Why Glow Sticks Are the Perfect Prepper Illumination

Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course

When you think of glow sticks, you probably think of children’s parties or, depending on your generation, raves and nightclubs. But I’ve always kept them on hand in my preps for a variety of reasons.

This is an inexpensive, safe, and easy way to provide a little bit of light during a power outage – in fact, you can grab a set for less than $5!

UPDATE: To clarify, I’m not suggesting that you replace your solar and battery-operated products and shift only to glowsticks. These are an inexpensive and “fun” way to manage a power outage that lasts a day or two. They can be especially uplifting for children who may be worried in the dark, and the fact that they can be worn can help you keep track of little ones outside more easily. This is just one more tool in your prepper arsenal, not a replacement for the other tools. 🙂

Why I like glow sticks for power outages

I have a pretty wide variety of power outage lighting: candles, flashlights, solar lamps, battery-operated lanterns, and much more. But the one that I turn to again and again for its soft “nightlight” vibes is the humble glowstick.

Part of the issue for me is that since I have become disabled, my balance is off, particularly in the dark. Walking through a dark house to get to the bathroom can add another problem to our power outage quandary. If we’re experiencing a lengthy power outage, I pop a glow stick in a vase in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. I don’t need tons of light – just enough to see where my feet are going.

This works well for children too. If you have a child or grandchild who sleeps with a nightlight, a power outage can become even more alarming. You can get a little juice glass and let them pick a couple of colors to light up their night, and suddenly, it’s a little party instead of a scary, dark room.

If you live in a household with pets, you’ll want to be very careful with things like candles and oil lamps. I only use these things under direct supervision because we have cats and I certainly don’t want them to knock something over and start a fire.

Other uses for glowsticks

Another thing I like is a glowstick bracelet or necklace. If you’re outdoors at night and not concerned about being seen, you can pop a bracelet on all the children and be able to spot them in the dark a whole lot easier. I used to always use these when we had bonfires up at the cottage when I lived in Canada. The kids always thought it was great fun and nobody ever objected to choosing their favorite color. You can also use them to mark off boundaries outdoors for the kiddos.

These can also be comforting indoors when your little one has their own little piece of illumination to take with them to the bathroom or down a dark hallway.

If you can trust your pet not to chew on it, you can also add a glowstick to his collar so you can easily find the little rascal in the dark.

You can mark obstacles in your home, like that one step down into the family room that everyone forgets about, or light up stairways by wrapping a few around the banister.

I keep them in my car’s emergency kit, too, so that I can not only have light, but also be visible to passing cars if I’ve been in an accident.

How the military uses glow sticks

The US Department of Defense is the biggest purchaser of glowsticks in the world. They don’t use the kind for children’s parties. Instead, they use packs of “chem lights.”  These are even brighter and have handy little hooks on top.

McGuire Army-Navy shares some of the ways these lights are used by the military, which could inspire you with some new ideas for yourself.

Night Operations

Glowsticks are a help with visibility at night. They’re particularly useful for mitigating hazards by marking them off.

The military also has infrared glowsticks, which are great for marking targets, landing zones, friendly forces, and anything they don’t want to use visible light for.

Hazardous Conditions

Because glowsticks are non-flammable and don’t spark, they’re ideal for using near technological hazards and in natural disasters. They can also be used underwater.

Room Clearing

Glowsticks are a simple and easy way to mark which rooms have been cleared. Just crack one and toss it in the cleared room.

Minefield Marking

An obviously useful purpose of glowsticks is letting soldiers know where a minefield is located.

Route Marking

A very effective and easy to make sure that troops don’t take a wrong turn. (If only Hansel and Gretel took some into the woods that day.)

Survival and First Aid Kits

Glowsticks are an absolute necessity in survival situations.

Search and Rescue

Ideal for water rescue operations, in particular, since they float and are waterproof.

Glowsticks are so vital to military ops, that chemlights are issued with various durations, sizes, shapes, light intensities, colors, and also in infrared. The Dept. of Defense reportedly orders about 20 million of them a year!

That’s a heck of a lot of glow sticks!

Caution: Glow Sticks do have some risks

Glow sticks are not completely risk-free, and the decision to use them depends on your dynamics and your children.

Most of the time, the goop inside (dibutyl phthalate – a clear, oily, colorless liquid) the glowstick is non-toxic, though it will cause an upset stomach. This is not true of all brands, so you’ll need to look if you are worried about your little humans chomping into one. Even the non-toxic ones will cause an upset stomach and some mouth irritation.

North Carolina Poison Control offers these tips.

For Ingestion:

• Don’t be alarmed if lips and tongue glow for a few minutes.
• Wipe the mouth with a clean wet washcloth.  Go over the tongue and around the gum line.
• Give the child up to one-half cup (4 ounces) of water.

For Eye Exposure:

• Wash exposed eye(s) with a generous amount of room temperature water for at least 10 minutes.
• Call NC Poison Control for ongoing irritation, swelling, pain, or sensitivity to light.

For Skin Exposure:

• Remove any clothing that is wet with the liquid.
• Wash exposed areas of skin well with soap and water.

While unpleasant, it’s unlikely to cause any longterm issues with direct exposure.

What kind of glow sticks should you get?

There are all different kinds of glowsticks out there and I don’t think you need to go hog wild and get the most expensive, military grade ones if your budget is tight.

Here are a few that you can find on Amazon:

• These are about $1 per stick. They’re longer-lasting and brighter. They are similar to the type used by the US military.
• Here’s a little version of the bright green ones. These are much smaller and also far less expensive.
• I’m a big believer in making stressful situations as pleasant as possible, so I’ve always invested in the kind for parties.
• Here’s a set for less than $5 if money is tight. It contains both sticks and bracelets.
• This larger set for $7 also contains necklaces, which I think are nice to have for smaller kids and pets – it’s way easier to keep them on than a bracelet that is too big.
• There’s even an elaborate set with headbands, hair scrunchies, rings, and more. (I’m not sure I’d ever use those glasses – it seems like that would be blinding, doesn’t it?)
• For keeping track of your kids, there are these cute sets of headbands with cat ears, unicorn horns, and princess crowns.

What about you?

Do you keep glow sticks in your emergency kit? Do you have other uses not mentioned here? Let’s talk about glow sticks for preppers in the comments section.

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