Searching for red LED only headlamp

I have been searching for a headlamp that has ONLY a red LED, and MUST run off of a normal battery, 123, AA, AAA. It MUST also put out under 5 lumens. Although I would prefer a single low setting only, multiple settings would be ok, but it must default to the lowest setting when turned on and off normally. A flood beam would be preferred as well.

It is to be used for astronomy, astro-imaging. I have been using a red LED SF L1 Lumimax and a couple other red only LED lights, but really want a headlamp to keep my hands free when reading star charts, making scope adjustments, changing out eyepieces, etc.

It MUST not have any white or other color light whatsoever. I had one light on which I was using a red filter cap, my youngest daughter for some reason decided to take it off so she could see better. Not a good thing in a dark sky location after a couple hours of adjusting to the dark!

What I have found so far for red only headlamps were by NiteIze and Atom. I tried them but they were cheap, broke easily, were too bright for what I want, and took button cells that went dead quickly and cost more than the light itself to replace.

Has anyone seen anything like what I am looking for?

Otherwise I will probably have my SF Saint Minimus or one of my Zebralights modded.

I'm looking for the same light! Missed the chance to get a red Zebralight, darn it.

Here's one that says in stock depending how bad you want one. Shipping is going to be a bit high though.

email zebralight and also ask goinggear.com

think2x said:

Here's one that says in stock depending how bad you want one. Shipping is going to be a bit high though.

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$20 shipping = ouch! Too much for me. Thanks for the link though.

There must be other red lights out there?

The photon freedom micro is a great little light, though it doesn't meet the 'regular' battery requirement; it runs off of 2032's.

My wife does a lot of amateur astronomy, and I got myself a 'night vision' green freedom micro for that use, and I find it works MUCH better for me than a red light.

With a red light, I tend to lose all depth perception and my eyes focus to infinity as a result, which makes reading impossible for me, even with my glasses on. I don't have that problem at all with the green light. My depth perception stays intact, I can read just fine, and it protects my night vision. One of the nice things about the NV green ones is that while they run on 2x2016's, you can put a 1x2032 in them and their total output will be halved, and you get a boost in run time both from the reduced energy consumption, but also because 1x2032 has a tad bit more charge than 2x2016's.

The UI is great, a lot like the Zebralight UI. Click to come on in high, then hold to ramp down, or click and hold to come on in low and ramp up. They also come with a nice little clip that works great on the bill of a hat, and even has magnets on it so you can stick it on any magnetic metal object. There's also a little neck cord holder so you can carry one that way too if you like. All for about $15 with included accessories.

think2x said:

Here's one that says in stock depending how bad you want one. Shipping is going to be a bit high though.

Click to expand...

Thanks! This is exactly what I am wanting. So I just ordered it. Can live with the $17.50 for shipping.

B0wz3r said:

The photon freedom micro is a great little light, though it doesn't meet the 'regular' battery requirement; it runs off of 2032's.

My wife does a lot of amateur astronomy, and I got myself a 'night vision' green freedom micro for that use, and I find it works MUCH better for me than a red light.

With a red light, I tend to lose all depth perception and my eyes focus to infinity as a result, which makes reading impossible for me...

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I think I will try one of these also, although I have not personally had any depth perception issues. Some of my charts are hard to read with red lights as certain lines and items tend to wash out or fade. At star parties, any color other than red is absolutely prohibited. If I like the nv green, perhaps I will still have my Saint Minimus or a ZebraLight modded with one red and one nv green led.

Onuris said:

Thanks! This is exactly what I am wanting. So I just ordered it. Can live with the $17.50 for shipping.



I think I will try one of these also, although I have not personally had any depth perception issues. Some of my charts are hard to read with red lights as certain lines and items tend to wash out or fade. At star parties, any color other than red is absolutely prohibited. If I like the nv green, perhaps I will still have my Saint Minimus or a ZebraLight modded with one red and one nv green led.

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We're going to the Golden State Star Party this summer, and I am taking my NV green freedom micro and using it, no matter what anyone says. If anyone wants me to stop using it they'll have to hold me down and pry it out of my fingers.

It is unfortunate that even in a field like astronomy, that anecdote and opinion are relied on more than scientific evidence for choosing observing lights. I'm a Cal-State university professor, I have a PhD in perceptual psychology, and I teach vision science courses as part of my job. The simple fact is that ANY light will disrupt your night vision if it's bright enough. We are differentially sensitive to different colors of light, so two lights of equal lux will not appear equally bright, and that's true for both red and green; we tend to see green as brighter at low lighting levels because the rods are tuned to a wavelength that's pretty close to green. That's why I like to use the lower voltage battery in my light.

But, don't take my word for it, try both of them out for yourself. They're inexpensive enough you can get both a red one and a green one, and compare them directly. I'd recommend you get them both with the 'covert' nose though; they will direct the light much better and prevent side spill that others would object to, particularly at an event like a star party.

Oh, and the nice thing about the green one is that red text doesn't disappear on charts the way it does with a red light. My wife loves the clip too; she logs everything she finds (totally manually too... no motor drive assist for her!) and the clip lets her put the light on her notebook so she can have light directly where she's writing. (Use a blue ink pen when you're doing something like this too... it will appear black under both green and red light.)

Anyway, check them out, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Even if you don't like them, you'll still have a couple of pretty good keychain lights.

Onuris said:

Thanks! This is exactly what I am wanting. So I just ordered it. Can live with the $17.50 for shipping.



I think I will try one of these also, although I have not personally had any depth perception issues. Some of my charts are hard to read with red lights as certain lines and items tend to wash out or fade. At star parties, any color other than red is absolutely prohibited. If I like the nv green, perhaps I will still have my Saint Minimus or a ZebraLight modded with one red and one nv green led.

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I'm going to try to find it a bit cheaper. Maybe a promotional code. Still - a good deal.

You could try the Princeton Tec Fred, which ALWAYS lights up to red only, unless you press and hold the button for 1.5 seconds, in which case the white light turns on. Price is right too: $20.

Or...
You might try the Petzl Tikkina 2 and mod it with a resistor and red LEDs (I think the resistor should be necessary since red LEDs have a lower Vf than white).

Like the Fred. Sorry it takes 3xAAA. Especially now that I know red LEDs don't need the higher voltage.

Bolster said:

Like the Fred. Sorry it takes 3xAAA. Especially now that I know red LEDs don't need the higher voltage.

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What exactly don't you like about 3xAAA? I get that it's not exactly as convenient as 1xAA or something, but it's what the majority of traditional headlamps have done for years.

I'm trying to standardize on AAs and CR123s...no great animosity toward AAAs. The AA standard really limits my headlamp options though, and I might have to reconsider.

Bolster said:

I'm trying to standardize on AAs and CR123s...no great animosity toward AAAs. The AA standard really limits my headlamp options though, and I might have to reconsider.

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It's funny you should say that, because I have mostly standardized on CR123s and AAAs. I have very few AA lights but lots of AAA lights (headlamps, keychain lights, the like) and lots of CR123 lights.