Hey Guys, I have been on the look out for a headlamp with a red led function and would love one that has a multi mode red, i.e. high-med-low, however the closest one I have found so far are the energizer ones.
In a dream world it would be 18650 powered, variable red as well as having a variable white cree of some form. I know dreams are free, but hey why aim for the gutter.
The only headlamps that I've had or been around have a red LED function but it isn't variable...BD Storm, Petzl Tikka XP2,etc. I have a small handheld with a white LED and a red LED and both are infinitely variable and thats the Photon Proton Pro (1 AA). I know that doesn't fully answer your question so maybe the next person can do better :)
There are cheap ones on ebay with a small 5mm red led in addition to the standard high power white one. The beam is going to be ugly but I think brightness should be ok since too bright and you ruin night sight anyway. They're only <$10 so you might as well try it out. My white-only one in similar design works pretty well.
Also the quality is a little too low to rely on. My other budget headlights are pretty good, but just no red.
Have they got a true P60 headlamp host out yet? I saw a P60 with a red led in it which sounds like a good solution.
I have the 2x18650 zoomie version, the 14500/aa zoomie, generic 3xaaa zoomie and a couple of other 3xaaa non zoom versions as well as I use the trustfire Z1 in a head strap which is pretty useful.
Maybe I just wrap some red cellophane around the from of them?
Although I have headlamps with a red LED mode I'm finding that it's the lowered light level rather than the red that makes the most difference. I have a headlamp that doesn't have a red LED but does have a low of .2 lumens and another level of 2.4 lumens and to me they do more or less the same thing as red LED mode on my other headlamp. It doesn't really ruin my night vision when the .2 lumen level is on.
I find heading out before light from camp or walking back to our camp etc after hunting that it seems to be easier moving through the bush.
I have tried googling that Red Rubylith stuff that looks real interesting, but does not seem to be something that I can find easily here in NZ. I might ask around the local signwriters etc and see if they have a supplier.
There does not seem to be the same effort put into the headlamp scene as there is to other torches. Certainly some nice expensive jobs, but budget ones tend to be real budget. They are getting better though with more 18650 powered ones around etc.
If the above does not meet your needs you could modify a cheap headlamp by simply replacing the LED and the driver. I am tempted to do this myself as it would be awesome for bunny hunting as well as using it to get in position early mornings without alerting any deer in the area.
I bought a WF-501B off DX with a red Cree LED (DX labeled it as a Luxeon) and it makes getting close to rabbits a piece of cake. Still looking forward to seeing a decent p60 host headlamp.