxman E2L at 630nm?
It’s difficult to catch the different red tones by a camera picture. But deep red lights looks more intense/saturated in terms of what we usually consider as „red“. If you put a 620-630nm light next to it, it will appear much more orange-like.
However, the human eye is much less sensitive to 660nm than to 630nm. It takes a lot of more light of 660nm to achieve the same perceived brightness as you would get with 630nm.
I don’t know it’s nanometer but it’s really bright and uses 18650. It has a a tight spot, sufficient spill, and is good out to about 100 yards. Of course they claim more. I already own a couple white/red headlamps so I’m not in need of a small red flashlight. A medium size red/white would be nice, for the runtime.
FiTorch MR35 has a pretty bright red emitter, as well as blue and green. It also has a UV emitter. Runs on one 18650. The UI is not the most convenient, though, and the beam is lopsided enough that I needed some DC-Fix diffusion film on the lens to smooth it out.
The MR35 is kind of fun to carry on a nighttime walk in town. Oncoming cars slow wayyyy down when I switch on the flashing, alternating-red-blue mode.