Glow sticks

[wingstoo]

Hi Folks,

For those interested in getting some Glow sticks I would recommend this site......

http://kaiiak321.com/_wsn/page3.html

They are very cheap if you buy in bulk, (even cheaper than when I bought them) so would be good if a few of you got together, at £34.99 per hundred it works out less than 35p each this price includes P+P and VAT.

LS

 

[Ryan Woods]

Cheers mate!! I'd like to purchase 10 red, maybe 10 green (for such a dirt cheap price hard not to!! ) anyone else in for a group buy?

The military uses I know of are:
1. Casualty marking at night for quick reference
2. Mine/boobytrap* marking: cut the cylinder and let the liquid drop (ive heard the red stuff is even visible during day time)
3. Marking entrances, paths etc
4. Tied to paracord: wirl it real fast as night arial ID marker for landing aircraft...No natural object moves like that.

As for civilian purposes: what doe you use them for? Lights for in the tent? Bergan marking? Map reading?

What colours do you recommend? I can only think of red because of "DANGER" or "warning" message being associated with it...

*together with convetty party spray (to check for trip wires) makes good mine detection/marking kit (anyway thats enough camoflauge talk, ill shut up!) :twak:

 

[Toddy]

Certainly not as thick as these ones, but if you go to the £ stores, they are selling tubes of 20 glowsticks for £1. Assorted colours, 20cms long.
The thicker ones they have are maybe only 15cms long and were being sold for 4 for £1.
The thinner ones seem to glow quite satisfactorily for at least 12 hours and some of the colours were still glowing three nights later

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Ryan Woods]

Wow cant beat 20/1 or 25p each...!! Thats brill. Could you think of any major quality differences between the two retailers?

 

[British Red]

As for civilian purposes: what doe you use them for? Lights for in the tent? Bergan marking? Map reading?

What colours do you recommend? I can only think of red because of "DANGER" or "warning" message being associated with it...

QUOTE]

I use for oh, loads of stuff! The tiny ones are great as float markers for night fishing (or so I'm told). I carry Red and Blue in the car as emergency markers (never understood "road flares" when there could be petrol around). They are great for safety inspections as there is no heat or chance of a spark. I've also hung one around the neck of the lead and last guy when night walking, used em as a bivi site marker (up a tree) (following the...where did I camp debacle which lasted a while). The only ones I find that give a real practical working light are the cyalume high intensities (30 and 5 minute glows). They do make good "backups" as they are a chemical process and hence don't go off like batteries (although they seem to have a shelf life - don't know why). You get more light for weight from an LED light though

Red

 

[2blackcat]

Have a look at the competitions page on the wilderness121 site

I won't put a direct link in case too many people enter and I reduce my chance of winning

 

[Toddy]

Wow cant beat 20/1 or 25p each...!! Thats brill. Could you think of any major quality differences between the two retailers?

I suspect it depends more on what you intend to use them for. The £store ones are fine for marking tents and pathways, guylines and kids
The thinner ones come with joining clips to turn them into bracelets or longer, multiple, lengths. The thicker ones have lanyard holes. Both sizes make good signal wands but I don't know if I'd rely on them in severe weather as people or trail markers. I think I'd prefer led torches and reflective tapes.
I think we'd need to trial the two different supplies for comparison.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Ryan Woods]

Thaks Toddy and Red! :You_Rock_

Both some extra points.

 

[Longstrider]

I have used the thinner ones from the £1 shops as markers for some time. They seem to last just as long as more expensive brands and as Toddy says, they usually come with little plastic joining pieces so you can make each one into a bracelet if needed. These "bracelets" are ideal for marking routes with as they are easily attached to a low branch etc. We usually put a few in strategic positions around camp so that we can see our way "home" after trips to water the local vegetation during the night without drawing too much attention, or being a nuisance to others, by shining a torch about the place.

Maplins Electronics also sell light sticks (at least, they did last time I wanted some). They sell a version that is about the same diameter as the £1 shop ones, but they are considerably longer. Each one in the pack comes in it's own protective plastic tube to prevent accidentally snapping them into life. Maplins also sell the big versions but I cannot remember what they were charging for them.

As well as using them around camp, I always take some with me when travelling abroad to stay in hotels. Not everyone has the same sort of regulations regarding the marking of fire exits as we do in the UK, and waking suddenly from a deep sleep due to an emergency, in a completely dark, strange room and not even knowing where the door is could be fatal. Also, if you hang one in the loo it usually provides enough illumination to save you putting the light on in the night (often accompanied by those ventilation fans that seem to make a hell of a row at 3am!)

And, lets face it, they're pretty too !

 

[BorderReiver]

As well as using them around camp, I always take some with me when travelling abroad to stay in hotels. Not everyone has the same sort of regulations regarding the marking of fire exits as we do in the UK, and waking suddenly from a deep sleep due to an emergency, in a completely dark, strange room and not even knowing where the door is could be fatal. Also, if you hang one in the loo it usually provides enough illumination to save you putting the light on in the night (often accompanied by those ventilation fans that seem to make a hell of a row at 3am!)

And, lets face it, they're pretty too !

Some very useful ideas,cheers.