Looking for lights that have a secondary red led.

Hi Guys,

I am trying to decide on a pair of lights to bring on a hiking trip. I plan on doing some star gazing with binoculars so I need a red light source for map reading and walking to the observation area. I have settled on 18650 as my battery of choice. I plan on bringing one headlamp and one light with a bit more throw.

Obviously, weight is a concern. I am leaning toward an armytek wizard. This leaves me with a 18650 fllashlight that has a red led built in. I was looking at the nitecore EC21. Are there any other decent options? I would like something that has a little more throw than the armytek in case I need to see far down a path or spot an animal.

I found the Sunwayman C21C
But at $70 it is too expensive.

I would also consider a 18650 headlamp with a red led, but can’t find any other than the Nitecore HC50 which is too heavy.

Thanks

————Edit————

I would like the primary, throwy beam to be white. The red would be more for close up.

you are wanting a light with a red LED for throw? red LED’s usually don’t throw as far as white lights, especially in stock form. I guess you could try to find a UF-T20 with a red LED.

Perhaps a good place to start would be in the 18650 flashlight section, there is a discussion i recall on throwers, a Jacob A60 (at least i think thats what its called) was highly praised and may be a more useful size, that isnt a headtorch tho and is a white light. Can you not find a headtorch with red LED for map reading etc then get an asskicking handheld thrower in white? Im sure someone with a more encyclopaedic knowledge will be able to guide you better soon enough :wink:

A Uniquefire T20 with a dedomed XP-E2 red led and a Q.lite driver - 1 7135 chip should produce around 60kcd, which is about 490m to .25 lux. Do you have the tools to put it together yourself?

Edit: it looks like you want the white light as the thrower, an XP-G2 in the same light at 4A will produce around 500-600 lumens and 100+kcd.

Are there any other affordable options other than the nitecore EC21?

How soon do you need it?
I have one of these that I’m going to swap the UV’s out for Red.

A cheap 18650 flashlight (Convoy S-series) and another one in red?

I have the EC21 - nice light, but the red LED is not made to show you stuff away more than 30cm…
If that is enough - the EC21 is a good choice.

For a headlamp just search ebay for “headlamp red” - there are ultra-cheap ones with one white LED and a small red one.
Around 3$ - like 121593753948

Edit: Why do you need specific a red LED?
The low modes of most lights are so low that your eyes can still see in the darkness.

Edit2: Or this one: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Grey-80M-Distance-Adjustable-4-Modes-2-Red-LED-1-White-LED-3W-150-Lumens-Waterproof/2017447637.html

Edit3:
This headlight has a red filtercap: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Retractable-headlamp-4-color-3mode-lanternas-led-cree-recarregavel-defesa-pessoal-flashlight-led-light-zoomer-bike/32256317852.html
THat is a good light for the money, some here tested it.

Skilhunt H02C?

Thanks for the reply pilotdog68. I have been doing some research on this and it seems that red light isn’t any better at preserving night vision. It seems that it is simply a matter of the light being very dim. So I guess I am now looking for a 18650 flashlight that has a sub lumen low mode.

The “red light” vs “dim light” vs “dim red light” debate has waged for a very long time. I am in the “dim red light” camp. Dim white light is probably fine, but I still think a red light will preserve your night vision better than a white light of equal brightness.

What about just one flashlight and a red filter that attaches to it?

https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10003970/1499103-nitecore-nfr25-25-4mm-filter-for-flashlights

HC50 isn’t that heavy and is my favorite headlamp. Doesn’t drop down or fall off the head when wearing, fits real close to head and doesn’t stick out far from head so it’s not nose heavy.

Manafont sold some 2-mode P60 drop-ins at one time: with a xp-g as a primary and a secondary low-brightness red LED on the side. I bought one and built up a light for a friend and he still has it. I have never seen those sold anywhere else though. They were actually pretty nice, now I'm wishing I had bought one for myself.

Another great flashligt is the Nitecore SRT7, but not on the budget side.

Ciao

Sunwayman D20a also has a red floody led, also dimmable. but its not much cheaper than the C21c. but i would go for a red led headlamp additional, there are lots of models available for less than 10 bucks that have red light

I use the Nitecore EC21. The red light (about 0.3 lumen) is great for walking around in total darkness. You should be able to see about 10 to 15 feet max . On low (about 1 lumen white) , you can get twice that.

What works for me is that the press of button 2 takes you straight to red. Press hold of button 1 goes straight to low.

And it’s small enough for me to lose it in the chair cushions while I was typing this.

The obvious 18650 option for light with secondary red emitter:

Nitecore SRT5

My own EDC - great light! Not very pricey either, I got mine for $52 on closeout at REI. The secondary red LED has just enough light to walk around or read by with dark adapted eyes.

The Sunwayman C21C you are considering is WAY too bright for dark adapted eyes, it will destroy your night vision completely even on “Low”. Most people don’t realize it, but even red light will destroy night vision if too bright.

Also the Sunwayman F40A, but once again - at 28 Lum it’s WAY too bright for preserving dark-adapted night vision.

Seriously - the Nitecore SRT5 is the perfect 18650 light for your purposes, which are also my own. Went through a lot of lights to find that one!