Cyalume SnapLight Review: Colour-Coded Emergency Glow Sticks

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In a power cut, the first thing I do is snap a glow stick and hang it on the toilet door handle. The second goes in the kitchen. That’s the whole house navigable in the dark in about ten seconds, with no batteries to go flat, no fumes, no smoke, no heat and no naked flame. The Cyalume SnapLight is the proper version of that trick: industrial-grade glow sticks built to sit in a kit for years and still work the night you need them.

This pack gives you twelve Cyalume SnapLight sticks in six colours, and the colours aren’t just for show. Red, orange, yellow, green, white and blue each have a job, which makes them just as useful in a winter car kit as on the landing at 2am.

Why the Cyalume SnapLight Belongs in a Power Cut Kit

Torches are brilliant until you’re trying to find the torch. Candles give light, but they also give you a naked flame in a dark house with children, pets and curtains. Glow sticks sit neatly between the two. You don’t aim them, you don’t hold them, and you don’t worry about them.

This is how I actually use them in a power cut:

• On the toilet door handle: the one room everyone will need in the night, marked and lit without anyone fumbling for a switch.
• In the kitchen: enough light to find the kettle, the camping stove and the biscuits.
• In your hand: carry one from room to room and set it down or hang it anywhere, with no flame to knock over.

Cyalume rates the SnapLight as waterproof, non-toxic and phthalate-free, and it gives off no heat, which is why these are the ones you can leave in a child’s bedroom or hanging off a door handle without a second thought.

What Colour Glow Sticks to Use for What

A mixed pack is the smart buy, because each colour does a different job:

• Red: signals danger, and gives light without ruining your night vision. Good for a bedroom or a broken-down car.
• Orange and yellow: mean warning. Hang them on car doors or mark a step or a hazard.
• Green: general light, and usually the brightest. The classic choice for the kitchen or landing.
• White: general light too, with truer colours for reading labels or finding the right tin.
• Blue: a spare colour for marking things, so you know which bag is the grab bag.

The Cyalume SnapLight mixed pack covers every one of those, with two sticks of each colour. Cyalume rates them as visible from up to a mile away, which matters when the light is doing the job of warning other drivers rather than lighting your way.

The Bedside Cyalume SnapLight

I keep one by the bed. It’s easy to find by feel in the pitch dark, and there’s nothing to charge or switch on: snap, shake, done. If the power goes at 3am, I’ve got light before I’ve even found my slippers.

That only works because of the shelf life. Cyalume says each SnapLight can be used for up to five years from its date of manufacture, and every stick comes in its own individual packaging, so the ones you don’t use stay sealed and ready. A drawer full of party glow sticks bought for a festival won’t give you that confidence.

Cyalume SnapLight vs Party Glow Sticks

All glow sticks work the same way. Snap the inner glass vial, shake to mix the chemicals, and the reaction produces light. The difference is how well that reaction is made and packaged. Cheap party glow sticks are built to last a night at a concert. Cyalume SnapLight sticks are industrial chem lights, rated for eight to twelve hours of light depending on the colour, and made in France to strict quality standards.

Cyalume is ISO 9001 certified and says it is the only manufacturer authorised to use NATO nomenclature numbers. It’s the same name that turns up in military and emergency-service kit, which is why “chem lights” and “military glow sticks” are how a lot of people search for them. The SnapLight range also carries an ATEX certificate, meaning it’s approved for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, which tells you how seriously the safety side is taken.

Glow Sticks, Torches and Candles: Where Each Fits

A Cyalume SnapLight doesn’t replace a good torch. It won’t light up a whole room like an LED lantern, and once it’s snapped, it can’t be switched off again. That’s the job emergency glow sticks do best: steady, low-level, hands-free light in the places you need to find, with none of the risks of a candle and none of the dead-battery disappointment of a torch that’s sat in a drawer since last winter.

The best power cut setup uses all three. A glow stick marks the rooms, a torch does the searching, and a lantern lights the room you’re sitting in. Candles can stay in the cupboard.

Getting the Most From Your Cyalume SnapLight

• Spread them out: emergency glow sticks only help if they’re where you need them, so put a couple in the blackout box, one by the bed, and a few in the car kit.
• Leave them sealed: keep each stick in its own packaging until you need it.
• Expect cold to dim them: glow sticks glow less brightly in the cold, so a car kit in January won’t be as bright as your kitchen.
• Bin them normally: Cyalume says used SnapLight sticks can go out with the household waste.

Who the Cyalume SnapLight Is For

• Households building a blackout box or power cut kit.
• Families with children or pets who’d rather not have candles lit in the dark.
• Drivers putting together a winter car kit.
• Anyone who wants emergency light that will still work in five years’ time.

The Cyalume SnapLight is one of the cheapest, easiest upgrades you can make to a power cut plan.

What the Rest of the Team Think

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Pros and Cons

Pros

• No batteries, no flame, no heat, no fumes: safe to hang anywhere
• Six colours in one pack, so every job has the right colour
• Each Cyalume SnapLight is usable for up to five years from manufacture
• Individually wrapped, so unused sticks stay sealed
• Easy to find and use in the dark: snap, shake, done
• Waterproof and non-toxic, and fine to bin with household waste

Cons

• Single use: once a Cyalume SnapLight is snapped, it can’t be switched off
• Low-level light, not bright enough to light a whole room
• Glows less brightly in the cold
• Burn time varies by colour, from around eight to twelve hours

Frequently Asked Questions