A2L Green

CalgaryGuy

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Sep 23, 2003
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I'm thinking of getting an A2L Green as a gift for a army guy who believe green is best for night vision.

What do you guys think and is there any recomended store that would ship to Canada?
 

CalgaryGuy

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I'm not sure about about green but I thought red is the colour that preserve night vision. He's a pilot and fly at night that's probably why he likes green.
 

DimeRazorback

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I think it is blue that kills your night adaption the most.

Green is in second.

Green is good for maps and stuff though, so that makes sense.

The A2L would be a lovely gift, and I'm sure he will love it.

I would recommend you find a seller on ebay with good feedback, and go from there :thumbsup:
 

carrot

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You should check with the intended recipient if he prefers red or green light. It's a very personal preference, and for some troops the higher-ups mandate which they are allowed to use. Yellow-green is of course, another option.
 

tsask

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Oct 6, 2005
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what an excellent gift! I wonder how a green light looks under night vision goggles?
I have tried to resist this Surefire. $$$$ aside I have been dreaming of such a light for nearly 10 years. A possible holiday indulgence???

Way to go!
 

Size15's

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Compared to red light you can usual see more, more clearly with less green light (because our eyes are more sensitive to green light). So it's very low output green or yellow-green that is more useful than low output red.
I've not test this myself though.
 

pjandyho

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And I have always been curious. Is there a difference in how we see things using green vs yellow-green?
 

zven

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Red is generally thought to be better for preserving night vision, as the rod cells in the eye are MUCH less sensitive to it, so using a low-level red light will leave your rods pretty much undisturbed.

On the other hand, red provides terrible color rendering, so it may not be suitable for some people or tasks. If you have to look at maps, for instance, many lines disappear under red light.

This thread contains a lot of information relevant to your question, so it may be worth reading (more threads are out there, too, in case you want to search around).

The basic key to a light that will preserve night vision is that it has sufficiently low output. Too bright of a light in ANY color (green, red, yellow-green, whatever), and it can destroy your night vision. You want to choose a light that has a level suitable to preserve night vision for whatever tasks are expected to be performed.

Specifically, I would check with your buddy and see if he'll want to use the night-vision-preserving level for up-close tasks like reading, or if it'll be for searching the general area at 10+ feet, etc. Note that the A2L's low level really isn't that low, so if the tasks are up-close reading, etc., then neither the green nor red version will preserve night vision exceedingly well. (However, the red version of the A2L is supposedly 3 lumens, whereas the green is 10, FWIW.)
 
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