I've been looking on this fantastic forum for almost a week now and looked at shed loads of threads etc and with all the lights out there I'm starting to loose it! J. Basically I'm looking for something along the following lines….
a) Preferably Type III black anodized.
b) Preferably the smaller the better but max 12.5/13cm (5 inches) long and max 25mm (1 inch) body diameter, max bezel diameter 1.25 inch (30mm).
c) Momentary on (no reverse clickies but could be persuaded if the light covers everything below) and two levels.
d) bright long throw white LED (or even Xenon bulb but I know they take more power to run hence the preference for LEDs), anything from 1-3 LEDs should suffice from what I've read; low level for close work and to act as a room light when in a tent/chalet/camp/basha (3+ meters throw), high for spotting things clearly 20+ meters away
e) and now the tricky bit: bright red led (any number of LEDs) enough to throw a good amount of light to about 4/5(+) meters on high (enough to light the path/trail/undergrowth a fair way in front of me before I fall off the cliff or bump into a tree and which I know is asking a lot) and also a low for close work (map reading etc). Also a wide beam would be good.
f) and lastly battery times: (C-123's as I believe AA or AAA's are out of the question)
For the high levels; white 2+ hours and red 5+ hours
For the low levels; white around 15+ hours and red 20+.
Obviously the more the better for both levels.
Preferably NO Rechargeables as unfortunately there are no plug points in forests/mountains, but then that would all depend on how long they hold their charge(?).
I'm not too bothered about the type of LEDs used as long as they do the job. However, the beams for all levels should be good clean beams with minimal artifacts.
The closest thing I've seen so far is the Surefire Kroma but the price is a little too steep for me hence the search for an alternative.
I've read that red filters are a waste of battery life as they're still pumping out white light but if it fills the spec above (i.e. 20+ hours on low, which will of course mean the white does the same output J so long as the white high level still lasts 2+ hours), and filters are as good as an led for keeping my night vision then I'm up for it. The Wolf-eyes 6 digital Cree 6AX sniper seems great but I haven't a clue if the 20% level would throw enough red light to that 5+ meter mark I mentioned or would I need to use the high level to achieve this and in so doing ruining my night vision because it's TOO bright. Can any one enlighten me on that? And what is the 2% level like? Also will the white high level throw to 20+ meters.
The other alternative is the Surefire L1 latest gen which looks closer than the wolf-eyes but is the low 10 lumens with a red filter enough to throw a good amount of light as, again, I reckon the high level would be too bright and ruin my NV? (I'm afraid I still don't quite get how much light a lumen is in practical terms especially taking into account the inverse square law when different distances are involved).
Also, I'm not averse to buying two lights, one white and one red and maybe taping them together. I found plenty of lights to fill the white spec but none to fill the red (maybe I haven't looked hard enough).
To finish; so far it's a toss up between the Surefire L1 or the Wolf-eyes but I thought I'd ask you pro's out there for your thoughts before making a firm decision.
Thanking you very much in advance and sorry for the long post.
Pete
a) Preferably Type III black anodized.
b) Preferably the smaller the better but max 12.5/13cm (5 inches) long and max 25mm (1 inch) body diameter, max bezel diameter 1.25 inch (30mm).
c) Momentary on (no reverse clickies but could be persuaded if the light covers everything below) and two levels.
d) bright long throw white LED (or even Xenon bulb but I know they take more power to run hence the preference for LEDs), anything from 1-3 LEDs should suffice from what I've read; low level for close work and to act as a room light when in a tent/chalet/camp/basha (3+ meters throw), high for spotting things clearly 20+ meters away
e) and now the tricky bit: bright red led (any number of LEDs) enough to throw a good amount of light to about 4/5(+) meters on high (enough to light the path/trail/undergrowth a fair way in front of me before I fall off the cliff or bump into a tree and which I know is asking a lot) and also a low for close work (map reading etc). Also a wide beam would be good.
f) and lastly battery times: (C-123's as I believe AA or AAA's are out of the question)
For the high levels; white 2+ hours and red 5+ hours
For the low levels; white around 15+ hours and red 20+.
Obviously the more the better for both levels.
Preferably NO Rechargeables as unfortunately there are no plug points in forests/mountains, but then that would all depend on how long they hold their charge(?).
I'm not too bothered about the type of LEDs used as long as they do the job. However, the beams for all levels should be good clean beams with minimal artifacts.
The closest thing I've seen so far is the Surefire Kroma but the price is a little too steep for me hence the search for an alternative.
I've read that red filters are a waste of battery life as they're still pumping out white light but if it fills the spec above (i.e. 20+ hours on low, which will of course mean the white does the same output J so long as the white high level still lasts 2+ hours), and filters are as good as an led for keeping my night vision then I'm up for it. The Wolf-eyes 6 digital Cree 6AX sniper seems great but I haven't a clue if the 20% level would throw enough red light to that 5+ meter mark I mentioned or would I need to use the high level to achieve this and in so doing ruining my night vision because it's TOO bright. Can any one enlighten me on that? And what is the 2% level like? Also will the white high level throw to 20+ meters.
The other alternative is the Surefire L1 latest gen which looks closer than the wolf-eyes but is the low 10 lumens with a red filter enough to throw a good amount of light as, again, I reckon the high level would be too bright and ruin my NV? (I'm afraid I still don't quite get how much light a lumen is in practical terms especially taking into account the inverse square law when different distances are involved).
Also, I'm not averse to buying two lights, one white and one red and maybe taping them together. I found plenty of lights to fill the white spec but none to fill the red (maybe I haven't looked hard enough).
To finish; so far it's a toss up between the Surefire L1 or the Wolf-eyes but I thought I'd ask you pro's out there for your thoughts before making a firm decision.
Thanking you very much in advance and sorry for the long post.
Pete
. I hope you can see the pictures now as I've resized them to 800x600 (thanks gunner12 and yes i am looking for much better performance than the photon) and uploaded them to a proper site (as opposed to myspace as that was the only thing I had available at the time. All should be ok now). 
