Glow Sticks

Keep a few glow sticks in your patrol pack. Snap one and it will glow for hours, long enough to read by or to mark a trail or your position. Sticks come in lengths from 1.5 to 15 inches and burn from 5 to 15 hours. They’re now available in a rainbow of colors, including infrared.

As Halloween approaches, prices come down and availability soars. You’ll find inexpensive varieties in drug, convenience, and discount stores. Cheap sticks don’t have the shelf life or shine as long as the classic brands, Cyalume or Omniglow. My strategy is to buy a dozen cheapies every October, give whatever is left to the kids a year later, when I buy another bunch. You can find wholesale dealers by searching on the web for "glow sticks". Your patrol may want to buy a gross every year.