Review: UVPaqlite

I had a comment left for me by a reader on my Facebook page (g'day LCpl Thralls!) following on from my Lazerbrites post I dropped by UVPaqLite to check out their glowsticks.

I'm a sucker for lights, as my regular viewers would know, and have an enormous affection for glow-in-the-dark products, having decorated many childhood bedrooms with constellations and have expanded that into my adult life with the SAR GlobalTool Moon-Glows. I was impressed by the range of rugged, practical items that UVPaqLite had on offer, and snapped up their mixed collection Scout Pack.

 I put my Moon-Glow down beside the collection for a comparison as well as a wrapped cyalume stick, for scale. I super-charged all of these with my Jil-Lite Jenyx UV torch

The scout pack consists of four different elements; the UVGlowStik, the 6" ToobLite, a UVO ring necklace and the flexible signature UVPaqLite sheet. 

The UVGlowStik, ToobLite and UVO are solid pieces, consisting of solidified clear epoxy, in which crystals of
glow-in-the-dark strontium aluminate are suspended. Being solid-state, these pieces can be cut or drilled and can also be taken to ANY depth. 

Unlike traditional GITD products, the large crystals are clearly visible but apparently this large granularity increases the brightness, duration and speed of charging, they certainly appeared to do so.

The 4"x1/2" UVGlowStik is not quite as bright overall as the 6" ToobLite, but is "ruggedised", lacking
the tube, plastic cap, and key chain ring of its larger cousin, but features a drilled lanyard hole.

Swiped from UVPaqLite webpage.

The UVO is 1.75" in diameter, and comes in both the traditional greenish GITD hue, but also in their "Ice Blue", but subtly adjusting the chemical composition of the crystals. Spinning the UCO on its lanyard produces a signalling method of contrasting of light and movement which would make it easier for rescue crews to see from the air.

The UVPaqLite flatpack is a vacuum sealed roll-able, stuff-able, pouch measuring 20cm x 15cm (8"x6") and weighing only 36g (1.3oz) and can be dangled or laid flat to provide a tents forth of illumination all night long.  Better yet they have an essentially infinite shelf life, unlimited recharge cycles. Perfect for a disaster, where resupply, or even infrastructure is doubtful.

I found that the whole set could be exposed to electric room lights for "getting ready for bed" durations, and still be visibly glowing in the pre-dawn gloom, when Tactical Baby comes calling. Daylight exposure for just a few minutes makes them light up visibly even in lit environments, thanks broken ozone layer! UVPaqLite suggest that they would still be visible as markers even after 4 days of cave-darkness. These are super cool, and I think I will be adding more to my collection as soon as budget allows, great gift ideas are forming ...