Deciding on a colored filter?

Looking to pick up a colored flip-up filter for my SL Scorpion. I've read that red helps preserve night vision, blue shows blood and some sort of automotive fluid (don't remember which one), and certain animals can't see green (like deer). I don't have a specific purpose for my filter, but since many CPFers have colored LED lights, I'm wondering what you use these colors for.

It would seem to me that red, tho better for night vision preservation, would still blow away your night vision if it's intense (my Scorpion LED is about 55-60 lumens, and xenon is 60+ lumens). So would it really still help me preserve night vision?
Blue...looks cool, is it useful if I'm not looking for blood? How easily do I see objects with it?
Green...err, not hunting deer, so are there any other uses? Since human eyes are most sensitive to green, I would think it would look the brightest.

It all depends what your using it for. I use a red one on mine. Any red will help preserve night vision but the darker the red the better. Red is also a excellent choice if you don't want to be see using it. It dosn't reflect and glare as well as other colors.

Green is a excellent choice if you want to be seen. Besides the fact that many forms of wildlife can't see green, it's also the best color for humans to see. This is part of why it's very popular for hunters. A dimly lit green light can be shone thru foliage and across great distances and will be seen with ease. Green produces more glare that red but is a excelent choice for signalling in fog and and sunset.

Blue has really neat properties. Blue is great for tracking blood in foliage. Because the backround is green and the blood is red( and color invert of your filter) the blood will stand out like black holes cause there's no blue in it to reflect back. Blue filters are also really neat in that they will act like a black light, making flourscent colors(like anti-freeze) POP and stand out from all others. When I use to do alot of theatre work I would highlight cue lines, and cue numbers in flourscent colors. I would then place a blue gell over my desk lamp. This did two things. It toned down the brightness of the lamp so it didn't disturb the audiance, and it make my light board controlls(all flourscent colors) and my script with my cues easier to read. We also used this on stage for blocking. I could use small blue lights and leave them on all the time so they wouldn't disrubt the scene, then when we would blackout,make the block marks on the stage floor easy to see. Blue is also a excellent choice if your trying to signal at sunset. Since there is a large amount of red from the sunset and blue is a contrasting color it's easily picked up by the human eye. lue gives off ALOT of glare so it's not as good of a choice for night vision preservation.

I think thats all I got. It all depends on what your going to use it for. Hope this helps.

BIll

Cool info, Sig229.

I like the 239 and 226, myself :touche:

Yea the 226 is a good choice. I also have a 239 for when I'm off duty, it's good for cc.


BIll

Does this mean I should be buying a SF Kroma? (just looking for an excuse)

Red shouldn't spoil night vision regardless of how bright it is. Read this article for more information. I use a red light a lot in my dorm room to keep from waking up my roommate.

Thanks Sig, really great info. Thanks for the link too dyyys1.

Go with the Red I have a fair number of colored LED's & some other specfic colored lights. I use red the most out ao (Red,Blue,Greel Yellow,Amber) only time im split is the dome light in my truck is set up for red/green depending on what type of map I am reading.

Unless you have a specific need in mind (as outlined above) colored filters aren't worth the purchase. Their entertainment value is nil.

I carry a blue filter in my hunting coat but fortunately have never used it.

Somewhere I have a red filter that I bought to use while camping, but decided that my Gerber IU is sufficiently dim to not affect my night vision.

Methinks that colored filters have specialized purposes beyond my needs. Your needs may be different.

Red filters are often used by amateur astronomers, sailors (Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine) soldiers, etc because they need to keep their night vision.

Specialized, yes; uncommon, no.

I would go with red as well. I use my red filters for navigating around my house at night when I do not want to disturb others who may be sleeping. I have a red filter for my KL1 head and also a nice flip-up one on my 9P.

I would also go for red

Is there a colour that does not attract bugs?

Red is a good choice for that because it's dimmer. Amber is also a popular choice for outdoor lights because it (supposidly) dosn't attract as many bugs. Keep in mind bugs are attracted also to heat and C02.

Bill