Nite Ize LED Mini Glowsticks

[xxo]

I got one of these 4 packs a few weeks ago at Home Depot when they were clearing out the 4 packs, which I think were a left over black Friday special (Home Depot sells 2 packs of red Nite Ize glowsticks as a regular item).

They have a couple of big advantages over chemical glow lights: one is that they can be turned on
and off at will by twisting the head and the other is that 4 included alkaline AG3 (LR41) cells are replaceable making the Nite Ize glow sticks fully reusable and more adaptable than single use chemical glowsticks.

These LED glowsticks seem brighter than the typical chemical glowstick and have a claimed run time of up to 60 hrs. (ANSI FL-1 Standard). They are also water resistant to 1M, will float (very lightweight!) and each comes with a little plastic Nite Ize S biner.

I kind of expected the red LED to be a bit dimmer than the blue and green LED's based on experience with colored Photon lights back in the day, but actually the red appears to be slightly brighter if anything.

These seem like they would be great for finding your pack or tent when camping, keeping track of kids and other members of a group after dark (different colors could help identify who is who at a distance). They are are even bright enough for reading if you hold them fairly close to the page. These should also be good for being seen when walking or biking at night.


Size comparison with a Sharpie and a AA cell:

I have not tested the run time or had to change the batteries as of yet, but if anyone is interested in how it's done, here's a Nite Ize video on showing the battery change with the aid of a jeweler's Phillips screw driver:



AG3 (LR41) alkaline cells can be had for good prices on the net. Silver oxide chemistry cells of the same size, such as Energizer's 392-384 should work also with about 25% longer run time, though these generally cost more than the alkaline AG3's.

So far I am liking these Nite Ize glowsticks; they are bright enough, light enough and inexpensive enough to be viable replacements for single use chemical glowsticks, with the huge advantages of being able to replace the batteries and turn them on and off whenever you like.

 

[Woods Walker]

Thanks for posting the review!

 

[BigBluefish]

Neat. I'm sure I could find a few uses for these.

 

[Stevie]

I bought some, very useful indeed. When we go camping and it gets busy, we have had a couple of silly people walk into our tent as they are not carrying flashlights (!) These are just the ticket, clip one to the tent and we are easily seen.

 

[Koam]

Lowes has singles for $2.37 thru May 17th.

 

[Timothybil]

Lowes has singles for $2.37 thru May 17th.

Battery Junction has them for about the same price. After reading this review and looking at the description, I had to speak severely to myself to keep from ordering some. I have already spent my limit for this quarter, so will have to wait till July. Then I can call it a birthday present.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

AG3 batteries are a bit too small IMO. I have 2 light sticks one is white and one flashes amber both take 3 AG13 batteries.

 

[xxo]

AG3 batteries are a bit too small IMO. I have 2 light sticks one is white and one flashes amber both take 3 AG13 batteries.

I was thinking bigger batteries would be better as well, but I also think that 4 batteries might be a good idea so that could power the LED at near full brightness until they are pretty much dead.

 

[MAD777]

Thanks for the info. I can see a few uses for these.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Those are pretty slick.

I use the disposable chem lights to mark a downed deer at last light while I go out to the truck to get my game cart. The dollar store has them 4 for a buck so they are handy to have.

Bob

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I was thinking bigger batteries would be better as well, but I also think that 4 batteries might be a good idea so that could power the LED at near full brightness until they are pretty much dead.

IMO unless you need uber tiny these days it doesn't cost much more to incorporate a boost circuit for 1AAA power I pretty much avoid button cell powered devices unless size is a big concern. The main reason for 4 AG3 is probably that the smaller sized alkaline batteries cannot hold decent voltage under loads of powering LEDs as the AG3 is rated at about 35mah compared to an AG13 of perhaps 150mah you can see that powering a 10-20ma load would drain an AG3 in but a few hours vs perhaps 8 hours for AG13.
If you compare with about 1000mah for a AAA even taxed with the load of a boost circuit you still end up with an effective 300-400mah at needed voltage to power LEDs more than twice of an AG13 setup at about the same cost in batteries if you order them but to find them locally AG type batteries can cost 25 cents or so each maybe 15 cents if you find a vendor selling cheap chinese cards of them compare it with going to a dollar store and getting AAAs for 4/$1 button cells don't make as much sense as an option.

 

[iamlucky13]

Thanks for review.

My toddler often thinks he wants to play with flashlights when he sees me using them, but if he got them into one of the higher modes, they could potentially be bright enough to cause some harm.

These could be a better toy for him, as long as the battery compartment is reasonably secure. He loves turning things off and one.

I'd also much prefer to feed them AAA's, but if AG3 powered is what's available, it'll do.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Thanks for review.

My toddler often thinks he wants to play with flashlights when he sees me using them, but if he got them into one of the higher modes, they could potentially be bright enough to cause some harm.

These could be a better toy for him, as long as the battery compartment is reasonably secure. He loves turning things off and one.

I'd also much prefer to feed them AAA's, but if AG3 powered is what's available, it'll do.

Just make sure and not let him play with coin cell lights.... could be deadly if he eats one of the batteries.

 

[xxo]

IMO unless you need uber tiny these days it doesn't cost much more to incorporate a boost circuit for 1AAA power I pretty much avoid button cell powered devices unless size is a big concern. The main reason for 4 AG3 is probably that the smaller sized alkaline batteries cannot hold decent voltage under loads of powering LEDs as the AG3 is rated at about 35mah compared to an AG13 of perhaps 150mah you can see that powering a 10-20ma load would drain an AG3 in but a few hours vs perhaps 8 hours for AG13.
If you compare with about 1000mah for a AAA even taxed with the load of a boost circuit you still end up with an effective 300-400mah at needed voltage to power LEDs more than twice of an AG13 setup at about the same cost in batteries if you order them but to find them locally AG type batteries can cost 25 cents or so each maybe 15 cents if you find a vendor selling cheap chinese cards of them compare it with going to a dollar store and getting AAAs for 4/$1 button cells don't make as much sense as an option.

An AAA version would be great! But as it is these are not bad for the price considering that you can replace the batteries for less than cost of a typical chemlight and you get 5-10x longer run time along with the ability to turn them on and off whenever you want.

Even before getting into changing the batteries these LED glowsticks might make sense from a cost perspective. For example if I wanted a couple of glow ticks for a camp site for 8 hrs. each night on a 3 day camp out, chemical glowsticks would cost me $6 at Home Depot vs $5 for a 2 pack of the Nite Ize LEDs and of course at the end of the trip I would still have the 2 LED glowsticks which I could reload with AG3 batteries for $1 or so each (possibly less) vs 6 spent chemical glowsticks which would have to be thrown out.

A long time ago I had a couple of Krill lights which were powered by AA's......well made and easy to feed but they were heavy, expensive and, if memory serves, not as bright as these. What I like about the Nite Ize Glowsticks is that they are lightweight and cheap enough to be direct replacements for chemical glowlights; if they get lost or destroyed – no big loss! On the other hand if I were using them each and every night for walks, bike rides or whatever something that runs on a single AA or AAA would be ideal – with boost circuits coming down in price hopefully we will see some being offered.

 

[xxo]

Thanks for review.

My toddler often thinks he wants to play with flashlights when he sees me using them, but if he got them into one of the higher modes, they could potentially be bright enough to cause some harm.

These could be a better toy for him, as long as the battery compartment is reasonably secure. He loves turning things off and one.

I'd also much prefer to feed them AAA's, but if AG3 powered is what's available, it'll do.

The head is secured by a little screw but I would not trust them with real little kids who might get them apart and could possibly swallow the cells or other parts without close adult supervision. Not that chemical glow sticks are completely safe either….most are small enough to pose a choking hazard and kids often chew on them until they leak (I don't think the liquid is all that toxic but it's a big mess and if they swallow broken glass from the vile inside that you break to mix the chemicals could be life threatening).

 

[Lynx_Arc]

An AAA version would be great! But as it is these are not bad for the price considering that you can replace the batteries for less than cost of a typical chemlight and you get 5-10x longer run time along with the ability to turn them on and off whenever you want.

Even before getting into changing the batteries these LED glowsticks might make sense from a cost perspective. For example if I wanted a couple of glow ticks for a camp site for 8 hrs. each night on a 3 day camp out, chemical glowsticks would cost me $6 at Home Depot vs $5 for a 2 pack of the Nite Ize LEDs and of course at the end of the trip I would still have the 2 LED glowsticks which I could reload with AG3 batteries for $1 or so each (possibly less) vs 6 spent chemical glowsticks which would have to be thrown out.

A long time ago I had a couple of Krill lights which were powered by AA's......well made and easy to feed but they were heavy, expensive and, if memory serves, not as bright as these. What I like about the Nite Ize Glowsticks is that they are lightweight and cheap enough to be direct replacements for chemical glowlights; if they get lost or destroyed – no big loss! On the other hand if I were using them each and every night for walks, bike rides or whatever something that runs on a single AA or AAA would be ideal – with boost circuits coming down in price hopefully we will see some being offered.

Check out the Coleman LED glow sticks, they operate off 1AAA battery and can be bought I think at Target.