There are a couple of god reasons to go with a colored LED headlamp, but particularly a red LED headlamp. For starters, it takes less battery power to power a red LED than it does to power a white LED. So you end up saving power with a red LED headlamp. Red light also doesn’t spoil your night vision, so that when you turn your headlamp off, you will still be able to see whatever you can see with the ambient light, rather than being temporarily blind until your eyes adjust.
Red LED Headlamp
What to look for when you want a red LED headlamp.- LED or Cover – Many headlamps give you the option of a red cover or lens that you can snap in to place over a white LED. This will help with night vision, but will not, obviously, give you the other advantage of a red LED, which is the battery power saved by using a red LED over a white LED. So find out if you’re using an actual red LED or if there’s just a red lens.
- Power Profiles – One of the more useful features of headlamps, regardless of their color, is the different power options that many come with. You get a high power setting for when you need a lot of light, and a low power setting for when you need only a small amount of light. Many headlamps come with both red and white LEDs, and make it so that you can switch between the two by changing the power setting.
Best Red LED Headlamp
Some of the very best red LED headlamps.- Petzl Zipka Plus 2 - The Zipka is an ideal headlamp for those that want to save on weight and bulk. It weighs a very slim 2.5 ounces, or 70 grams, and even has a retractable head strap so that it fits right in your pocket. It has one red LED that will help you save your night vision and save batteries too. In fact it will go for 150 hours on the lowest power setting, and will put out an impressive 70 lumens on the highest setting.
- Petzl Tikka Plus 2 - The Tikka 2 is very similar to the Zipka above, but is designed with a standard headband, and more of a traditional headlamp feel. It has a red LED built in, of course, which will give you about 100 hours of use, though you can get 140 out of the lowest power setting. And on high, you can expect about 50 lumens, which is more than enough for most uses. With batteries, the whole thing weighs 2.9 ounces, or 82 grams.
- Black Diamond Storm - The Storm is a headlamp built for storms. It's waterproof, for starters, and will put out an impressive 100 lumens, which is the kind of brightness you need in bad weather. It has 2 red LEDs, rather than just one, so you can have a good look around with the red light mode on. On the lowest power setting you will also get a very impressive 200 hours of battery life. So a red LED headlamp that is ideally suited for a wide range of conditions.
