3-Pack: Nite Ize 3-in-1 Flash Sticks

  • When it’s a lantern or a flashlight, it’s capable of strong and low light. (It’s packing 60 lumens.)
  • When it’s a glow stick, it can glow or flash or put out an SOS.
  • When it’s in Jedi letter opener mode, it can shred the thickest of envelopes.
  • We might have made one of these features up.
  • Model: NI-NLS1A-M1-R7, NLS1A-03-R7, NLS1A-28-R7. I like to think that the one with NI at the beginning is the equivalent of when people put their degree in their email signature.
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The Light Stuff

Here are two different anecdotes concerning light (or the lack thereof):

#1
Driving home on Wednesday, I found that the stoplight near my house was out. After mumbling to myself about what a mess it was–not due to recklessness but extreme deference and caution; this is Iowa after all–I made it home, at which point I found the power was out in the entire neighborhood. Which meant, when I wanted to change into a t-shirt, I needed to turn on my phone light and awkwardly dig through my drawers one-handed.

#2
When I lived in Seattle, I would wake early and run around Green Lake before work. In the summer this was easy. But as the winter set in, the days got shorter, and I’d find myself in the dark for my jog’s entire duration. During these bleak morning runs, I started to see orbs hanging in the air, just off the ground. Was I experiencing a convergence of spirits upon the lake? No. Of course not. They were dogs. Their owners had (very helpfully) hung lights on their collars so that others wouldn’t run into them.

Neither of these stories is particularly interesting, but they illustrate the two ways in which these light sticks we’re selling can be useful: for seeing, but also for being seen. Because my reflective vest isn’t going to light up my dark spooky basement when I need to go down and flip a breaker. Moreover, if I have to do some actual work on something, having a lantern-mode means I can have both my hands.

On the other hand, when I’m out for an evening stroll on the bike path, I’m probably doing more harm than good by shining a Mag light in the eyes of other walkers to let them know I’m there.

But honestly, isn’t the real question: why are there so few lights serve both of these functions?

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