Hello everyone, new flashlight addict here…
I’m 34 year old painter from the mountains of North Carolina, but my passion is amateur astronomy, specifically visual observational astronomy (ie. sitting at the scope lookin’ through an eyepiece).
It was my passion for amateur astronomy and recent search for the ultimate observing red light to maintain dark adaption that got me into flashlights as a hobby. I’m a member of CloudyNights, an amateur astronomy forum, and I’m currently doing a review over there of all the red lights offered by telescope vendors in the US.
I currently have about 2 dozen red lights and over half dozen white lights, most of which came before I knew what a good light was 
. I have several Streamlights from that time including the Stinger, Stinger HP, UltraStinger, and Siege lantern. I also have a couple of large Maglites, but my favorite is the tiny Solitaire Spectrum Red. My EDC for the last few years has been a Nebo Torchy (‘1k’ version).
I’ve always used a Rigel Starlite and Skylite (custom with red/amber emitters) for astronomy since they’ve been considered the ‘golden standard’ light in the hobby for over 3 decades now, but recently I began wondering what else I could find. So far I’ve added just about every crappy red light from most major telescope vendors, but I also got some great recommendations which sent me down a rabbit hole that ultimately lead to here. A few standout lights I’ve got recently include a ZebraLight H504r (665nm mule), along with an Emisar KC1 (gray with SST-20 660nm deep red), and an Emisar D3AA (gray with SST-20 660nm deep red, 10511 & 10508 optics, red button LEDs, tail cap magnet, pocket clip)… I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg!!
Next I’m hoping to add a few more astronomy lights. A dual channel DW4 with SST-20 and something super warm or maybe even an amber emitter seems nice, possibly even a mule version. Maybe a D2 with a red and warm emitter combo. An HD15r would work great for moving gear around before/after observing… Some white lights are coming too. The SC54c N is so darn cute that I’ll probably add it. I’d also like to add some high CRI lights for work as a painter where excellent color rendition is a must, along with some nice neutral lights for backpacking and working on my farm. I have a soft spot for small AA/14500 & AAA/10400 size lights, so I expect to end up with plenty of those, but I’m sure I’ll get some 18650 & 21700 too…
Dang, I’ve only been at this a few weeks and already got a feeling like I’m about to jump in the deep end, lol. Anyway, I’m happy to be here!! I’m still fairly ignorant on a lot of light & battery tech, but I’m looking forward to learning.
Clear skies everyone!!
- AstroApe (aka M W Harris)
. Welcome aboard and good hunting.
