The most common emergency is a power failure, and the most immediate danger and fearful situation from a power failure is being in the dark. Power failure also usually occurs with more severe emergencies and disasters such as storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. So, light sources are an important part of every emergency plan and should be a part of every emergency kit.

Light sticks (glow sticks, chemlights, snaplights) are a very handy source of emergency light, and also have many other uses. The life of a light stick is usually directly related to its size and intensity. i.e. a more intense light stick will have a shorter life. Also, different colors have different maximum life i.e. green and yellow last longer than white or blue.
6" Cyalume ChemLight & SnapLight

Brightness	Duration	Colors
Standard	8-12 hr.	Green, Yellow, White, Blue, Red, Orange
Hi-Intensity	30-min.	Yellow, White, Red
Ultra Hi-Intensity	5-minute	Only Orange

There are clear differences in type and brand of Light Sticks! Be sure you are comparing "apples to apples" when comparing prices and be sure to get appropriate light sticks for your application.

Type	Shelf Life	Non-Toxic	Application
Import	?	No	Parties, demonstrations
SnapLight®	5 Yrs.	Yes	Industrial, Emergencies
ChemLight®	4 Yrs.	Yes	Military, Public Safety