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Hi Everyone

So last night i lost power again for several hours, out came the chem light.

Over the past few years having one on me has been beneficial is more ways than i can count.

Besides power outages you can put them on a rope and dangle behind things for light, whirlybird for survuval, keep children calm.

Crack one for the bathroom, one by the stairs and one by the exits and you are in good shape for 8-12 hours.

No maintenance (with proper brands no worry on shelf life) no batteries just simple light

Some of you may even remember a review i did by glowstick during a hurricane.

Very useful tools and cheap, get some!

Ya know....I was at tbe Dollar tree yesterday, and was confronted by huge displays of glow sticks for the 4th. What suprised me was they actually had the big 12" sticks. Not the thin necklace style (they had those too...) but the thick ones. So I got one of them and a 4pak of the basic sticks, both in blue, to test out. I'll let you know how it goes.

I got a goal zero lantern. Wasn't cheap but I can crank it to power it up and a USB to charge a cell phone. But my real savior is my honda propane generator. That thing is pure gold and I never have to worry about the gas going bad.

gundog4314 wrote:I got a goal zero lantern. Wasn't cheap but I can crank it to power it up and a USB to charge a cell phone. But my real savior is my honda propane generator. That thing is pure gold and I never have to worry about the gas going bad.

i recently bought a generator myself gundog since the power lines around here do not hold up well to ice. I was tired of the chem light game two years in a row, but that being said its good to have some in the truck or closet lol i can say without a doubt children love them even if they are the basic short kind.

elandil wrote:Ya know....I was at tbe Dollar tree yesterday, and was confronted by huge displays of glow sticks for the 4th. What suprised me was they actually had the big 12" sticks. Not the thin necklace style (they had those too...) but the thick ones. So I got one of them and a 4pak of the basic sticks, both in blue, to test out. I'll let you know how it goes.

My son loves the chem lights from the dollar store, and I've been surprised at their performance. The ones we've tried have performed just like the mil-spec ones in brightness and duration.

Chem lights are always a good idea. Safer than candles, and children love them. No batteries or energy source required either.

I am told they can be partly reusable. Put them in a freezer before they completely fade out. Let them thaw and bit and shake them.

kwiklot wrote:

gundog4314 wrote:I got a goal zero lantern. Wasn't cheap but I can crank it to power it up and a USB to charge a cell phone. But my real savior is my honda propane generator. That thing is pure gold and I never have to worry about the gas going bad.

i recently bought a generator myself gundog since the power lines around here do not hold up well to ice. I was tired of the chem light game two years in a row, but that being said its good to have some in the truck or closet lol i can say without a doubt children love them even if they are the basic short kind.

A gennies the last thing on my list. Ill be picking one up in the next year.

Our big thing here is tornadoes. Last big one a few years ago left us without power for 3 days and on a boil water restriction for a week. Every nite, once it got dark, i'd go out and pop 2chemlights. Hang one on the door, the second on a post by the porch steps. Just enough to see, not enough to really stand out. Safer than candles, cheaper than flashlights, and served a dual purpose. Not only allows you to see the approach, but was a good indicator of occupation...

Chem lights are great! I always have a box full of at home in my "quartermaster" basement

But what I also have is a big flashlight we used at work (EMS), they are explosive proofed and in a charging station that turns that flashlight on automatically in case of an outage. I replaced the battery so it works for 8-12 hrs! I also bought some of these nice, little LED flashlights and have them at our night stands and at every story of our house.

So how to cook in case of?
I also have three camping stoves, two of these German Army 1965 Enders fuel cooker we did a little "workshop" at the neighbor today while having BBQed

I have a story with Chem Lights - I am going to give the long and detailed version.. and a Ration review along with it because a Spanish Ration is involved in this one - warning.. classic Steve-style rambling.. bare with me folks!


Last December, I was primitive camping for a few days, and I decided to bring a cheap wagon along to haul extra water and a small stack of firewood - the axle broke on the wagon a few miles in on the hike ... the dang thing had rusted out sitting outside here in FL (the humidity is so bad the thing was only out there for maybe half a year under shelter and my hypothesis is there was some moisture buildup on the thing and it corroded - and I never noticed 'til it was too late)..

Anyway, I hauled in my ALICE to camp, dumped all of what I was carrying out at my site - doubled around and headed back to the broken wagon with the empty ALICE to haul the water & maybe a few logs of the wood if the ALICE could fit it.

Only issue was, by the time I got back to that broken wagon, it was already about 5 pm and I was getting a little bit worn out with all the extra walking..


When primitive camping down here in Florida, some of the spots can get a tad hairy.. between the overgrowth, the critters, and the humidity - it could pretty much be considered tropical.. with that being said any time I go primitive camping, I wear a SRU/16 Survival Vest - it's meshed, breathes nicely, and it had a dozen pockets to store various items (like a 22. Derringer revolver, 4 chem lights, first aid, water tabs, knife, ,matches, Italian Ration stove, metal cup tied to the zipper, etc etc). My vest has all sorts of junk in it - and you would think one wouldn't need the things but I can tell ya in the last 2 years of using it, I have been glad I had this thing almost every single time I went off in the bush.. and this time more than ever!


Okay, so it's getting dark out and I am following the trail - and naturally like the burnout that I am, I got a little bit veered off the trail - a tree had gone down over the trail and I had not noticed all I needed to do was step over the downed tree and carry on, instead I veered far left and off the trail - and got lost... at night in the woods in Florida.


I decided to plop my butt on the ground on a nice patch of grass that was beaten down by various game (deer etc), get my bearings, and eat a Spanish Ration (so glad I had it in my cargo pocket - actually I meant to leave it behind but just forgot it was there (bulky thing but the cargo pockets on my Lithuanian BDU pants are massive so it was housed nicely.


So this is where the Ration review comes in - and after that is where the chem lights come into play - trust me.. I will get to the point here.. eventually!


Okay, the Spanish Lunch was just what I needed out there.. I mentioned this was December - but it was hot as hell out there.. I mean it felt literally like August! That drink mix has electrolytes and amino acids in it - it was absolutely the best thing I could have drank at that moment. I was sweated out pretty bad and the re-hydrating factors of that drink were crucial.

The lentils & sausages in lard was one of the best Ration meals I had ever had - the sausage was tender and flavorful yet still mild - and the lentils were filling. I want to try this one again sometime this year.

There is that jam - what the heck is this stuff? Please someone help me out here - it tasted like Agave Fruit or something! I really liked it - and I am glad I keep a MRE spoon in my vest because these Spanish Rations only have a spoon in the Breakfast meal if I remember correctly.


Okay, so that was a quick review - back to the story and why I am putting this here and how it pertains to Chem Lights...


I was walking and knew I was lost - best part was I had only a tiny keychain LED light and 4 chem lights.. forgot the headlamp at the campsite with my baseball cap - oops!

I would walk along and think "aw heck the trail should be right around the corner here" - well I was wrong.. I would get more & more lost.. twisted off the trail and deeper into the cut.. I would double back to where I ate the Spanish Ration and try again & again.. it kinda felt like a bad dream.

Only reason I was able to find that beaten down grass spot where I ate the Ration was because I popped a green chem light on the spot - and it was like a beacon .. and then I would carry on in another opposite direction just to find myself even more lost & frustrated...

I popped another light and tied it to my vest just in case maybe someone else was out there and they would at least see me... well noone else was out there.

Popped a 3rd chem light and dropped it once I knew I was getting a little further from that patch of grass... worst case scenario I would just set up my emergency blanket that I carry in my vest and sleep there for the night.


THEN, I found a service road - it was a relief.. I felt like I had a chance of finding my trail and getting back to my dang campsite. It was a "go left, or go right" scenario by now - narrowed it down to that which gave me some actual odds of getting on track. I chose going right and cracked my last chem light and hung it on a tree branch.


Ended up not needing to double back because I managed to find my trail. I was filled a euphoric rush of relief - it was happening.. I was making it back to camp and not sleeping on the open ground that night.


I then had a soup mix from the Spanish Ration about a half mile from camp. I was so exhausted by this point and the salt & savory comfort of that soup was replenishing.

At camp, I finally had the last part which was the Mackerel - sitting on a bench and eating canned Mackerel was never so nice until then - and it was not just for being hungry, that fish was of great quality and tasted 5x better than regular canned Mackerel - I even drank the oil.. delicious to me.


Finally got to the campsite and it was a great feeling - as I type this, it takes me right back to that.. man now I wish I could re-live that time. It was just before everything got kinda crazy in the whole Youtube world - a simpler time for me. Ah heck, life is still simple just not in the same way.. it was a really great transitional time. I would re-live it in a heartbeat.


Okay - I am sorry for this long story.. but I had to share it.. chem lights rock because they can be used as backtracking beacons in an emergency. Drop one and it's the proverbial breadcrumb to re-trace your steps at night if need be.


Spanish Rations are awesome by the way.. and thank you Ruleryak for saving me with it!


And thank you Name_Not_Found for making this thread - it finally inspired me to share these photos and the funny story with it.


And thank you for anyone who actually read that!


PS - I never took pictures of the chem lights - now I wish I did since this thread was made.. oh well now I gotta go get lost out in the woods again with some chem lights and take pictures! heheh!
I am glad I always carry my camera at least.. I have no idea how many Ration photos I must have by this point. hah!

Wow, that's quite the adventure Steve, thanks for sharing! I totally agree, chem lights are vital for anyone going on outdoor adventures in my opinion. Those heat-reflective emergency blankets are a literal life-saver as well!