For the love of the sport. A place for DG enthusiasts to share their thoughts.

Night Rounds – Reviews on glow sticks, LED Lights, and Glow plastic

Posted by alphagenerator


With the impending time change, night golf will be our only option if you work traditional hours.   I have used mini glow sticks, flashing led lights, and glow discs as my test subjects for when day light savings goes into effect.   The mini glow sticks work fairly well if disc is almost clear.   Any slight tinting of the plastic will drastically reduce the visibility of the low powered mini glow sticks. I’ll give it a 2 on a scale of 5.

The flashing LED lights have been my staple for the past year.  They are roughly $2.50 ea and give roughly 12 hours of use.  These are the best option of the 3 test subjects.  They are the heaviest of the addon options but they work well in all lighting scenarios (ie low sunlight, dusk, and completely dark).  The newly redesign 2 alternating color lights that emit a combination of  Blue/Red, Blue/Green, Red/Green colors for very easy identification from a far.   Dynamic Discs seem to be the main supplier of this particular light setup. I barely notice the LED taped to my discs, but I don’t try any crazy hyzer flip shots at night, much. I highly recommend these particular models and give them an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5.   I’ve dinged the 5.0 rating for the weight weenies out there. =)

LED_Flight_Light_Flat_LED_light_LED

Lastly I have tested the Innova CFR glow discs, Innova Pro Glow, and the GatewaySuper Glow plastics.  one of the problems with glow plastic is that not all the names are available in glow.    Innova probably has the largest selection of glow plastic but its still limited compared with their full product offering.   The less translucent discs seem to hold a glow longer than the more translucent.   That being said the Innova Pro and Gateway Super Glow outlasted the Innova CFR’s.   All glow plastic seems best suited for near zero visibility.   Any close street lamps will drastically reduce your night vision and the perceived glow from the discs. LED Blacklight flashlights tend to be the best option for charging this plastics in between rounds.  I picked one up off ebay for around $13 shipped. My rating for the glow plastics is 3.5 out of 5 mainly due to the limited disc option in glow plastic and the fact most of my dg gets played around dusk and street lamps.     All the above plastics are perfectly suited normal daytime use, as the Innova CFR plastic has excellent durability.   Hope this helps someone!

Below is picture of a fresh charge on the 3 plastics in a completely dark room. They are visible for 10-15 minutes in a zero light area.

IMG955189.jpg

Jeremiah

Grip-and-Rip.com

4 Responses

  1. Pingback: Night Rounds – Dogleg Reviews Glow Discs and Lights! « TALKdg.com

  2. I’ve found that the best glow product for disc golf is military grade glow tape. I’ve used it several times now. The higher end stuff shines so bright from just a 2″ square that you can actually use it to light up the tee pad and look down the fairway in pitch dark. It is inexpensive, can be used over and over again, only requires a flashlight to charge, and more importantly, it doesn’t affect the flight of your disc because it is so thin and lightweight.

    The last stuff I purchased can be found here:

    http://www.identi-tape.com/photolum-tape.htm

    I purchased the expensive Chinese made kind and it is amazing.

    Your friend,

    Marty – @PDGA

    November 8, 2012 at 10:59 am

  3. Thanks I will definitely give it a try.

    November 8, 2012 at 1:05 pm

  4. Josh

    One thing to try also is the 6″ florescent tube type black lights that are used to check currency. They are really bright and have a wide pattern, you can charge the whole disc in a couple quick swipes. They cost less than 10 bucks on ebay. If you already own a high power led flashlight like a cree xml or similar you can use some 3M reflective stickers on each side. A quick sweep of the area with the light and you’ll see them shinning. It’s not so much for night play but for finding lost discs as it gets dark.

    November 30, 2012 at 11:55 am

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