Recommend me a Red LED flashlight for stargazing

[Stefano]

In the club I belong to it's a eclectic mix of red emitting lights. Rigel Systems Starlite Mini , Photon Proton Pro , Photon Freedom, Fenix Tk25 and a few from Jetbeam and Fenix with red filters and a few we don't know who made them

The Fenix TK25 must be a show with 310 lumens of red light and 10000 cd

 

[knucklegary]

Are you using a Petzl red light model?
If so, which one ?

Tactikka +RGB 350lm. The beam shape is perfect, imo, round with just amount of spill. Max 350 lumens provides plenty of high beam, I rarely use high..
I bought the Tactikka 450 but gave it away due to change in reflector contours to get extra throw created a lousy rectangular beam on low settings.. imo

The headband buckle on Tactikka models comes very handy attaching to tree limbs and inside car headliner handles.

 

[Stefano]

When they were available, the Sofirn C01R sold out fast on their site. 365nm Deep Red, twisty 3 levels all usable. Great little light!

I was able to see the Sofirn page of the C01 with web archive (last snapshot January 2022) but there I can not find any indication on the lumens of the red light. It just says: "Original CREE SST20-DR 660nm" no technical manual with lumens on the three levels.
I hope to get answers on availability and technical data tomorrow from a person from Sofirn EU

I read that Petzl Tactikka RGB has 2 lumens of red light.

 

[fulee9999]

When they were available, the Sofirn C01R sold out fast on their site. 365nm Deep Red, twisty 3 levels all usable. Great little light!

Black Diamond Storm, I see now has integral 2600mAh USB rechargeable battery. Can anybody comment that owns one. Does UI have low voltage protection?

Are you sure about that 365nm? That would be UV-A By the way the BD Storm has two variants you can buy currently, the Storm 450 that has a 3xAAA sized li-ion battery (included), but you can use primaries, and the Storm 400 which takes 4xAAA

Edit: and the Storm 500-R, but that has integrated battery

 

[fulee9999]

I was able to see the Sofirn page of the C01 with web archive (last snapshot January 2022) but there I can not find any indication on the lumens of the red light. It just says: "Original CREE SST20-DR 660nm" no technical manual with lumens on the three levels.
I hope to get answers on availability and technical data tomorrow from a person from Sofirn EU

I read that Petzl Tactikka RGB has 2 lumens of red light.

The C01 the C01S and the C01R are three separate lights... The C01 has a single mode, and has no optics or lens, the C01S, which is the dual mode and high CRI emitter, and the C01R, which is the C01S with a red emitter and three modes ( 0.3 / 7 / 43 lumens )

 

[knucklegary]

Are you sure about that 365nm? That would be UV-A By the way the BD Storm has two variants you can buy currently, the Storm 450 that has a 3xAAA sized li-ion battery (included), but you can use primaries, and the Storm 400 which takes 4xAAA

Edit: and the Storm 500-R, but that has integrated battery

You are correct. Got my wires crossed was thinking of my UV.. Just ask @Poppy happens to us old farts from time to time..

@Stephano corrected; SST20 DR 660nm. I see absolutely no orange tint, to my eyes, nothing but crimson red.
Yes, two levels red. I find the low hard to navigate, but Petzl red high is less than 43lm but more than 7..Somewhere in-between, guessing approximately 25lm

C01R 43lms max of deep red is plenty for my night vision adaptation (-:

 

[Poppy]

You are correct. Got my wires crossed was thinking of my UV.. Just ask @Poppy happens to us old farts from time to time..

Oh boy @knucklegary you got that right!
I just saw my MD to get clearance for my hip replacement surgery. He said my hemoglobin was at 16, with a little surprise.
I asked what is the normal range? He said that in people near 70 he often sees 8-10.

Oh yeah... hemoglobin is RED, what were we talking about?

 

[Flynn's Arcade]

The Fenix TK25 must be a show with 310 lumens of red light and 10000 cd

The high red mode of that Fenix is equally disrupting to acclimated night vision as a white light of any reasonable color temperature It's fun to see what folks bring to a star party .

 

[JimIslander]

Probably not common knowledge, but a low output white light also preserves night vision. But it has to be pretty low.

Manker E02H has moonlight modes so dim that you can barely see the LED.

Zebralight also has sublumen white lights, plus their red light AA. The red light is the H502pr. Incredible low lumen red headlamp. 0.003 Lm (runtime of 2.8 months!).

Most folks run red lights way too high, thinking the color is what preserves night vision.

 

[fulee9999]

0.003 Lm (runtime of 2.8 months!).

does that have actual real world application tho? other than an underground cave it seems fairly futile. the actual moon itself I imagine is around 10-20 lumens illumination by itself

 

[LEDphile]

I was able to see the Sofirn page of the C01 with web archive (last snapshot January 2022) but there I can not find any indication on the lumens of the red light. It just says: "Original CREE SST20-DR 660nm" no technical manual with lumens on the three levels.
I hope to get answers on availability and technical data tomorrow from a person from Sofirn EU

Given that Cree doesn't make the SST-20 (but is a better known LED vendor than Luminus), I'm not sure how much I'd trust the accuracy of those marketing materials...

 

[JimIslander]

does that have actual real world application tho? other than an underground cave it seems fairly futile. the actual moon itself I imagine is around 10-20 lumens illumination by itself

While the full moon is bright, moonlight is only about a 1/4 lumen on the earth.

Practicality depends on the user. The important point is they can go from below usable up to whatever lumens you need.

 

[Poppy]

Didn't sub_umbra in his water epiphany thread recommend a green light?

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/an-emergency-water-epiphany.121453/

to maintain night vision, and to not be seen?

 

[Stefano]

The Sofirn C01 is still available and is still an amazing tiny little light

View attachment 31623

Unfortunately Sofirn confirmed to me that it was discontinued.
So if any online store has it, they are just the latest in stock.

 

[fulee9999]

Unfortunately Sofirn confirmed to me that it was discontinued.
So if any online store has it, they are just the latest in stock.

oof, get 'em while you can I guess
at least the official Sofirn store still has a few of them on Ali

 

[Stefano]

oof, get 'em while you can I guess
at least the official Sofirn store still has a few of them on Ali

I have to double check the Sofirn shop on Ali, the C01 with red led that I saw yesterday it seems to me that it was not there but on another seller.

 

[fulee9999]

I have to double check the Sofirn shop on Ali, the C01 with red led that I saw yesterday it seems to me that it was not there but on another seller.

it is in stock from them, 106 still left:

6.98US $ 20% OFF|Sofirn C01 Special Mini Led Flashlight Aaa High 95 Cri 3400k Led Keychain Hat Light 6 Colors - Flashlights & Torches - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[Stefano]

Thanks, at the top of the page it says 3400 K but then allows you to select red led.
I hope there are no mistakes and that the right flashlight arrives

 

[fulee9999]

Thanks, at the top of the page it says 3400 K but then allows you to select red led.
I hope there are no mistakes and that the right flashlight arrives

I've ordered my red from this exact page/store so I wouldn't be too worried about it

 

[Stefano]

I've ordered my red from this exact page/store so I wouldn't be too worried about it

Thanks, I just bought.