UV flashlight and glow discs

[Squirrilah Fish]

I love night golf, we go all out, put glow necklaces on all the pins, glow sticks marking the Teeboxes, and of course glow discs, or LED lights taped onto translucent discs.
When we plan night golf, I try to leave my discs out in the sun to soak up as much glow as they can, but it doesn't always last, it's never as bright as those first five minutes.
I carry a LED flashlight, that I use to charge it up before throws, it works ok.
I saw a UV LED flashlight for $10 online, and wondered if a UV flashlight would make that big of a difference to justify buying it. The idea makes sense, but I don't really know enough about the science of it?
Do you?

 

[notroman]

UV flashlights are awesome for charging glow discs. They take almost no time to charge (discs basically go from zero to max glow right away) and the light itself doesn't blind you so your eyes stay adjusted to the darkness.

 

[HarkeyPuck]

All the difference in the world. UV/Blacklight LED flashlight = SUPER GLOW

…also, what he said! ^^^ :thmbup:

 

[brutalbrutus]

The UV LED lights work much better than regular LED lights. But if you can get your hands on one of the battery powered 6in florescent UV lights, they work almost as well as the sun.

 

[zendragon]

UV works better than the sun for night golf. Mainly because it doesn't go around lighting everything else up so you can see your glowing disc more clearly.

Also, buy glow duct tape. 10X better than glow plastic.

 

[wolfey]

Bought a roll of glow duct tape and a UV flashlight today in preparation for the rapidly shortening days. I just went and tested the tape/UV combo in my totally dark garage and holy sh*t does that tape glow! The added bonus was how the UV light made even non-glow discs pop out in the dark. Even found a disc that fell under a storage shelf!

Looking forward to trying it out for a night round this week. Can't say I'll miss the process of attaching lights/batteries to my discs.

 

[dysmike]

Bought a roll of glow duct tape and a UV flashlight today in preparation for the rapidly shortening days. I just went and tested the tape/UV combo in my totally dark garage and holy sh*t does that tape glow! The added bonus was how the UV light made even non-glow discs pop out in the dark. Even found a disc that fell under a storage shelf!

Looking forward to trying it out for a night round this week. Can't say I'll miss the process of attaching lights/batteries to my discs.

Yep, although I don't use glow tape (tempting) the UV flashlight rocks for all sorts of things (including finding scorpions).

 

[All Day]

Get a UV light and anything from Vibram's glow lineup. I can use my glow Ibex as a flashlight it's so bright.

 

[smarkquart]

UV LED Flashlight purchased off of eBay for 10 dollars and some glow duct tape. Charge it between throws, although it works so great that it is not necessary before every throw, and you can see the disc well over 300 feet away.

 

[Future_Primitive]

A lot of great feedback in this thread. UV LED Flashlights are definitely the way to go, they charge up the disc very quickly and very bright. Not to mention your fellow players will appreciate it if you use the UV light vs traditional LED flashlights, won't ruin their night vision like a flashlight does. I have played in some Glow leagues that ban normal flashlights due to this, only UV lights are allowed.

Also, I would avoid putting them in the sun at all moving forward to prolong the life of the glow charge. Store them in a dark place and only bring them out at night, use the UV LED flashlight to charge them up when needed. A few seconds with that and they will be glowing. Too much sunlight can reduce the glow power of the disc over time.

Also as Wolfey stated, some of the Champion and Z plastic in orange, green and other dayglo colors will pop out when hit with UV lights. Good way to find discs when it starts getting dark. Just scan the ground with the UV LED flashlight and you can easily spot these non-glow discs.

And I also just picked up my first roll of Glow duct tape and was quite amazed at how bright it gets. Going to use that on a few of my non-glow discs in solid plastic (ie Gstar, Elite X).

 

[Jukeshoe]

Another vote for UV over regular LED flashlights. The UV makes all the difference.

I'd not heard nor seen the UV glow duct tape. Is that widely available? Regular hardware stores/wally world?

 

[Timeetyo]

how much does that duct tape affect flight? And how so (more OS/US)?

 

[Jukeshoe]

It can't affect it more than tape and an led light unless it's super heavy duty or something.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Another vote for UV over regular LED flashlights. The UV makes all the difference.

I'd not heard nor seen the UV glow duct tape. Is that widely available? Regular hardware stores/wally world?

Indiana right, do you have Meijers by chance? That is where I picked up my roll the other night. They had all sorts of duct and duck tape there with different themes, colors and what not. I was a little surprised they had Glow myself thinking it would be harder to find.

It is quite thin, probably less affect than LED's and tape I imagine. I put one strip on top and one on the bottom. When I use LEDs I always put them on the bottom of the flight plate.

 

[zendragon]

I haven't noticed any difference in flight. I taped over the over mold of my Volt and Ion and they both flew the same after. Some Walmarts carry glow tape, but not all. I keep mine taped all the time on the rim and after a few months it starts to lose its glow and I re-tape it.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I see some glow duct tape in my immediate future...

 

[Jukeshoe]

Indiana right, do you have Meijers by chance? That is where I picked up my roll the other night. They had all sorts of duct and duck tape there with different themes, colors and what not. I was a little surprised they had Glow myself thinking it would be harder to find.

It is quite thin, probably less affect than LED's and tape I imagine. I put one strip on top and one on the bottom. When I use LEDs I always put them on the bottom of the flight plate.

We do have Meijers. Thanks for the info!!

 

[FlightMedic]

I see some glow duct tape in my immediate future...

Me too, I'm not sure how I didn't know this existed.


Does walmart carry any decent UV flashlights or is there one specific brand online that is best?

 

[KDDEBOER]

Me too, I'm not sure how I didn't know this existed.


Does walmart carry any decent UV flashlights or is there one specific brand online that is best?

You're usually better off going to a hardware store. Lowe's and Home Depot usually have one for $8-$10. However, I think you may be better off spending the dough on-line and getting one with more bulbs.

 

[wolfey]

Canadian Tire carries a Rayovac 9 LED UV flashlight for $9.99 for all the Canucks out there.
I found the glow duct tape at Walmart for $7.49. It's a pretty thin little roll though, about half as much on it as a standard roll of duct tape.

How are people applying the tape? The image of the disc in the basket in this thread has a lot of tape on it. Anyone cutting it into thinner strips to make a roll go little further?

Zendragon, you put the tape around the rim, kinda like MVP Eclipse style? Does that mess with your grip at all?