Seeking a budget red flashlight to use in the woods at night, for hiking and some stargazing.

MaStAViC

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 11, 2005
Messages
31
My 4 friends and I will be doing some amateur hiking and looking at some stars in Arizona, USA, next week. I'm looking for 5 flashlights that give off red lights. My EDC flashlights are ~$150 (Fenix) to ~$250 (Elzetta) each, but my friends have $5 to $10 flashlights they got at Walmart and Costco, so I'm struggling a bit due to no experience with red lights and no experience working with a very low budget... lol. I don't think a combo flashlight of both red and white are needed. Thanks!
 

MaStAViC

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 11, 2005
Messages
31

thermal guy

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
10,004
Location
ny
My 4 friends and I will be doing some amateur hiking and looking at some stars in Arizona, USA, next week. I'm looking for 5 flashlights that give off red lights. My EDC flashlights are ~$150 (Fenix) to ~$250 (Elzetta) each, but my friends have $5 to $10 flashlights they got at Walmart and Costco, so I'm struggling a bit due to no experience with red lights and no experience working with a very low budget... lol. I don't think a combo flashlight of both red and white are needed. Thanks!
I used red filters for years in the military and hated them. It preserve your night vision. Yes but nothing looks right and way too dim.
 

Burgess

Flashaholic
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
6,548
Location
USA
My (perhaps worthless) advice --

Red Lights are quite over-rated in this regard.
Pretty much, damn-near USELESS !

Much MUCH better,
simply just use a VERY dim White light, instead.
(one lumen or less)

This will still preserve your Night Vision,
*AND* it will be sufficient for you to
actually *SEE* things ! ! !

I'm now 70 years old,
and have been using this method
for decades. Works like a Charm !
 

LEDphile

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 8, 2021
Messages
316
simply just use a VERY dim White light, instead.
(one lumen or less)

This will still preserve your Night Vision,
*AND* it will be sufficient for you to
actually *SEE* things ! ! !
This exactly. Moonlight is plenty to navigate by in open areas, although some supplemental light is handy when under cover or if it's a new moon. The key here is that you let your eyes adjust to the dark (only takes a couple of minutes - you don't need full night vision). Once you do that, you'll find you can see further without your bright flashlight than with.

Bright lights are useful if you don't have time to let your eyes adjust to darkness, or if you need full color vision (e.g. search and rescue), or if you are trying to see into shadows during daytime, but are actively detrimental outdoors at night in unlit areas.
 

ampdude

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 7, 2007
Messages
4,615
Location
USA
But he's talking about using the lights he already has, not buying another one.

I've never had a problem with using red. Even had a red Surefire helmet light I used to use. Worked great for my purposes.
 
Top