How many people still use light sticks

[thermal guy]

When I was in the service we used to take "cemlights" nightsticks and tape like 5-6 together and play night football. Oh the good old days

 

[thermal guy]

That's what makes the light stick useless - it's almost bright enough to light a page or plate of food if you hold it close, but then you're staring into the light source. Putting another order of magnitude of light within only half the radius resolves everything, clip it to your shirt pocket and everything in front of you is lit all the time..

They actually make a holster/holder for them that has a window in it so light only comes out of one side.

 

[jrgold]

I had some AAA nimh's I didn't have a use for so I picked up a Glo-Toob (the modern glow stick?). The one I selected is amber and it really has a beautiful glow. I clipped it on my 9yo when we went to visit some friends who live on a big farm. He was like a big lightning bug running around that place all night [emoji16]


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[Hooked on Fenix]

They actually make a holster/holder for them that has a window in it so light only comes out of one side.

I have one of those. It cuts the overall light down to about a third but it does help preserve night vision since you're not starring at it and it gives it an on/off function.

 

[Dave_H]

Tetrakisdimetylaminoethylene. As I recall that's what makes fireflies glow. I looked it up in Wikipedia, says it's flammable and corrosive. Not sure if it's the same substance or something related, which is used for lightsticks; probably not. Dave

 

[xxo]

I like these better:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?433022-Nite-Ize-LED-Mini-Glowsticks

 

[broadgage]

I keep glowsticks to hand for emergencies, they are cheap enough to give away and are also the safest light in the event of a gas leak, or need to handle petrol.

The genuine Cyalume branded glowsticks have an expiry date on the wrapper but work for years after that date.
An alternative and very useful product are the glow discs, also by Cyalume, this work in the same way as the glowsticks but are a flat self adhesive disc.
Good for marking tops and bottoms of stairs, or doors in a long power cut. More applicable to places like old folks homes, than for ones own home.

 

[Luminesce]

Years back when I was scuba diving we would attach them to our BCD's or the top of our scuba tanks when we were doing night dives, especially in the ocean.

Everyone was urged to carry a spare flashlight, in case your primary light failed. Having a strobe was also considered a good safety item in case you didn't find the anchor line for your ascent and you made an ascent w/o the line & surfaced a distance away from the boat, it increased the chance you'd be seen by those on the boat. Funny thing is, nowadays, many people hate the strobe light option on their LED lights.

The light stick was a cheap backup, still have a box of them. Multiple fashlights, plenty of spare batteries, solar charger, charger that works in my car, lightsticks, never can be too prepared for an emergency.

 

[GoVegan]

Doug Ritter (among others) has previously written about their shortcomings.
So apart from being un-reliable as a source of light, they are also very wasteful for the environment. There are so many better alternatives such small Pak-lites, Krill Lights, Glo-toobs, or even small/mini lanterns/headlamps/flashlights, for any kit.

Light On The Subject - Flashlights, Chemical and Electroluminescent Lights, Batteries - EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE -

Equipped To Survive - This section covers flashlights, chemical lights, batteries

www.equipped.com

"No matter how useful they are, they do have their shortcomings. Once activated by breaking the internal glass vial and combining the chemicals, they cannot be turned off. That can be inconvenient, as well as annoying. They provide increasingly less illumination as temperatures drop, even at temps well above freezing, and less duration as temperatures increase above 80 degrees F. The high intensity chem-lights were originally developed to combat the cold weather problem. While they last only a short time at normal temperatures (5 and 30 minutes), they last longer, if not a long time, at low temperatures and give more illumination. Whether you need 360-degree illumination or not, that's what you get. The 8- and 12-hour chem-lights will start to dim after a few hours and dim considerably towards the end of their rated life.

A note of caution; these lightsticks are packaged in airtight pressurized foil packaging and if punctured will quickly become useless, especially in humid climates. Shelf life varies with the standard lightsticks lasting about 4 years from date of manufacture down to one year for the ultra high intensity versions.

If the lightstick itself leaks from being crushed or punctured, the non-toxic chemical creates a gross and indelible stain (been there, done that mode). While not lethal, the chemicals involved can be a skin irritant to some, and in some cases a severe irritant. The tiny glass shards that are mixed in with the liquid once the light has been activated could also cause problems. You definitely want to avoid getting the chemicals or class shards in any open wound."

 

[3_gun]

I still have a few on hand but mostly I use battery powered light sticks for when the use allows recovery.

 

[JustAnOldFashionedLEDGuy]

Shelf even for expensive ones is poor. The packaging is not for decoration it's functional as the plastic they are made with is permeable.

A lithium primary battery has better shelf life. Short of an EMP it's a better option. Heck candles are normally better options.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I have an old infrared light stick that's still in it's package. I bought it purely out of curiosity because I was wondering whether it produced near-IR or longwave IR. I have no idea what they were originally intended for.

 

[broadgage]

I have an old infrared light stick that's still in it's package. I bought it purely out of curiosity because I was wondering whether it produced near-IR or longwave IR. I have no idea what they were originally intended for.

The infrared lightsticks were intended for military use. In order that infantry on the ground can signal their location to aircraft (equiped with night vision), without any visible light that gave away their position to enemy troops. Still used to an extent but less valuable these days as the enemy probably have night vision equipment.

Also used for peacetime training in night operations, each soldier has an infra red glowstick affixed to their uniform. An officer in an aircraft or atop a tall structure may observe how effectively men under his command are deploying in the dark.

 

[3oni]

We usually crack one for each tent every night during family camping trips. A high-quality white or green stick will run all night yet doesn't emit enough light to keep anyone awake.

We also keep some in our household disaster kit. Handy little things.

 

[sween1911]

Very handy for power outages. Crack one and put it on the trim over a doorway for a safe nightlight. Or tie it to a string and loop it around a light fixture on the ceiling. Instant room light. Can't say there's too many battery-powered lights I'd trust to just leave sitting turned on. Or that I can keep a couple dozen in a container to sit for a few years unattended and will instantly work. Plus, they're great for little kids.

You can tie one to an object you have to throw to someone, you can get it wet, throw it from a third story window onto concrete without worrying if it will break. All kinds of interesting scenarios that light sticks come in handy for.

We have plenty of lights, but light sticks are indispensable.

 

[The Hawk]

I see we are not the only ones giving trick-or-treaters light sticks. Good for all of us!

 

[alpg88]

as a kid i used to tape them to arrows and shoot up at night, looked cool, and you could see how different bows/crossbows shoot, now leds do that much better. also made it easier to find arrows.
cyalume sticks were the brightest, and had longest shelf life.
thin long tubes are still used at parties, they come in tri colors now, party city store, and similar sell different sizes packs of those.

 

[thermal guy]

In the army, we used to take about five or six of the high lumen version tape them together and play football at night😂😂