View Full Version : Chemlights - what do you use them for?
Chemlights - it seems like every picture of a tac vest or bag has a couple chemlights stuck in there.
what for???
Raves....awesome raves haha jk. I used them for marking rooms for cqb clearing purposes. Also as marking signals for birds as a buzzsaw.
They glow for a while after you bend them enough to activate. The light they give off is useful in the dark, especially when you need to see something.
telecustom
12-08-09, 14:22
Steady light without heat. They are great in volatile atmospheres.
For night shoots they're great for wearing on your plate carrier or 1st line to indicate where you are for safety. I usually put a greens on the side, and red on the back of the PC.
For IR lights it's very nice to be able to put a few around your targets to provide some subtle hint where to shoot.
Again mostly for safety.
Failure2Stop
12-08-09, 14:29
Marking, signalling, and illuminating.
Disclaimer* I am not a LEO or Soldier.
Camping with children, one on a lanyard around each child's neck at dusk.
In the tent - Keeps children from being scared or confused.
Halloween - One around each child's neck. Easy to pick out my child in a group of munchkin monsters at a distance and track the movements.
In the house - For power outages.
I find them generally nice to have around. I buy the 60 pack deals from Sportsmans Guide, best price I know of.
Like having candles, only much safer around the little ones.
Epic thread!
Q: What do you use chemlights for?
A: Illumination.
A: Illumination.
A: Illumination.
A: Illumination.
A: Illumination.
They glow for a while after you bend them enough to activate. The light they give off is useful in the dark, especially when you need to see something.
I know THAT! :rolleyes:
:D
I know they give off light but the ones that I have used are not really bright enough to do work or even read by. I've used them for marking my tent or a trailhead while hunting.
for almost anything else it seems a handheld light is more useful. I was just wondering if there was something obvious that I was overlooking.
For night shoots they're great for wearing on your plate carrier or 1st line to indicate where you are for safety. I usually put a greens on the side, and red on the back of the PC.
For IR lights it's very nice to be able to put a few around your targets to provide some subtle hint where to shoot.
Again mostly for safety.
this makes sense. visible lights useful for marking.
IR lights are another ball game that has obvious uses...
I know THAT! :rolleyes:
:D
I know they give off light but the ones that I have used are not really bright enough to do work or even read by. I've used them for marking my tent or a trailhead while hunting.
for almost anything else it seems a handheld light is more useful. I was just wondering if there was something obvious that I was overlooking.
That's about it, use them as a marker for something. At various times I've used them to mark excavations I didn't want someone to fall or drive into at night, laying out an area I didn't want tanks and tracks to drive through, since there were a bunch of sleeping grunts there, the backs of bunkers on a perimeter at a place in Afghanistan (w/o getting into too much detail, we were co-located with a NG unit that wasn't the best I'd ever seen, and while our people manned the outer perimeter, these NG troops manned some inner positions. If something happened, they knew to NOT shoot where the chemlights were, because those were friendly positions), during training I've thrown them at vehicles to indicate an ambush... Use your imagination.
PRGGodfather
12-08-09, 19:34
They are pretty fun to shoot, too.
We use them for night courses, and when we're done and the students have gone home, we shoot them.
The glow-in-the-dark mist when it gets hit is fun to see -- and when it spills on the ground -- no doubt they used this stuff to make "Predator" blood in the movies...
Well, the little ones fit in an M16 barrel and go ZINGING when propelled by a blank.
Sometimes they break and you get a glow in the dark shotgun effect.
The leave quite a welt. :D
At Halloween parties, activate some of the bigger ones and cut them open.
You'll need quite a few of them, BTW.
Pour the contents into one of them plastic beer cups.
Pop a couple the small ones in your mouth to make it appear that you've been drinking radioactive liquid.
edit: Forgot to mention, DO NOT DRINK THE LIQUID!
Supposed to be non-toxic, but I'm thinking the glass shards down the gullet and out the pooper would be BAD.
Gotta add the obvious discalimer or the State of California may sue me.
Chemlights - it seems like every picture of a tac vest or bag has a couple chemlights stuck in there.
what for???
I used to use them to mark where I set up the landing zone and drop zone lights. Made it easier to find them when transitioning between day and night operations. I would tear off the end of the foil wrapper and use the to regulate the amount of light used for reading maps and checklists in the field.
Now I give them to my kids to play with! :D
Hell, a better question might be "What DON'T you use them for?" ;)
Endless applications.
I remember we did a night shoot and one of the coaches cut open his chem light and spalshed it all over this poor kid. It looked like he murdered a Predator haha
Hell, a better question might be "What DON'T you use them for?"
T.M.I.
geminidglocker
12-08-09, 21:59
I stick them in milk jugs full of water so I can train with my Trijicon NS. My neighbors are far away enough that they don't get bothered, besides, they shoot too.
I know THAT! :rolleyes:
:D
I know they give off light but the ones that I have used are not really bright enough to do work or even read by. I've used them for marking my tent or a trailhead while hunting.
for almost anything else it seems a handheld light is more useful. I was just wondering if there was something obvious that I was overlooking.
and you just about nailed what they are good for. Like everyone else said, be it tactical or family, they are good for marking things. Thats about all they were intended to do (breaking them open and pouring them on your tounge and then going to 'Little Richards' non withstanding).
Hell, a better question might be "What DON'T you use them for?" ;)
Endless applications.
now that is it
I stick them in milk jugs full of water so I can train with my Trijicon NS. My neighbors are far away enough that they don't get bothered, besides, they shoot too.
I do this too, but use Duct tape and a paper target.
I use them to mark rooms I've cleared, or mark where I went in, for following units.
I also use them to light up my FAK, so I can work without having to hold a light.
Or for signaling without messing up you or your buddy's night adapted vision too much.
Klear Above
12-14-09, 16:16
Chemlights may be the singly most expended item in the Army supply chain, I think that we used more of them than rounds...
Chemlights may be the singly most expended item in the Army supply chain, I think that we used more of them than rounds...
you're kinda getting to the reason for my question. undeniably these have tactical uses in a combat setting but I'm a civilian.
other than the "convenience" and "fun" uses others have mentioned, I just didn't see what advantages these have over a simple handheld light.
their light is pretty feeble. even a simple AA Maglite makes a superior candle by unscrewing and removing the head so the naked bulb lights a tent or a table.
from what I can tell, their best use is for marking as they don't project light and my need for that is limited in real life.
thanks for the reply...
I use them in offbeat mating rituals which involve me breaking some open and rubbing them over my body. :D
you're kinda getting to the reason for my question. undeniably these have tactical uses in a combat setting but I'm a civilian.
other than the "convenience" and "fun" uses others have mentioned, I just didn't see what advantages these have over a simple handheld light.
their light is pretty feeble. even a simple AA Maglite makes a superior candle by unscrewing and removing the head so the naked bulb lights a tent or a table.
from what I can tell, their best use is for marking as they don't project light and my need for that is limited in real life.
thanks for the reply...
There you go. They're best use is for marking/signalling in the middle of the night. You mark your fastropes to ensure that the rope is on the ground, and the roper grabs the rope on the right spot in the bird. They are used to mark breaches. a chemlight in a doorway might indicate a cleared room. one in the center might mean it has been back cleared. red for casualties. chems in the windows so your overwatching elements have some kind of frontline trace of where you are in the buildings, which avoids fratricide. A chamlight thrown around a corner that is returned with another color is a great way to linkup with friendlies safely and without a chance to shoot eachother. Not to mention the uses for IR in marking people and vehicles so that they can be identified as friendly. Every unit has an SOP for these things. As a civillian you might not have too many uses, but that is why we use them. There are many different ways to use them, but they are used as signals, and for marking things.
Cheap disposable light. It doesnt have bulbs that burn out or batteries that die, just has a fairly long expiration date. One time use and toss, minimal investment/minimal loss.
I used them in my clinic as back up lighting when generator would go down for maintenance. Keep them in med kits to signal or assess in low light. Control light output either by size or covering with wrapper/duct tape.
Mark essential gear or personnel. Do a night dive (civi) and hook one to everyone's tank so you can keep accountability.
Use the small ones to mark a trail or road. During convoy work the scout vehicle can toss them out at intersections (IR or visible depending on mission).
Use is only limited by your imagination.
I use them in offbeat mating rituals which involve me breaking some open and rubbing them over my body. :D
got pics?
If I only had bought stock in Cyalume back in the 80's..........
There great for marking all kinds of stuff during night ops and I used them for all kinds of stuff thru my career, but now, I have little use for them, except my daughter likes to play with them......:)
KS Trekker
12-19-09, 00:27
I used to carry several chemlights for camping, but now I carry a few of these:
http://www.lazerbrite.com/
http://www.armyproperty.com/Equipment-Info/Pictures/Flashlight-Lazerbrite.jpg
The best part is you can turn them on and off, unlike a chemlight. :D
I used to carry several chemlights for camping, but now I carry a few of these:
http://www.lazerbrite.com/
http://www.armyproperty.com/Equipment-Info/Pictures/Flashlight-Lazerbrite.jpg
The best part is you can turn them on and off, unlike a chemlight. :D
that's kind of neat. but at $25 they're not really disposable like a chemlight where the significant advantage is to activate and leave it.
still very useful IMO. thanks...
I used one to hail a cab when leaving for Christmas leave. works well for lots of stuff.
I cart around a Krill IR battery version of a chemlight, just because the IR ones are often hard to get and don't last long. Keeps me from getting shot on night ranges. Or marks me for when somebody decides they've Had Enough Already. Only time will tell.
I have something like 200 of the regular ones in 3 different colors in my truck, so I think I'm good for a while.
IR Chemlights are great for getting messages across to douchebag SSgts fresh off a "B" billet.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i239/jake8674/Picture436.jpg
I use them in offbeat mating rituals which involve me breaking some open and rubbing them over my body. :D
Now THAT is T.M.I. :D
I keep a couple in my car incase of an accident at night. I've thought about tossing a lit one out of my car window for idiots who decide to jog at night in black spandex ninja outfits. I've barely seen a few people. The reflector strips don't really shine well unless they're directly infront of your headlights. Darwinism is fine but it's not going to help me fill out the paperwork if I happen to hit one of these idiots. Maybe I should also attach a note saying "Get a tredmill you moron!"
LonghunterCO
12-22-09, 16:06
Disclaimer* I am not a LEO or Soldier.
Camping with children, one on a lanyard around each child's neck at dusk.
In the tent - Keeps children from being scared or confused.
Halloween - One around each child's neck. Easy to pick out my child in a group of munchkin monsters at a distance and track the movements.
In the house - For power outages.
I find them generally nice to have around. I buy the 60 pack deals from Sportsmans Guide, best price I know of.
Like having candles, only much safer around the little ones.
Your kids must be near the same ages as mine. Because this is how I use them.
vBulletin® v3.7.2, Copyright ©2000-2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.