Headlamp anti night bugs

[uzapuca]

Hi people
I have from a while the Zebra Light H600Fw Mk II Floody 18650 Headlamp Neutral White. It is a very useful headlamp for house use (electrical tasks) and outdoors. However, when doing night trekking, I am a magnet for bugs. After a while it is very uncomfortable because moths are doing kamikaze dive in my eyes. My friend who walks in front of me has which I believe it might be a more modern LED with blueish or whiter tone, and he is like the invisible man to night bugs.

Any suggestion on a good headlamp with the same battery as the Zebra Light H600Fw Mk II Floody 18650 to use for night trekking and avoid bugs?

I like Zebra Light quality a lot, but maybe there are better options / brands since I bought that model (almost 9 years ago) in the LED evolution technology

Thanks for your help! ;-)

 

[alpg88]

I have dozen or so headlamps, different types, different leds, and optics, ALL attract bugs, maybe they like your light better thus avoid him. lol Just swap lights with him, let him get all the bug, lol,

 

[AstroTurf]

maybe red led?

 

[mobi]

maybe red led?

Some cursory online research indicates you are on the right track.

It does seem that the wavelength of the light is a factor in how attractive a light is to insects at night.

It seems to me that experimenting with light filters might lead to a solution. Albeit, unless the light has some means of attaching a filter, it can be a dicey affair to put on and take off a filter, to get it to stay on effectively, and to ensure it doesn't unduly affect the beam shape and intensity. Someone on this forum used a 3D printer to make a filter holder for his light.

What I've done in the past is to use gel film samples from sample packs cut to size and held in place by parafilm. Not elegant, but it gets the job done.

Here is a link to buy a swatchbook of filters. There are other sources for swatchbooks, too.

Rosco Roscolux Swatchbook

Buy Rosco Roscolux Swatchbook Review Rosco null

www.bhphotovideo.com

 

[defloyd77]

Supposedly yellow/amber light is supposed to not attract bugs, but anyone who has seen amber low pressure sodium street lights during the summer will have seen swarms of bugs being attracted to them. It doesn't help that not all insects are attracted to light, such as mosquitos.

My solution? Get a light so powerful that the beam incinerates them all 😈

 

[Poppy]

My Crelant CH10 (pictured on the left) was my favorite headlamp until it became unreliable. On the first trip I took my Imalent HR20 I carried them both to make a comparison. That night we walked through clouds of little bugs, I guess gnats. So much so that they were like looking through a fog, with reflective glare coming back to my eyes.

The Crelant did much better than the Imalent. I don't know why. Maybe it is because it has a tighter beam profile? It may have a warmer tint? My perception was because it's LED is about an inch farther away from my forehead.

Yes they both attracted bugs, or there were just swarms of them, and with the light shining on them they were visible. I ended up not wearing the headlamp, but rather carrying it.

I wondered If I wore a climbing helmet (like I know that I should) would that make a difference?

I've since gone to a Sofirn D25L. I haven't had the opportunity to give it a bug trial yet, but at least I know that I can carry it Star Trek style if needed.

 

[bykfixer]

A fisherman trick to attract bugs is use a white lamp near the water. The fish rise up to eat the bugs and it leads to a feeding frenzy that leads to catching more fish.

They use a red lens to see with to change lures, tie knots etc. It's why some of those $5 headlamps at box stores have an optional red. Use the white when you need a lot of light while climbing in and out of a boat and use the red while sitting still.

Point being if you use a red lens the bugs won't be an issue in your face.

I see swarms of bugs near my neigbors yellow porch light btw.

 

[alpg88]

Supposedly yellow/amber light is supposed to not attract bugs, but anyone who has seen amber low pressure sodium street lights during the summer will have seen swarms of bugs being attracted to them. It doesn't help that not all insects are attracted to light, such as mosquitos.

My solution? Get a light so powerful that the beam incinerates them all 😈

It is true, we had those HPS lights on our parking lot, but HPS also emits UV which attracts bugs probably more than anything else,

 

[thermal guy]

There probably them hi CRI light bugs. Rare, and very annoying😁

 

[desert.snake]

My solution? Get a light so powerful that the beam incinerates them all 😈

This thought reminded me of insect killers - if place such a mesh-capacitor in front of the emitter, it will kill them all. Perhaps something is already on the market. Of the minuses - the constant smell of fried insects

 

[bbrins]

A fisherman trick to attract bugs is use a white lamp near the water. The fish rise up to eat the bugs and it leads to a feeding frenzy that leads to catching more fish.

They use a red lens to see with to change lures, tie knots etc. It's why some of those $5 headlamps at box stores have an optional red. Use the white when you need a lot of light while climbing in and out of a boat and use the red while sitting still.

Point being if you use a red lens the bugs won't be an issue in your face.

I see swarms of bugs near my neigbors yellow porch light btw.

Been doing that for years with Coleman lanterns, light one a little ways away with a clear globe first, then light one up with an amber colored globe next to you. You might need to experiment with how far apart they are from each other. And don't go anywhere near the clear one unless you want to be eaten alive. If you don't have an amber globe, just don't run the second one so bright as the first one and put it a bit farther away from you.

Edit: I guess this doesn't directly apply in this situation except to sort of concur about the light color.

 

[ktate749]

Some cursory online research indicates you are on the right track.

It does seem that the wavelength of the light is a factor in how attractive a light is to insects at night.

It seems to me that experimenting with light filters might lead to a solution. Albeit, unless the light has some means of attaching a filter, it can be a dicey affair to put on and take off a filter, to get it to stay on effectively, and to ensure it doesn't unduly affect the beam shape and intensity. Someone on this forum used a 3D printer to make a filter holder for his light.

What I've done in the past is to use gel film samples from sample packs cut to size and held in place by parafilm. Not elegant, but it gets the job done.

Here is a link to buy a swatchbook of filters. There are other sources for swatchbooks, too.

Rosco Roscolux Swatchbook

Buy Rosco Roscolux Swatchbook Review Rosco null

www.bhphotovideo.com

Zebralight has a red LED headlamp (H503r). I got a previous version H502pr for astronomy night vision. Works great. Don't know if it would be good for trekking around in the woods though.