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Headlamps with red light

Red light not only fires up certain hours for two with the right ambience, it also has the advantage of being less conspicuous. The flattering wavelength shows practical aspects when camping and other outdoor activities, which - as far as in advance - have nothing to do with romantic mood in the tent. Why is a headlamp with red light especially popular with anglers and hunters? Who else benefits from the eye-friendly light?

Headlamp HF8R Signature
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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?

What is special about red light?

Have you ever taken a closer look at a white sheet of paper? A white sheet is never really pure white - even the lightest sheets of paper always show a slight tendency toward yellowish or bluish tones. White is not a color. What the eye sees is rather a product of different colors of light that are additively superimposed. The practical proof occurs when white light is shone on a prism (or raindrop) and it is refracted into all its components - namely the colors of the rainbow.

Red light plays a role here: it radiates in a wavelength range of about 610 to 760 nm. These relatively long light waves are very pleasant for the eye, as the light-sensitive cells are less strained. In comparison, blue light is considered a stress factor: bluish light radiates at a wavelength of about 400 to 500 nm. An LED head lamp with red light therefore shows the additional advantage that, despite good illumination, the eyes are spared and, for example, get used to the darkness again more quickly.

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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.

When is an LED headlamp with red light beneficial?

When free hands are not enough, a LED headlamp with red light is used especially for outdoor activities. Light-emitting diodes are more durable, effective and energy-saving compared to other light sources, which, in addition to a slim design, also favors concepts for robust headlamps with red light.

But why are red LEDs beneficial in the great outdoors for fishing, hunting, and nighttime wildlife viewing?

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.

Headlamp red light when camping

As trichromats, humans are capable of color vision. Since the pupil narrows and widens depending on the incidence of brightness, we can still see relatively well even when there is little light. It is precisely this property of the eye that can be a hindrance when using very bright headlamps: If the light cone is very bright, we see little in the corner of the eye. And even if the light is turned off, you first stand blind in the forest before the eyes only slowly get used to the darkness.

The headlamp with red light offers here the option not to dazzle too much. The red light is reflected less intensively by the objects in the environment and is therefore better suited to be used briefly when searching for equipment in the backpack or as a supplement to the passive light of an LED lantern on the tent.

Nature lovers who like to observe animals in the dark benefit from the reduced scaring effect of red light cones. Birds offer an exception, as they see colors very well - some researchers suspect that migratory birds can even optically perceive the earth's magnetic field - but here, too, the dimmed colored light shows a lower scaring effect than a bright beam 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.

Headlamp H19R Signature
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€339.00
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€129.00
Headlamp HF6R Work
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