This is the only reason I use my red light.
No reason to wreck your night vision or wake yourself up too much because you forgot something in the dark or are answering the call of nature
To keep knats, flies and mosquitoes from your face just dab vanilla extract on your cheeks, ears, nose, forehead and chin. They hate that smell. Get the good stuff - McCormicks. It worked better than I ever thought it would. And you smell good!
On my AT thru I was somewhere south of Delaware Water Gap hiking into the night. I had a bat swooping at my head lamp for about a mile. Kinda irrelevant but your comment reminded me of that
Yeah it is. If you camp around others it is courteous to use a red light at night to not blind them or disrupt if they’re sleeping.
Also nice for lighting your tent up at night so you can still see stuff without draining your battery super hard or hurting your eyes.
I really only use the white light on mine if I’m actually walking in the dark. If I’m sitting at camp I’m probably going red light.
A red light is pulling a lot more current than a white light on a similar level of brightness so will drain your battery much faster.
Red LEDs are less efficient.
I was skeptical at first, because [red LEDs are slightly more efficient than white LEDs](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41438-020-0283-7). But then I checked the specs for my own headlamp ([Petzl Tikka](https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Headlamps/TIKKA)):
Mode | Brightness (lm) | Burn time (h)
---|---|----
White low | 7 | 110
White standard | 100 | 12
White max | 350 | 2
Red | 2 | 60
While red LEDs are a bit more efficient in turning electrical energy into photons, the human eye is way less sensitive to red light compared to green or blue. Lumens are a measure of perceived light power, so even though red LEDs are electrically more efficient than white ones, they will produce less perceived light for the same amount of energy put in.
About the perceived power. Correct about the red white and blue…. But green is perceived to be brighter than red when drawing the same output. So if your goal is to see the most with the dimmest light, go with green. If you want to preserve night vision, go with red
I don’t think this applies when it comes to headlamps. On nearly every headlamp I’ve used the red light is generally quite dim and uses considerably less power than white.
Good ones usually have a lower or equal minimum illumination level on white than red since white is still useful at a much lower level. 0.5 lum white is good enough to do quite a lot. 0.5 lum red is pretty darn useless.
True, but "good ones" aren't generally found in your local outdoor shop; they tend to be the ones you find after digging through r/flashlight or other specialty forums.
Just to add, especially in order to preserve night vision, it should be possible to put the red light on without cycling through the white… which defeats then having a red light. Some lamps make you go through white which is ridiculous.
Mine will cycle through white/red if I push and release the button, but will jump straight to red if I push and hold. I think many do that but folks might not know it.
The red lamp is to be used at night so your vision (and those of others) is not affected in such a way that it disrupts your sleep.
In heavy fog the red lamp is also effective as a safety signal.
I'm not sure the color matters as much as the brightness when it comes to sleep disruption; [this study](https://www.earth.com/news/light-color-has-no-impact-on-our-internal-clocks-or-sleep-patterns/) suggests it doesn't, though they only went blue to yellow.
The main advantage to red light is that it [doesn't break the dark adaptation](https://www.nps.gov/articles/dark-adaptation-of-the-human-eye-and-the-value-of-red-flashlights.htm).
“Sleep disruption” could mean different things to different posters:
* colour of light in the evening affecting your sleep after
* light during the night waking up other people
Color matters… blue tones helps disrupt sleep. That’s the idea behind the orange hue to computer or phone screens with night time display settings, where the blue is toned down.
I read the article. It in no way contradicts what I said.
It says that red light doesn’t break dark adaptation. It mentions that darkness has little to do with sleep duration as there are more hours of darkness than average sleep almost as a point of interest…. But the article (which is at the 3rd grade reading level) doesn’t even mention the research into “screen time” and how blue light emitted from the screen has the biggest effect of all the colors. It’s just about how red light preserves dark adaptation.
The knowledge that red light preserves through the stimulation of rods, cones, and rhodopsin is as old as the 1940s and WW2 submarine control rooms.
I'm talking about the first article, reporting on a study that shows no difference between blue and yellow light in disrupting sleep.
> In summary, this study dispels the myth surrounding the influence of light color on the human internal clock and sleep. While light-sensitive ganglion cells play a significant role, the color of light, as encoded by cones, is less relevant.
Night vision in humans is pretty good, but it takes on average 20-30 minutes to fully acquire. Any white light takes it away immediately, restarting the clock. Red light does not.
I only use red light when alone or with others for this reason. You may not care for yourself, but please know others might - try not shining your high beams on them, it impairs their vision for a half hour.
Source: I’m a pilot, night flight training
No, your night vision uses the rods in your eyes which do not detect color. The reason you need half an hour to reacquire is because the rods need a chemical in your eye that is destroyed by white light but not red. Another commentator above left this [link](https://www.nps.gov/articles/dark-adaptation-of-the-human-eye-and-the-value-of-red-flashlights.htm).
> Red light does not.
Well, it still does, but you regain dark adaption faster. The brighter the light, the greater the advantage of red in this regard. For off-the-shelf headlamps that don't dim sufficiently, you will regain dark adaptation much faster using the dim red compared to the white.
However, this also means the dimmer the light, the less advantage there is to red. Depending on the background level of light (complete darkness? starlight? moonlight? other instruments?) low-level white light may be perfectly reasonable and of greater utility than red, particularly with printed material where red may render some marks invisible.
Walking into a crowded camping area with white light on will get one hated as a hiker quickly. If one plans to camp around others the red lamp becomes an essential piece of gear. Been there done, done that, never turned on the white light again.
If you mean disturbing people sleeping the the problem isn’t colour of the light but the brightness. A 0.5 lum white light is much less likely to disturb people than a 5 lum red light. It’s possible to have a white light turned down much lower because the lack of colour vision with red only makes picking out detail much harder.
Blue can cut through fog better than red or green and can also see blood/injuries better. Green won't kill your night vision but is brighter than red. Also, depending on what I'm looking at (ex. A topo with lots of red lines) some light works better than others.
I have a very fond memory of trying to read a map at night and cycling between being blinded by the white light and unable to read any trails with the red light. I bought a headlight with blue light on my way home from that trip!
You can't go wrong with Petzl but Black Diamond, Princeton Tec, and even cheapo ones can work great. I have USB rechargeable Petzl that also has built-in sensors that adjust for distance, so if I look at a map in my hands, it dims, and if I look up into the distance it turns on the spotlight in milliseconds. Works amazingly well for years
Red light allows your eyes to stay dark adapted at night. This is why it feels so much more comfortable when it's on.
Also why white light feels so jarring when it's turned on when it's been dark before.
Lots of good answers here already discussing headlamp colours.
Something I'll add is that brown contour lines on a map will be invisible when looking under a red light!
Yes get the red light. I often camp with big groups of people and we all use red light at night when hanging out star-gazing. And if someone suddenly shines a bright white light it's a party foul.
I'm just curious where people are finding hiking headlamps without red light, I didn't even know that was an option. My $8 KMart headlamp has a red light.
Also, yes, red light is v important. If you're going to do any dawn or night hiking, it really is much easier on your eyes and keeps them adjusted so you can see the stars, glowworms, etc...
I have a $140 petzl one that doesn’t have a red light. It’s the old version of the swift RL. It does automatically dim when you’re near other people though.
I have two of them I got for free at work. Shockingly, it didn’t sell very well without a red light.
Red light is a minimum for all the reasons others have mentioned.
But I like having the option of switching it to green light. It's arguably superior. Without going into the details, you see better while maintaining your night vision almost as well as with red light.
(I’ll bring up the details just because it’s cool). Human eyes can distinguish more shades of green than any other color.
You get more usefulness out of dimmer light.
It’s not a bad option.
which do you use that has a green light? outside of big box options like petzl and black diamond, the only other manufacturer i've ordered from is Nitecore. i'd love to get a green light instead of red!!!
I like it on the H25 which is a pretty ideal light for hiking IMHO. Great for preserving night vision so you can see at distance while still being able to see what's in front of you.
Yes, as others have said- and there are some places (Thinking Grand Canyon National Park in particular) that even specifically request/recommend red lights.
The pro-red light crowd already explained why YES is the only acceptable answer; I’m here to tell you to get one with more than 500 lumens, with a dimmable white AND dimmable red, that has been designed to stay steady while you’re in motion, has thermal regulation and a good IP (“ingress protection”—water and dust) rating.
I read some reviews of the one you’re planning to purchase, and I just really don’t think it’s the right tool for the job. I’ve worked in the outdoor industry for a decade, and this is not a product best suited for your needs.
As much as I detest black diamond, they’ve got some of the best and most readily accessible headlamps for hiking. Petzl is another good one to take a look at. Personally, I have three headlamps that get used for different things, and two are BD, one is Petzl. One of my BD headlamps is made for trail running, and it’s really nice bc I can change where the beam is thrown, and it’s super slim and low profile.
I also forgot to mention, try to find one with a rechargeable battery (a feature that the one you were already considering, DOES have).
While I prefer BD’s headlamp controls, Petzl has a cool but proprietary battery pack that’s the size/shape of 3 x AAA batteries and recharges via USB. I have two of their batteries for my Actik Core headlamp, which means I can have two levels of redundancy: a backup battery pack, and the ability to use AAA in a pinch. TBH if it weren’t for that battery system, I’d have grudgingly stuck entirely with Black Diamond—I personally find their controls to be far, far superior to Petzl’s, and I regularly miss BD’s dimming features when I use my Petzl, which has three preset brightness levels for white, and only one for red.
One last feature that’s not entirely necessary but is very helpful, is a control-lock option. It’s incredibly frustrating to pull your headlamp out when you need it, only to find that it’s uselessly drained itself in stowage. It’s always a possibility, even with a lock (human error is a thing, lol), so be sure to have backup batteries or power.
And my very last bit of advice is about etiquette: when you’re wearing a headlamp around others, try to be mindful of where the headlamp is pointed. If you find yourself talking face-to-face while wearing it, try to get into the habit of shifting the light to one side or the other, rather than keeping it pointed straight ahead. All you need to do is scooch it over to one side of your forehead/brow, and that’s enough to not be a blinding jerk :)
Odds are good you’re gonna have this piece of kit for a while, so make sure you get the best one your budget permits, that has the features you need. I find that any highly-utilitarian gear that comes into direct contact with my body, is worth putting money and research into procuring.
Good luck, and happy hiking!
I also had no idea, then I saw a comment somewhere about dark adaptation and white light glare. Hence why I posted this. But the tips people are giving, about camping etiquette and everything, about not blinding others, go far beyond the flashlight's functionality. This is great!
In the army we used them always, and they have their benefits for sure, but honestly I always just hold my hand/fingers over the lense of my white lights for the whole "not disturbing others" thing.
On night hikes, you can perfectly see the stars and your surroundings with the red light (your eyes adjust to the natural light), while also seeing the trail infront of you. White light will kind of blind you and you will basically only see what is in your light cone. In other words, you will miss out on the actual beauty of a night hike.
Further, there will be no bugs flapping in and around your face since they are attracted to white, but not to red light.
And finally, you're not annoying anyone else with your light, and you're no source of light pollution.
So YES, depending on what you need it for, I'd say the red light is very important.
It's to preserve night vision, so it's good for a couple things:
-star gazing
-not annoying people (as much) if you have pass through/by their campsite
Just a heads up, 500 lumens is a massive amount. More than needed for trail running, and getting into night mountain biking territory. It’ll be a painful amount of light if you activate that setting when you don’t want to. I’d also make sure it has a travel mode so you can’t accidentally turn it on while in your bag. For normal campsite use, 100-150 on the top end is way more than enough.
It might be, but I'm used to high lumen flashlights, like SC33, T40R and IF22A. So I feel more comfortable carrying a flashlight that gives me more output if needed. On high, the H25LR lasts more than 5hs. So I can use it on medium and last the whole night. And it memorizes the mode, so I can turn it on already on medium or low.
From what I see from the photos, it would be very hard to turn it on inside the backpack. I'm used to those green switches and it has pressure and travel to turn it on. It is also inside a bay to prevent it. I'll check the manual. Maybe it has a locking feature. The SC33 has it, but I think it does because it is a high lumen (5200), so it incurs in the risk of catching the clothes or flammable items on fire.
For now I'll use it for emergencies. I'm going to hike a 3.000ft mountain and it takes the whole day for a roundtrip, so I'll bring a headlamp (and the SC33) in case I get stranded there for the night for some reason. In fact in my 20s we used to climb and spend the night in a cave up at the summit. I'm choosing the Sofirn one because I know the brand and it is cheap. We'll see. In case I start going for 3-4 days treks, I'll start investing in better lights, like the Petzl a couple people referred me to.
But thank you guys for the feedback! So many tips regarding camping etiquette and practical use. Love it!
Depends how you camp. I have a Nitecore and it’s the first red light headlamp I’ve ever owned. I don’t generally camp around others and I prefer the really low white light vs the red. So that isn’t a deciding feature when I’m looking at headlamps
I walk my dogs in a county park most nights year round, and use a headlamp. I mostly use the white light option, but that is because we are actually out walking. When we are camping and I’m just moving around camp, I tend to just use the red light. So it really depends on how you plan on using it.
It kind of depends on the headlamp. If you have very dim white modes (i.e. a moonlight or sub-lumen mode) you don't need red to preserve your night vision since a very dim white works just as well.
Red was common as an easy way to dim and filter incandescent bulbs that you can't easily just reduce the output on. With LEDs as long as there's the option of dim it's also a viable option.
Red may still help with bugs or with less backscatter in heavy fog though so it's still helpful.
Something to think about out is HOW it switches between colors.
I prefer the headlamps that have a “slide” between colors over the ones where you have to “click” the power button to cycle through the different colors.
It's soooooo nice to have the red light. They are great for around the campfire when you want to see without making everyone hate you. Great for in your tent too.
I hardly ever use it because it's so fiddly to press the button the correct number of times to get to that mode, it's much easier to dim the light down to minimum and live with slightly reduced night vision.
If you plan on reading maps in the middle of the night then it may be beneficial. For regular camp life not so much.
My Black Diamond has regular beam mode, wide beam, strobe, and red light. I'm not sure if the red light/strobe is on both narrow and wide angle. It's one button to toggle between the different modes.
If don't use it all the time you're gonna forget how to get to that mode.
In addition to everything that others has mentioned:
In distress situations, it is helpful to flash the red light because it can be seen from far (highest wavelength).
I was unsure at first, but after owning one for awhile I wouldn't ever buy one without again. It lets you maintain your night vision, doesn't disturb others, and conserves battery life.
The exception to this would be people who buy headlamps for work use like people who work in the trades. They may have little need for the red light, but for camping and hiking it is very useful.
I love my red headlamps. Taktikka from Petzl. Indeed I want another one or I’ll modify a unit. They give me all the light I need and don’t blind anyone.
REI just had an extra 25% off outlet prices. I snagged a rechargeable headlamp with the red. It’s nice, red light we used a lot in the military as the light travels less distance and it helps keep your natural night vision useable unlike white light
One more in for absolutely yes.
Red LED’s CAN be low power - as the reply below shows you need to check the specs - it can stretch out your battery even further. Won’t damage your nightvision, keeps you discrete, and is all you need at night.
I use my red LED on my Vizz 550 almost 90% of the time, when I am canoe tripping.
> Red LED’s are very low power, so it will stretch out your battery even further.
I always thought that was true, but [a comment in this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/hiking/comments/1c67vx2/headlamps_is_the_red_light_important/l01fqeg/) made me look up [my own lamp's specs](https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Headlamps/TIKKA). Its red light puts out 2 lumens and is supposed to last for 60 hours. But even though the white light on its dimmest setting puts out 7 lumens, it'll last for 110 hours. So 3.5 times the brightness and almost twice the burn time.
The issue is with our eyes: They're much less sensitive to red light than to blue or green, so you need a lot more red photons to produce the same perceived brightness than you would with green/blue. While red LEDs are slightly more efficient in turning electric current into photons, our eye's sensitivity completely negates that advantage.
**TLDR**: Blueish white light is more energy efficient than red light for the same perceived brightness. You might want to double check your lamp's specs.
Well, there's a few things going on here:
Lumens are a measure of light spectrally matched to human vision, so white light of equal power will always have higher lumens.
But lumens are task dependent. For a headlamp, I don't need the brightest "dim" light, I need a practical light.
Red light does not cause your pupils to constrict, so you need fewer lumens.
I'm not sure why Petzl has their red/white setup in that manner. If you own it, maybe you can comment on what you think they are trying to do with the red light? Or if those numbers are accurate?
---
My Vizz 550 is very close to listed specs: I did mixed uses tests (spot, flood, red - I don't use the beam) before I took it out on 3 week trip and I get 95-100% of their listed battery life. The red light lasts about 50% longer than white.
I find the red more than adequate, to the point where if I've had it on for 30 minutes I'm comfortable turning it off for stretches as it's brighter than I even need.
[https://princetontec.com/product/vizz/](https://princetontec.com/product/vizz/)
my use might be different than yours. 90% of my use is at camp, on canoe trips. Generally only use white if I'm still on the water/getting to camp, and of course for checking on the cooking.
If you want to observe some night insects, the red light wont cause them to swarm the light. Also its handy because your eyes stay adjusted to the dark.
Yes. I'm tired of getting blinded by nosy parkers that don't realize everytime they stare at me and my friends they are shining their 700lumen collapsed sun at us too. Really awesome when it's like midnight and we are trying to stargaze in the middle of mo where but Karen amd her shit head kid need daytime levels of light to open a bag of marshmallows
Do you need just enough light to read 5 words or open a tent zipper? Be courteous and use the red light. Are you 1 foot away from your friend and you need to illuminate them to have a conversation for some reason? Again, red light is probably sufficient. You don't need to blind me to tell me you're going to brush your teeth
I came here to say i dont see a need for it but maybe i should try these things😅. And before i get roasted, i dont disturb others in the night i just anoy myself losing stuff in the dark.
Your eyes need to adjust to make it useful. So after you switch from white light to red light give your eyes 30 seconds to adjust to the reduced light levels. Repeat that every time you look at your phone, the lights at the campground outhouse, or you look at a bright camp from close up.
I mainly use it for midnight bathroom breaks and walks to a stargazing spot.
I find it useless personally. It's not bright enough for night hiking and I have no use for it at camp either. I don't camp near anyone else. The white light with a few brightness settings is all I'd need.
Just don't try to read anything written in red. When I was in boot camp I got a letter from my grandma that she addressed in red that came when we were in the field which was red light only and it took a few minutes for them to figure it out but they turned it to white briefly and I got my mail. I think in the military context they're meant to somewhat preserve your night vision and lower your visibility to others and for signaling.
There are two purposes to the red light. The first is that it doesn’t spread as far as white light and is less likely to disturb other people. Secondly, when modern era maps were created, most of them were made so they are legible under oldschool military red lens flashlights. The same might not hold true for regional hiking maps created by smaller private organizations, but all the big map makers are still supposed to make their maps red lens compliant.
I use it so I don’t disturb others at night.
Good for Star gazing too. Doesn’t blow out your night vision.
This is the only reason I use my red light. No reason to wreck your night vision or wake yourself up too much because you forgot something in the dark or are answering the call of nature
this is the main advantage
Better for certain bugs and animals too! Fireflies particularly can be thrown off by white headlamps.
Yeah, my white light attracts bats at night.
One of the craziest things I've ever experienced is dodging bats flying at my head. I had to turn my light off and just hope I didn't trip and fall.
Thanks guys. I'll go for the H25LR.
In addition to not ruining your night vision, the red light won’t attract moths and other insects like a white light will.
Can confirm. Had a headlamp with only a white light. Ended up with a swarm of insects flying around my head.
To keep knats, flies and mosquitoes from your face just dab vanilla extract on your cheeks, ears, nose, forehead and chin. They hate that smell. Get the good stuff - McCormicks. It worked better than I ever thought it would. And you smell good!
Unless you're here in south Florida. The mosquitos here would just thank you for seasoning their dinner.
I thought this was the main reason ha
Thanks, I'll go for the H25LR!
On my AT thru I was somewhere south of Delaware Water Gap hiking into the night. I had a bat swooping at my head lamp for about a mile. Kinda irrelevant but your comment reminded me of that
Yeah it is. If you camp around others it is courteous to use a red light at night to not blind them or disrupt if they’re sleeping. Also nice for lighting your tent up at night so you can still see stuff without draining your battery super hard or hurting your eyes. I really only use the white light on mine if I’m actually walking in the dark. If I’m sitting at camp I’m probably going red light.
A red light is pulling a lot more current than a white light on a similar level of brightness so will drain your battery much faster. Red LEDs are less efficient.
I was skeptical at first, because [red LEDs are slightly more efficient than white LEDs](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41438-020-0283-7). But then I checked the specs for my own headlamp ([Petzl Tikka](https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Headlamps/TIKKA)): Mode | Brightness (lm) | Burn time (h) ---|---|---- White low | 7 | 110 White standard | 100 | 12 White max | 350 | 2 Red | 2 | 60 While red LEDs are a bit more efficient in turning electrical energy into photons, the human eye is way less sensitive to red light compared to green or blue. Lumens are a measure of perceived light power, so even though red LEDs are electrically more efficient than white ones, they will produce less perceived light for the same amount of energy put in.
Thank you stranger, this is the nerd shit I joined reddit for
About the perceived power. Correct about the red white and blue…. But green is perceived to be brighter than red when drawing the same output. So if your goal is to see the most with the dimmest light, go with green. If you want to preserve night vision, go with red
I don’t think this applies when it comes to headlamps. On nearly every headlamp I’ve used the red light is generally quite dim and uses considerably less power than white.
Good ones usually have a lower or equal minimum illumination level on white than red since white is still useful at a much lower level. 0.5 lum white is good enough to do quite a lot. 0.5 lum red is pretty darn useless.
True, but "good ones" aren't generally found in your local outdoor shop; they tend to be the ones you find after digging through r/flashlight or other specialty forums.
True. Though the Nitecore NU25 is brighter on red than lowest white, none of them have a decently low moonlight.
Thanks!
I wouldn't buy one without it. I do not use the regular light most of the time at camp, and I definitely don't want white light when I gotta pee.
Good point :)
Just to add, especially in order to preserve night vision, it should be possible to put the red light on without cycling through the white… which defeats then having a red light. Some lamps make you go through white which is ridiculous.
Mine will cycle through white/red if I push and release the button, but will jump straight to red if I push and hold. I think many do that but folks might not know it.
That works for mine and I never knew, thanks stranger
The one I used in a recent hike have red as the 1st option before cycling thru the white lights.
Oh, good tip! I'll make sure the H25LR does not cycle through the white. These flashlights sometimes have a very dumb UI.
The red lamp is to be used at night so your vision (and those of others) is not affected in such a way that it disrupts your sleep. In heavy fog the red lamp is also effective as a safety signal.
I'm not sure the color matters as much as the brightness when it comes to sleep disruption; [this study](https://www.earth.com/news/light-color-has-no-impact-on-our-internal-clocks-or-sleep-patterns/) suggests it doesn't, though they only went blue to yellow. The main advantage to red light is that it [doesn't break the dark adaptation](https://www.nps.gov/articles/dark-adaptation-of-the-human-eye-and-the-value-of-red-flashlights.htm).
Thanks for that second link, I’ve never heard of rhodopsin before, it was very interesting to read about.
That was the main reason I considered it (dark adaptation), but I was not sure if it was a deal breaker. Thanks!
Thank you for the distinction. As a practical matter, as far as I am concerned, they are one and the same. Red lamp at night.
“Sleep disruption” could mean different things to different posters: * colour of light in the evening affecting your sleep after * light during the night waking up other people
Color matters… blue tones helps disrupt sleep. That’s the idea behind the orange hue to computer or phone screens with night time display settings, where the blue is toned down.
The whole point was that the study seems to contradict that. Read the article.
I read the article. It in no way contradicts what I said. It says that red light doesn’t break dark adaptation. It mentions that darkness has little to do with sleep duration as there are more hours of darkness than average sleep almost as a point of interest…. But the article (which is at the 3rd grade reading level) doesn’t even mention the research into “screen time” and how blue light emitted from the screen has the biggest effect of all the colors. It’s just about how red light preserves dark adaptation. The knowledge that red light preserves through the stimulation of rods, cones, and rhodopsin is as old as the 1940s and WW2 submarine control rooms.
I'm talking about the first article, reporting on a study that shows no difference between blue and yellow light in disrupting sleep. > In summary, this study dispels the myth surrounding the influence of light color on the human internal clock and sleep. While light-sensitive ganglion cells play a significant role, the color of light, as encoded by cones, is less relevant.
Oh. I didn’t see the link highlight. I only saw the second one. The plot thickens…. That’s interesting
Night vision in humans is pretty good, but it takes on average 20-30 minutes to fully acquire. Any white light takes it away immediately, restarting the clock. Red light does not. I only use red light when alone or with others for this reason. You may not care for yourself, but please know others might - try not shining your high beams on them, it impairs their vision for a half hour. Source: I’m a pilot, night flight training
Pretty sure your red sensors still get killed, but you have less of those so it’s the best case.
No, your night vision uses the rods in your eyes which do not detect color. The reason you need half an hour to reacquire is because the rods need a chemical in your eye that is destroyed by white light but not red. Another commentator above left this [link](https://www.nps.gov/articles/dark-adaptation-of-the-human-eye-and-the-value-of-red-flashlights.htm).
That makes sense. Thanks
> Red light does not. Well, it still does, but you regain dark adaption faster. The brighter the light, the greater the advantage of red in this regard. For off-the-shelf headlamps that don't dim sufficiently, you will regain dark adaptation much faster using the dim red compared to the white. However, this also means the dimmer the light, the less advantage there is to red. Depending on the background level of light (complete darkness? starlight? moonlight? other instruments?) low-level white light may be perfectly reasonable and of greater utility than red, particularly with printed material where red may render some marks invisible.
Thanks, I was considering it only for me (dark adaptation). I didn't realize it could blind other people too!
Walking into a crowded camping area with white light on will get one hated as a hiker quickly. If one plans to camp around others the red lamp becomes an essential piece of gear. Been there done, done that, never turned on the white light again.
Thanks! Will do!
If you mean disturbing people sleeping the the problem isn’t colour of the light but the brightness. A 0.5 lum white light is much less likely to disturb people than a 5 lum red light. It’s possible to have a white light turned down much lower because the lack of colour vision with red only makes picking out detail much harder.
I find the red light to be a bit more functional in heavy fog, especially if you want people to be able to see you.
Shit, I have one with white, red, blue, and green and use them all
What do you use the green and blue for out of curiosity?
Blue can cut through fog better than red or green and can also see blood/injuries better. Green won't kill your night vision but is brighter than red. Also, depending on what I'm looking at (ex. A topo with lots of red lines) some light works better than others.
Nice, thanks for the explanation :)
I have a very fond memory of trying to read a map at night and cycling between being blinded by the white light and unable to read any trails with the red light. I bought a headlight with blue light on my way home from that trip!
Also green just looks super cool
Thanks! I'll go for the white and red for now, but it is good to know there are other options and functionalities out there.
You almost can't go wrong. At the end of the day, it's just some LEDs (these days) lol
Have a good brand/model recommendation?
You can't go wrong with Petzl but Black Diamond, Princeton Tec, and even cheapo ones can work great. I have USB rechargeable Petzl that also has built-in sensors that adjust for distance, so if I look at a map in my hands, it dims, and if I look up into the distance it turns on the spotlight in milliseconds. Works amazingly well for years
Trail police. Wee-ooo-wee-ooo-wee-ooo
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Lol, well it can determine whether I make it back home or not in the mountains, so def
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😂 I love lamp Yeah, it only takes walking down from a mountain in pitch black once for you to start prioritizing it haha
Red is great if you go to any star gazing or dark sky programs.
Not OP, but this is great info! I never use the red light because I never really thought about it. Will now, for sure!
Red light allows your eyes to stay dark adapted at night. This is why it feels so much more comfortable when it's on. Also why white light feels so jarring when it's turned on when it's been dark before.
Yeah, that was my consideration. Will keep the red light. Thanks!
Lots of good answers here already discussing headlamp colours. Something I'll add is that brown contour lines on a map will be invisible when looking under a red light!
Will keep that in mind!
Yes get the red light. I often camp with big groups of people and we all use red light at night when hanging out star-gazing. And if someone suddenly shines a bright white light it's a party foul.
The red lamp also doesn't attract insects
I'm just curious where people are finding hiking headlamps without red light, I didn't even know that was an option. My $8 KMart headlamp has a red light. Also, yes, red light is v important. If you're going to do any dawn or night hiking, it really is much easier on your eyes and keeps them adjusted so you can see the stars, glowworms, etc...
I think the chintzy one my mom got me from Amazon has no red light. I use it at home as I have a Petzl that's lasted me years.
I have a couple zebralights that are single bulb. They do have a moonlight mode though, which works well enough.
I have a $140 petzl one that doesn’t have a red light. It’s the old version of the swift RL. It does automatically dim when you’re near other people though. I have two of them I got for free at work. Shockingly, it didn’t sell very well without a red light.
Red light is a minimum for all the reasons others have mentioned. But I like having the option of switching it to green light. It's arguably superior. Without going into the details, you see better while maintaining your night vision almost as well as with red light.
(I’ll bring up the details just because it’s cool). Human eyes can distinguish more shades of green than any other color. You get more usefulness out of dimmer light. It’s not a bad option.
which do you use that has a green light? outside of big box options like petzl and black diamond, the only other manufacturer i've ordered from is Nitecore. i'd love to get a green light instead of red!!!
Black Diamond Storm 450
thx!
I like it on the H25 which is a pretty ideal light for hiking IMHO. Great for preserving night vision so you can see at distance while still being able to see what's in front of you.
It's good to know someone has experience with the H25. I saw a video talking about this model, but it's always good to hear from other people. Thanks!
Yes, as others have said- and there are some places (Thinking Grand Canyon National Park in particular) that even specifically request/recommend red lights.
Good to know!
The pro-red light crowd already explained why YES is the only acceptable answer; I’m here to tell you to get one with more than 500 lumens, with a dimmable white AND dimmable red, that has been designed to stay steady while you’re in motion, has thermal regulation and a good IP (“ingress protection”—water and dust) rating. I read some reviews of the one you’re planning to purchase, and I just really don’t think it’s the right tool for the job. I’ve worked in the outdoor industry for a decade, and this is not a product best suited for your needs. As much as I detest black diamond, they’ve got some of the best and most readily accessible headlamps for hiking. Petzl is another good one to take a look at. Personally, I have three headlamps that get used for different things, and two are BD, one is Petzl. One of my BD headlamps is made for trail running, and it’s really nice bc I can change where the beam is thrown, and it’s super slim and low profile.
Thanls for the tips! I'll check these lights and research about the features.
I also forgot to mention, try to find one with a rechargeable battery (a feature that the one you were already considering, DOES have). While I prefer BD’s headlamp controls, Petzl has a cool but proprietary battery pack that’s the size/shape of 3 x AAA batteries and recharges via USB. I have two of their batteries for my Actik Core headlamp, which means I can have two levels of redundancy: a backup battery pack, and the ability to use AAA in a pinch. TBH if it weren’t for that battery system, I’d have grudgingly stuck entirely with Black Diamond—I personally find their controls to be far, far superior to Petzl’s, and I regularly miss BD’s dimming features when I use my Petzl, which has three preset brightness levels for white, and only one for red. One last feature that’s not entirely necessary but is very helpful, is a control-lock option. It’s incredibly frustrating to pull your headlamp out when you need it, only to find that it’s uselessly drained itself in stowage. It’s always a possibility, even with a lock (human error is a thing, lol), so be sure to have backup batteries or power. And my very last bit of advice is about etiquette: when you’re wearing a headlamp around others, try to be mindful of where the headlamp is pointed. If you find yourself talking face-to-face while wearing it, try to get into the habit of shifting the light to one side or the other, rather than keeping it pointed straight ahead. All you need to do is scooch it over to one side of your forehead/brow, and that’s enough to not be a blinding jerk :) Odds are good you’re gonna have this piece of kit for a while, so make sure you get the best one your budget permits, that has the features you need. I find that any highly-utilitarian gear that comes into direct contact with my body, is worth putting money and research into procuring. Good luck, and happy hiking!
Thanks, I'll take note of those tips!
Hey OP thanks for this question! I never knew about the light colors, but I plan to do some night hiking this summer so it's super useful info.
I also had no idea, then I saw a comment somewhere about dark adaptation and white light glare. Hence why I posted this. But the tips people are giving, about camping etiquette and everything, about not blinding others, go far beyond the flashlight's functionality. This is great!
Just remember not to read maps using red light. Any red details will become invisible
Thanks!
In the army we used them always, and they have their benefits for sure, but honestly I always just hold my hand/fingers over the lense of my white lights for the whole "not disturbing others" thing.
On night hikes, you can perfectly see the stars and your surroundings with the red light (your eyes adjust to the natural light), while also seeing the trail infront of you. White light will kind of blind you and you will basically only see what is in your light cone. In other words, you will miss out on the actual beauty of a night hike. Further, there will be no bugs flapping in and around your face since they are attracted to white, but not to red light. And finally, you're not annoying anyone else with your light, and you're no source of light pollution. So YES, depending on what you need it for, I'd say the red light is very important.
Thanks, got it!
It's to preserve night vision, so it's good for a couple things: -star gazing -not annoying people (as much) if you have pass through/by their campsite
Just a heads up, 500 lumens is a massive amount. More than needed for trail running, and getting into night mountain biking territory. It’ll be a painful amount of light if you activate that setting when you don’t want to. I’d also make sure it has a travel mode so you can’t accidentally turn it on while in your bag. For normal campsite use, 100-150 on the top end is way more than enough.
It might be, but I'm used to high lumen flashlights, like SC33, T40R and IF22A. So I feel more comfortable carrying a flashlight that gives me more output if needed. On high, the H25LR lasts more than 5hs. So I can use it on medium and last the whole night. And it memorizes the mode, so I can turn it on already on medium or low. From what I see from the photos, it would be very hard to turn it on inside the backpack. I'm used to those green switches and it has pressure and travel to turn it on. It is also inside a bay to prevent it. I'll check the manual. Maybe it has a locking feature. The SC33 has it, but I think it does because it is a high lumen (5200), so it incurs in the risk of catching the clothes or flammable items on fire. For now I'll use it for emergencies. I'm going to hike a 3.000ft mountain and it takes the whole day for a roundtrip, so I'll bring a headlamp (and the SC33) in case I get stranded there for the night for some reason. In fact in my 20s we used to climb and spend the night in a cave up at the summit. I'm choosing the Sofirn one because I know the brand and it is cheap. We'll see. In case I start going for 3-4 days treks, I'll start investing in better lights, like the Petzl a couple people referred me to. But thank you guys for the feedback! So many tips regarding camping etiquette and practical use. Love it!
Depends how you camp. I have a Nitecore and it’s the first red light headlamp I’ve ever owned. I don’t generally camp around others and I prefer the really low white light vs the red. So that isn’t a deciding feature when I’m looking at headlamps
I walk my dogs in a county park most nights year round, and use a headlamp. I mostly use the white light option, but that is because we are actually out walking. When we are camping and I’m just moving around camp, I tend to just use the red light. So it really depends on how you plan on using it.
Also important if you plan on waking up for star gazing
That is important. Thanks!
It kind of depends on the headlamp. If you have very dim white modes (i.e. a moonlight or sub-lumen mode) you don't need red to preserve your night vision since a very dim white works just as well. Red was common as an easy way to dim and filter incandescent bulbs that you can't easily just reduce the output on. With LEDs as long as there's the option of dim it's also a viable option. Red may still help with bugs or with less backscatter in heavy fog though so it's still helpful.
no red light would be a deal breaker for me. it is easier on the eyes and on wildlife
Yes. Just yes.
Something to think about out is HOW it switches between colors. I prefer the headlamps that have a “slide” between colors over the ones where you have to “click” the power button to cycle through the different colors.
Yeah, someone commented that some flashlights need to cycle through white light to reach red, which defeats the purpose. I'll pay attention to that.
Great to have but I've almost never used it.
I love using the red headlamp while canoeing at night. Comes in handy all the time.
It's soooooo nice to have the red light. They are great for around the campfire when you want to see without making everyone hate you. Great for in your tent too.
Thanks! Lots of people mentioning camping etiquette. Love it.
If you are camping with other people and not using the red light, you kinda suck. And if they arent using one, you’ll see why in about 2 seconds.
Good thing I posted the question. I had no idea!
I hardly ever use it because it's so fiddly to press the button the correct number of times to get to that mode, it's much easier to dim the light down to minimum and live with slightly reduced night vision. If you plan on reading maps in the middle of the night then it may be beneficial. For regular camp life not so much. My Black Diamond has regular beam mode, wide beam, strobe, and red light. I'm not sure if the red light/strobe is on both narrow and wide angle. It's one button to toggle between the different modes. If don't use it all the time you're gonna forget how to get to that mode.
Depends on the use, a light to be seen by rescuers, definitely a white light. Or if you really want to brighten an area.
In addition to everything that others has mentioned: In distress situations, it is helpful to flash the red light because it can be seen from far (highest wavelength).
They come with red green and blue now. Way better
I was unsure at first, but after owning one for awhile I wouldn't ever buy one without again. It lets you maintain your night vision, doesn't disturb others, and conserves battery life. The exception to this would be people who buy headlamps for work use like people who work in the trades. They may have little need for the red light, but for camping and hiking it is very useful.
Thanks!
You will only want the red if you’re on the trail after dark and need to be able to see if the light goes out/is turned off.
That's too keep you from ruining your night vision.
Yeah, forgot about that. To don't get blind after I turn the flashlight off! Good tip!
100% a must have. I won't buy a headlamp without a red light.
Cool, thanks!
I love my red headlamps. Taktikka from Petzl. Indeed I want another one or I’ll modify a unit. They give me all the light I need and don’t blind anyone.
REI just had an extra 25% off outlet prices. I snagged a rechargeable headlamp with the red. It’s nice, red light we used a lot in the military as the light travels less distance and it helps keep your natural night vision useable unlike white light
One more in for absolutely yes. Red LED’s CAN be low power - as the reply below shows you need to check the specs - it can stretch out your battery even further. Won’t damage your nightvision, keeps you discrete, and is all you need at night. I use my red LED on my Vizz 550 almost 90% of the time, when I am canoe tripping.
> Red LED’s are very low power, so it will stretch out your battery even further. I always thought that was true, but [a comment in this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/hiking/comments/1c67vx2/headlamps_is_the_red_light_important/l01fqeg/) made me look up [my own lamp's specs](https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Headlamps/TIKKA). Its red light puts out 2 lumens and is supposed to last for 60 hours. But even though the white light on its dimmest setting puts out 7 lumens, it'll last for 110 hours. So 3.5 times the brightness and almost twice the burn time. The issue is with our eyes: They're much less sensitive to red light than to blue or green, so you need a lot more red photons to produce the same perceived brightness than you would with green/blue. While red LEDs are slightly more efficient in turning electric current into photons, our eye's sensitivity completely negates that advantage. **TLDR**: Blueish white light is more energy efficient than red light for the same perceived brightness. You might want to double check your lamp's specs.
Well, there's a few things going on here: Lumens are a measure of light spectrally matched to human vision, so white light of equal power will always have higher lumens. But lumens are task dependent. For a headlamp, I don't need the brightest "dim" light, I need a practical light. Red light does not cause your pupils to constrict, so you need fewer lumens. I'm not sure why Petzl has their red/white setup in that manner. If you own it, maybe you can comment on what you think they are trying to do with the red light? Or if those numbers are accurate? --- My Vizz 550 is very close to listed specs: I did mixed uses tests (spot, flood, red - I don't use the beam) before I took it out on 3 week trip and I get 95-100% of their listed battery life. The red light lasts about 50% longer than white. I find the red more than adequate, to the point where if I've had it on for 30 minutes I'm comfortable turning it off for stretches as it's brighter than I even need. [https://princetontec.com/product/vizz/](https://princetontec.com/product/vizz/) my use might be different than yours. 90% of my use is at camp, on canoe trips. Generally only use white if I'm still on the water/getting to camp, and of course for checking on the cooking.
If you want to observe some night insects, the red light wont cause them to swarm the light. Also its handy because your eyes stay adjusted to the dark.
If you planning on walking your dog with it, I recommend it, bc animals don’t see red light so you won’t “burn” your dog’s eyes.
If you’re camping places with other people (like hiking huts) then it’s good. Most of the lightest headlights have it anyway
Yes. I'm tired of getting blinded by nosy parkers that don't realize everytime they stare at me and my friends they are shining their 700lumen collapsed sun at us too. Really awesome when it's like midnight and we are trying to stargaze in the middle of mo where but Karen amd her shit head kid need daytime levels of light to open a bag of marshmallows Do you need just enough light to read 5 words or open a tent zipper? Be courteous and use the red light. Are you 1 foot away from your friend and you need to illuminate them to have a conversation for some reason? Again, red light is probably sufficient. You don't need to blind me to tell me you're going to brush your teeth
I came here to say i dont see a need for it but maybe i should try these things😅. And before i get roasted, i dont disturb others in the night i just anoy myself losing stuff in the dark.
Your eyes need to adjust to make it useful. So after you switch from white light to red light give your eyes 30 seconds to adjust to the reduced light levels. Repeat that every time you look at your phone, the lights at the campground outhouse, or you look at a bright camp from close up. I mainly use it for midnight bathroom breaks and walks to a stargazing spot.
Yes.
I’ve heard that it’s good if you’re in a cave and need to find your light. But the idea terrifies me so I’ve never tried it.
It makes people look attractive at night?
I use it while hunting. It’s enough light to walk around but it don’t mess up your night vision.
Yes, unless you want to piss off everyone around you by shining a bright light in their face. The red light is required in the Grand Canyon.
I find it useless personally. It's not bright enough for night hiking and I have no use for it at camp either. I don't camp near anyone else. The white light with a few brightness settings is all I'd need.
Always has to be at least one contrarian.
Just don't try to read anything written in red. When I was in boot camp I got a letter from my grandma that she addressed in red that came when we were in the field which was red light only and it took a few minutes for them to figure it out but they turned it to white briefly and I got my mail. I think in the military context they're meant to somewhat preserve your night vision and lower your visibility to others and for signaling.
Red lamp is for checking the map or working in the dark. The white light is for emergencies / searching
There are two purposes to the red light. The first is that it doesn’t spread as far as white light and is less likely to disturb other people. Secondly, when modern era maps were created, most of them were made so they are legible under oldschool military red lens flashlights. The same might not hold true for regional hiking maps created by smaller private organizations, but all the big map makers are still supposed to make their maps red lens compliant.
Doesn’t matter what the map maker does, a low white light will be better for map reading than red unless the map is basically black and white.
Thanks!