Nite GlowRings - A Handy Piece Of Bushcraft and Survival Kit
Written by Phil Brown, Badger Bushcraft Blog Saturday, 25 February 2012 00:00
We have been using Nite GlowRings since 2007 and they are a tremendously useful source of light and last longer, are smaller and in the long-term more cost effective and environmentally friendly the chemical glow sticks.
We first discovered these GlowRings whilst researching outdoor watches some five years ago. We were looking for exceptionally robust and accurate time pieces that could withstand the harshest elements, activities and had some form of light source that made them very easy to read at night. With a bit of looking around and some personal recommendations from some friends and purchased a Nite MX30 that certainly fitted the bill.
Whilst finalising the purchase we also bought half a dozen or so GlowRings that were a key fob light source “powered” buy the same material that was in the Nite range of watches called GTLS which stands for Gaseous Tritium Light Source. Nite have this to say about GTLS:-
“Electrons emitted from the tritium gas excite the phosphorous coated lining of the GTLS to produce a continuous cold light source that will typically last between 10 and 20 years”
Available in three colours – pink, blue and green – and pre-fitted with a robust keying they come ready for easy attachment virtually anything we could think of and they not only look great but have a myriad of uses. We have used the GlowRings to keep track of the Land Rover keys, mark guy and ridgelines, kit, rucksack and Lavvu zippers, first aid kits, etc. and we have even used it to keep an eye on our black Labrador Retriever Inca! At under £10 we also think they represent exceptional value for money and with an expected lifetime of 10 years and if treated with care possibly 20 years they are also, in our opinion, are more environmentally friendly purchase than chemical equivalents.
As for the Nite watches we are also still fans. Sadly early 2011 Phil lost his MX30, which was probably trodden into the forest floor whilst washing, and has subsequently replaced it with a Nite CHRONO CR7 GT which he just loves. No doubt the lost MX30 will show up and somebody will be lucky enough to find it and knowing and trusting the quality of Nite products it will probably still be in working order!
We’d be interested to hear what you would use a Nite GlowRing for so why not leave us you comments below?
We have one to give away to the person that provides the most interesting or fun use so leave your comments at the end of this blog article and we will pick a winner on 30th April 2012! Good luck.
Comments
As we like all the entries we placed the names into a hat and pulled Richard Harris as the winner. Well done Richard a Nite GlowRing will be on its way to you soon and do keep us posted with how you use it!
Thanks once again to everyone who took part.
Best regards,
Phil and the Badger Bushcraft Team
The GlowRings are certainly handy for locating bags, hammocks and dogs as we use them for those purposes also.
Think we will leave the "call of nature" use for Pinoy though.
Keep the ideas coming guys!
I'm thinking of hanging a Glow ring from a low twig in the woods during Cadet night games. One team must grab the light ring by stealth before the defending team spot them and send them back to base to start again. In its 'down time' the Glow ring could mark safe passage from my hammock to the pathway at night without upsetting my fellow campers by using a head torch.
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