LED headlamp red light - long waves for inconspicuous view through
Compared to the LED flashlight, a headlamp or head flashlight offers the possibility of always having a cone of light with free hands where the gaze is directed. The only limitation arises from the fact that the lamp must first be mounted on the head and can be somewhat annoying at the beginning, especially when wearing additional headgear.
Thanks to modern wearing concepts and the low weight of high-quality LED headlamps, you quickly get used to the light source on your head and can benefit from it in many activities from repairing a motor vehicle, to reading in the tent. LED headlamps with red light unfold their full advantages especially when the long-wave light beams are to highlight the objects of desire, but the own visibility must not be increased. But why can light be red at all?
How does red light work in headlamps?
Red light in LED is caused either by an optical filter in front of the lens or separate diodes. Red LEDs and so-called RGB LEDs, which can change color between red, yellow, blue and the colored products, are available on the market. They are mostly used as aquarium lighting or as mood lighting in certain clubs and establishments.
For high power head lamps with red light, only the LEDs that produce the bright white light are suitable. The adjustment of the light color with filters guarantees that the desired light can be produced in a few steps or that it is possible to switch back to the effective bright LED head lamp light just as quickly.
Some models on the market rely on a combination of different LEDs in the head of the lamp. These models can produce the bright white light and, if desired, red light. However, the disadvantage of this is that the operation can be somewhat more complicated than when using optical filters.
Advantages of LED red light headlamps when fishing
The fact that a headlamp can be handy when fishing in the dark should be clear to anyone who has ever missed a step during a night stalk for eel or carp and night fishing for zander. At night, the shore of the forest lake or the slippery-stony groyne becomes a risk. And even knotting leaders after a breakaway or tying the hair assembly become an unsolvable task in the dark. Why not just use a bright LED headlamp?
Whether in the drill, knot and search for the pliers or the refreshment on the shore: if a bright cone of light scurries across the water surface, the capital pointer, which almost landed on the hook and on the scales, can take flight. A headlamp with red light when fishing has the effect that this scaring effect does not occur.
The reason red light is so good for fishing is because of the property of light in water. As tetrachromats, many fish can recognize red objects quite well and see some colors better than humans, but the long light waves are filtered out in the upper water layer. From a depth of 5 meters, red light is hardly perceived by the shore.
LED headlamps with red light when hunting
Fallow deer and red deer do not see the world in as many colors as fish, insects or humans. Red or brown tones are more likely to be perceived by deer and roe deer as grayish tones. Bright orange signal colors, such as those used in driven hunts for safety reasons, are also lost in the eyes of wild animals. Stalking red deer and fallow deer with lights is largely prohibited. Only when searching for the way in the dark forest, the red light cone serves to be only slightly conspicuous.
Even if red light of a headlamp is not perceived intensively: Slow movements and a dimmed light level create a smaller acoustic and visual footprint. Even a very bright, frantically directed red light may be enough to spook animals in some circumstances.
Hunting wild boar is allowed in some cases, depending on the forest, due to the containment of swine fever. Bad news for those who want to use the red light to slow to a shot after spotting: Sow and boar can probably perceive red hues. If the animals have already been shot with the use of light, they will take flight more quickly in the cone of light.
What should a good headlamp with red light do?
What color the boar, line carp or deer really see, they probably only know themselves. However, the experiences of anglers, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts and nature observers have shown that a headlamp with a red light and a dimmable beam is better suited for minimal conspicuity than a high-powered spotlight.
Once you get used to the red light, the less-irritating effect also provides free hands when reading in a tent. Due to the lower glare effect, the eye gets used to a dark environment again more quickly and the tent does not shine at a distance of hundreds of meters like a sea of lanterns at the St. Martin's Day parade.
In order to have both hands free and a full view for a long time, protection against moisture and the penetration of dust and particles should be provided. The protection class IPX4 against water and IPX4 or 5 against dust guarantee that the inside of the lamp is well protected against external influences and that the headlamp with red light including all parts from battery to lens is a practical companion for a long time.
