Floody red headlamp: AA powered or CR123A powered? (ZebraLight)

I want to buy a headlamp sometime and I think my first should be either an H600W or the floody reds they offer (either the H31Fr or H51Fr).

as far as the 'floody reds' go, would it be wiser to get the AA-powered H51Fr instead? will the output be noticeably less than the H31Fr (104 Lumens vs 95 lumens)? I think I've read here around CPF that 30 lumens is the minimum difference needed to notice a difference in output or something, so does that hold true for red, as well?

I guess it'd be wiser to grab the H51Fr because AAs are cheaper and more common, thoughts? I don't do any caving or anything but I really wanna grab a headlamp.

can you say a bit more about the uses and applications you intend this for?

Red lights are kinda weird--great for certain narrow uses, but not so great for versatility.

Narrow use 1: if very dim, they can be used as part of a strategy for protecting night vision. (Though whether they give any advantage over equally dim lights of other colors is a point of contention and controversy).

Narrow use 2: if very bright, they can do a great job calling attention to yourself, e.g. in emergencies or as a navigation light on a bike or other vehicle.

I have an H51r that I use as a rear-light on my bike, and I love it. It's really bright!!

And it can also be really dim--all the Zebralights have a terrific range of outputs.

But if you are going to use the light as a headlamp, i.e. for seeing stuff around the house or on walks, then you are going to be using it at outputs high enough that the red-color will probably not give you any advantage in preserving your night-vision. And the monochromatic light makes it harder to figure out what you are seeing, esp. outdoors. The world has a lot of colors in it!

So me? I'd go for a white light as your first headlight. The H600w is fabulous. And the H51s come in cool, neutral, and High CRI, which gives you lots of choices.

But again--I say that not knowing what use you intend to put this too. It could be that a bright, intense red light is exactly what you need, for what you are going to do with it.

I'm contemplating a H51Fr for the back of my bike, in conjunction with a SC51w or HL51w. Probably the SC51w as it is 1mm shorter ..

Still not sure about the H51Fr yet though. Apparently it has a very smooth beam so that might be better than a 11 degree hotspot at 20 feet in the HL51r as it might illuminate the surrounding road better.

Of course, all this is on hold until I see what the H502xes are like

Floppy, I use a H51r as a rear bike light. Either as it is, or with a fenix diffuser, it is too bright for night time use in the blinking mode without toning it down with something over the lens. I use mine in the day pointing straight back and its great for that, but at night I shine it up at the bottom of my saddle, where I have some alfoil to the reflect the light down and out. This lights up the bike and my legs and the ground and is much less blinding. I also add in a couple of radbot 1000's as well In the blinky mode the H51r completely outpowers the radbots.

bbb74 said:

Floppy, I use a H51r as a rear bike light. Either as it is, or with a fenix diffuser,

Click to expand...

Which diffuser? They fit? Would the frosted version be better then? It is only 10 lumens less though

Yeh the fenix AD401, its the one for LD20 etc.

Hmm now I think of it, it doesn't work too well on the H51 models, they fit (not beautifully, mind) on the SC51 type models. I also bought a camera flash diffuser thing that photographers use, and cut a round piece of that out to fit over the H51 lens (use clear tape or whatever to hold it on) and that works too, although getting the H51f instead would probably waste less light than doing this. For the H51r, "wasting" light at night is not a problem

I don't actually use it that way on the bike anyway at night, I do the pointing it straight up at the bottom of the saddle with reflective foil under the saddle thing. I usually just leave it on M1 mode for that, as the blinking H1 is still more or less too bright at night! (I prefer a mix of solid and blinking anyway). Daytime - point it straight back - you need every lumen you've got during the day and the H51r (not f) puts them most of them into the hotspot to cover directly behind you.