Fenix headlamp?

[Big Sky Guy]

Thank you all for your inputs, all very helpful.

Long post/ condensed in one sentence:

Does anyone know of a headlamp that has a BRIGHTER red mode? ​

Bottom Line so far(still searching): The cheapest Fenix on the list below has the brightest and longest-lasting red and, ironically, is the least expensive.

The comments above echo many of the reasons I want RED and brighter. @brymoore's comment - teeming with experience and wisdom.

A scant few mfg's disclose the Lumen rating of the red mode. So far, the highest I've found is 5 Lumens!? No wonder people and elk can't see '$#!+'.

Narrowing the search down and re-evaluating the headlight tech: lightweight, brighter 'red', and has simple operation.

Cabela's Princeton Tec light discloses its brightness at 5 lumens. This was the only one out of a whole aisle of lamps at BassPro.

Then, I googled around, came here to find that Fenix has it too, but the max level is only 5 lumens. For the list below, flash/strobe isn't important- my main focus: constant light at a brighter level. Side note: the 1600 lumen lights (white color) are super 'neato', but far too bright, blind my friends, require more batteries, and increase weight/decrease comfort.

No comparison tool on the Fenix site, so my key notes with hyperlinks are below:

$59.95, Fenix HM50R V2:

• Red Light 5 Lumens/ Battery 30 hours,
• weight 2.75 oz.

$89.95, Fenix HM61R V2

• 1 Lumen/400 hours or
• 5 Lumens/ 80 hours
• Weight: 3.36 oz.

$74.95, Fenix HM55R

• Red is at 5 lumens/ for 43 hours
• Wt: 3.7 oz.

$29.95, Fenix HL16:

• 5 Lumens/ 100 hours
• Weight: 3.43 oz.

$36.95, Fenix HM23 V2.0:

• 5 Lumens/ 18 hours
• Weight: 3.04

Thanks for asking this question. This is my main gripe with my $30 COAST light. I like everything else about it. Adjustable beam - wide to focused, 3 brightness modes (just for white) and has two buttons - one for white and one for red so I don't have to cycle through to get from one to the other. There are just two LED's for Red and appear to be only one for the white so seems weird they can't make the red brighter?

My friend has a PEAX with the green and it's basically as bright as my white beam, just green. Not sure if his red is as bright or not he doesn't like red. Should have tested it out when he was here. Curious what others will say, I'd love a brighter red lamp.

 

[Robert N]

Just a bit of food for thought: The application of red LED’s was really more about reading a map or doing something up close without wrecking night vision. That’s a large reason why you don’t see very many super high powered red/green led lights. They aren’t really necessary.

I’m also reminded of a separate study I read on White vs. Red/Green LED’s on game animals. Yes, it’s true, red/green are the least visible to the game animals eyes…the conclusion of the article was that it didn’t really matter: white/green/red - the animals didn’t really care…their biggest weapon was their nose. If they could smell you, game over. Seeing a bright light didn’t seem to make much of a difference to them.

 

[JAG]

Trending towards Sofirn's H25LR(D25LR) LED Rechargeable light, unless someone has a better idea. The price of this little guy happens to be quite nice too.

Red Lumen ratings below:

 

[Dave N]

Trending towards Sofirn's H25LR(D25LR) LED Rechargeable light, unless someone has a better idea. The price of this little guy happens to be quite nice too.

Red Lumen ratings below:

View attachment 386363

I bought one of these for my elk hunt. The red is pretty bright. I'll take it out to the kennel building shortly and see what it looks like with the lights out.

 

[JAG]

Pulled the trigger on the SoFirn 25LR and started searching for a battery upgrade. I almost got a 9600mAh battery upgrade, but found out it may be a scam. ...Geez, not sure what battery to get; Amazon has tons of scammy batteries.

It's worth noting that the light allows charging the battery with a cord, as opposed to removing the battery, to put it in a separate charging device.

I mentioned @brymoore's comment earlier, but his post was in another thread: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/head-light.329926/post-3958559

Good luck to all this year!

 

[Dave N]

Pulled the trigger on the SoFirn 25LR and started searching for a battery upgrade. I almost got a 9600mAh battery upgrade, but found out it may be a scam. ...Geez, not sure what battery to get; Amazon has tons of scammy batteries.

It's worth noting that the light allows charging the battery with a cord, as opposed to removing the battery, to put it in a separate charging device.

I mentioned @brymoore's comment earlier, but his post was in another thread: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/head-light.329926/post-3958559

Good luck to all this year!

Just got back in. At the lowest red setting I could see where I was walking in a concrete floor. Not sure about grass, may go out tonight. On the brightest setting you could light up a room! Don't think you would ever need it and could go one setting less to save some battery life. I charged mine last year when I bought it and it sat in the box until now. I have it charging now to get topped off. The charging port is hidden under an end cap. You unscrew it to expose the port. A light tells you when it's done.

When you find a spare battery let me know. It might be worth getting one instead of waiting to recharge, if you can. I'll have a spare headlamp along just in case.

 

[Dave N]

When you find a spare battery let me know. It might be worth getting one instead of waiting to recharge, if you can. I'll have a spare headlamp along just in case.

I went ahead and ordered batteries. Pretty much all run about the same price. I got 2 3300mAh for $9.99. Spare AAA powered lamp for a backup. With extra batteries!

 

[Dave N]

OK, went outside with a fully charged unit. Lowest red setting, "moonlight", was about worthless in the grass of my yard. Couldn't really see well enough to see if I was going to trip on anything or not. Moonlight setting with the white light was fine. Stepped up to Low on red and I had plenty of light to see where I was going. Medium and high were bright enough to spotlight coons in the trees! The high setting with the white light was crazy bright. I don't ever see a need to use it that high. Hope that helped!

 

[elevatorman]

They are the top of the top. Best equipment out there. I have literally used a Fenix headlamp for 8 years now, 40 hours a week at work. The quality and features are the standard by which other headlamps are measured. Im constantly showing other folks my headlamp when they ask. I run fenix flashlights also. Comparatively streamlight is medium quality, not garbage but not close to fenix. Surefire is more expensive but can't top Fenixs quality

 

[elevatorman]

Fenix also has a 5 year warranty. They are worth every single penny they cost. Don't cheap out on your lighting

 

[brymoore]

I happen to be sitting on an elk hillside waiting for shooting light. I noticed my new headlamp was. Fenix HL45R. Sons bought it for me. It works.

As we drove, I chatted with my newly commissioned Lieutenant son about light colors. He agreed with @Robert N . He thinks most of our thoughts on light color reflect back on what humans think in military applications and we applied it to animals.