# Red Light Headlamps



## bwomp91 (Nov 15, 2009)

Hi all,

First off, let me say I did (briefly) browse the forum to find a similar post with no luck.

Long story short: I need a very strong red light headlamp

Long story long: I am contracted through the Army ROTC Unit at my university and upon graduation I commission as a 2LT. It is my second year in the program and I am finally acting on buying a headlamp after watching other guys in the battalion love the convenience over the past 18 months. We conduct lots of training at night/early morning and only red light is allowed when we're in the field. Land navigation, which we do quite often, is the biggest reason I am trying to get a headlamp. Red light headlamps I know of are the one from Energizer (http://www.botachtactical.com/en6ledhe.html), which has 4 modes that are cycled through with one button operation, 2 LED spot, 2 LED flood, 4 LED spot+flood, and 2 red LED. Petzl also makes several red light headlamps, some with red lenses that snap in (which I don't particular want, I want to be able to quickly and easily switch from white to red without dealing with tiny plastic lenses I can lose) and another model with a red plastic piece that flips up over the LEDs and filters the light red. I'm sure there are way more out there.

So what are your experiences with red light headlamps? If you've used multiple, which are better? Thanks in advance, I appreciate it!

Brad


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## Ace12 (Nov 15, 2009)

I am looking for a red headlight also, except I am needing it for hunting. Red doesn't spook animals as much.

I looked at this one, but it's all flood and only 33 lumens. I dont think it would be enough for walking through the woods at night. It might suit your needs pretty well.

http://www.zebralight.com/index.php...ducts_id=189&zenid=nh1k7e7jeh0vd98d39lhr0qt12


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## Ozgeardo (Nov 16, 2009)

I have been using the Petzl Tactikka XP with red slide diffuser in tactical AO for years. The ergonomics of this light are excellent and the red lense will not fall out or get lost.


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## Marduke (Nov 16, 2009)

Red and white multimode without filters? Look at the Quark RGB and Prism accessory.


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## Norbert815 (Nov 16, 2009)

Marduke said:


> Red and white multimode without filters? Look at the Quark RGB and Prism accessory.



This works very well with headbands, crisp and consistent.


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## Ace12 (Nov 16, 2009)

Has anyone seen the Red zebralight in person and actually seen how much usable light it has. I'm just wondering if it just might be bright enough for walking through the woods. 

Doese anyone make a red handheld, about the size of a Fenix P3D or smaller, that has a tight beam for throw?


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## Marduke (Nov 16, 2009)

You can't get major throw in that small of a package since throw is proportional to reflector size. 

That being said, you really need very little red light to navigate the woods at night. Even medium of the H501R would be WAY too much most of the time.


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## Ace12 (Nov 18, 2009)

Well I have Reflective trail markers to get to my destination in the dark. I dont think the flood of the Zebralight would light up the reflectors unless you were pretty close to them. I have them spaced out about 30 -50 yards apart. Thats why I am also looking for a something Red with a little throw to it.


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## Ace12 (Nov 18, 2009)

Marduke, does using a red filter lense block most of the ouput of a light compared to a red led without a filter. The reason I ask is because I bought the Fenix red filter to put on my P3D and tried the Med mode, wich is 53 lumens, and it was not as bright as I would like for walking in the woods. If I bought the zebralight H501 Red with only 33 lumens Max, I'm worried it would be even less bright. But something tells me that the Zebralight 33 lumens will be brighter than the P3D's 53 lumens because the filter may actually lower the overall output.


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## leroy82646 (Nov 18, 2009)

Ace12 said:


> *Has anyone seen the Red zebralight in person and actually seen how much usable light it has.* I'm just wondering if it just might be bright enough for walking through the woods.
> 
> Doese anyone make a red handheld, about the size of a Fenix P3D or smaller, that has a tight beam for throw?


Ace:_________
Just picked up this light the other day. The light will work for walking around just fine.
Hope this helps.
LEROY


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## Marduke (Nov 18, 2009)

Lumens are a measure of light output scaled to the sensitivity of the human eye, and hence is not a good measure of monochromatic light. 

But to answer you question, depending on the quality of the filter, yes, a red filter will block 80-90% of total output from a white LED.


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## Ace12 (Nov 18, 2009)

Thanks Marduke. The filter was only $6.00 so not a big loss.


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## Inliner (Nov 19, 2009)

I have a H501R and can attest that high (33lm) is plenty for walking around in the brush at night. I can walk trails with the low setting. It WILL light reflectors to 100ft easily and quite well. You don't see greens very well at all of course. I can even jog with it on uneven / rocky ground. Granted, the throw is very limited. If you need to see more than 20 feet away you better have a something with a reflector.


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## Ace12 (Nov 19, 2009)

Thanks for the info Inliner!!!


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## Ace12 (Nov 19, 2009)

OK Just ordered the Zebralight 501R from http://www.illuminationgear.com/

Cant wait to try it out.


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## Inliner (Nov 23, 2009)

I hope it suits you well. Pleas let us know what you think of it!


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## Ace12 (Nov 23, 2009)

I Love it. Very useful power levels. Even the .1 lumen is good for reading. I think I may have hurt my right eye with this sucker. I was admiring the pretty red emmiter up close and accidently hit the button. High is the first level to come on, so I got 33 lumens of red light in the eye. I'm sure it will go back to normal in an hour or two.


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## Inliner (Nov 23, 2009)

Glad to hear you like it Ace. If you don't want hi as the first level, just hold the button a little longer and it will come on in low.


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## DigMe (Nov 26, 2009)

I'm thinking that the Zebralight is probably about the brightest dedicated red light you will get in a headlamp. I use a Coleman Max headlamp from Wal-Mart. It was $25 and it has two red LEDs on each side of a white Cree. The new ones are XR-E but mine is XR-C. I use the reds to walk to my hunting stand and it's enough light to do that easily. It lights up reflectors at 30 yards. Not sure about 50. You do NOT have to cycle through white to get to red. You turn the dial switch different directions for each. 

If you only need a red light that you never need to be white as well then go with the Zebralight. If you need a combo light or you are on a budget then give the Coleman a try...you can always take advantage of the easy Wal-Mart return policy if it doesn't meet your needs. 

Brad


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## JLeephoto (Dec 3, 2009)

I'm not as much of an expert as most of the guys here but I justed wanted to give a big endorsement to the Petzl Tactikka. I've had mine for almost 5 years, have traveled the world with it, including 3 trips to Iraq, and can't imagine how anyone else does without one (or without the red filter.) Maybe there are some better lights out there these days but they must be few and far between. This one has been a constant & extremely reliable companion.


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## subneural (Jan 15, 2010)

JLeephoto said:


> I'm not as much of an expert as most of the guys here but I justed wanted to give a big endorsement to the Petzl Tactikka. I've had mine for almost 5 years, have traveled the world with it, including 3 trips to Iraq, and can't imagine how anyone else does without one (or without the red filter.) Maybe there are some better lights out there these days but they must be few and far between. This one has been a constant & extremely reliable companion.



Thanks for posting - I value real-world feedback over stat-comparisons. I've been considering the TacTikka XP for a while now. I dropped by my local outdoor store this afternoon and found their llast TacTikka XP Adapt on sale for $45 CDN, so I had no choice but to buy it. It includes all four filters (red, white, green, blue) the headband, the belt/molle clip, and the adhesive puck. I'll do a comparison against my reliable Tikka Plus soon.


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## Croyde (Jan 15, 2010)

I have the red Zebralight and believe that you will be very happy with it.
 
In my experience and I have used 500 lumen plus light sources both LED and incandescent, the use of even a quality red Surefire filter is rather disappointing in terms of the light transmitted via the filter.
 
I now also have a red diamond dragon D26 drop in and that is very nice.


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## Ozgeardo (Jan 17, 2010)

subneural said:


> Thanks for posting - I value real-world feedback over stat-comparisons. I've been considering the TacTikka XP for a while now. I dropped by my local outdoor store this afternoon and found their llast TacTikka XP Adapt on sale for $45 CDN, so I had no choice but to buy it. It includes all four filters (red, white, green, blue) the headband, the belt/molle clip, and the adhesive puck. I'll do a comparison against my reliable Tikka Plus soon.


 
Per my replies in other posts re the TacTikka XP, after contacting Petzl they have indicated that their "Tactical" range of headlamps will remain in production.  Retailers should be able to restock with XP's (if they so choose, I guess many may only choose to go with the new fangled dangle models, I hope not  )

But just in case I have purchased another 2 XP's to put away for "Dark Days"


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