Originally Posted by
ebrady
Would a red headlight at night would work better then using a white one? Red light is better at preserving night vision, so would this mean that a red light + better night vision, is superior to an equally powered white light with not as good night vision? To clarify things, I am thinking mainly in the context of rural roads, and trail riding. (Night vision is hard to preserve in an urban nighttime environments).
Other then home brewed projects, the only light I know of that could be a candidate for such an experiment would be the new
Dinotte 400L rear tail light.
What about amber or cyan lights?
I've actually done this using DiNotte's triple tail light. I figured that since it put out over 400 lumens, it should work fine. I used it off road, while I was climbing. I had a 600L and a helmet mounted 200L for descending.
The biggest problem was not the washed out colors, but, rather, the lack of
throw. Since the tail lights use a flood lens, the light didn't project far enough in front for higher speeds--hence using it only while climbing.
I did seem to have better peripheral vision. I was able to see in the dark--where the light didn't illuminate--better. When the guy I was riding with--we both were using my tail light to climb by--turned his lights on (3W LED) they seemed very very bright, much brighter than normal. I can only assume that this was because my pupils were dilated so much.
If I did it again, I'd use DiNotte's single LED tail light, with a spot lens, helmet mounted to complement the triple tail light. Or, as you suggested, use the 400L tail light, but again with spot lenses.
It was an interesting experiment, but white lights were still better since the red washes out the color and you tend to lose some detail.