Product Review: Nite Ize Glowstreak LED Ball

I was given this Nite Ize Glowstreak LED Ball at SuperZoo, and my dogs are absolutely thrilled with it. This is easily the best nightime ball we've tried, and it solves all of the problems we've had with similar products. It's grippy, bouncy, waterproof, holds up to chomping, and is bright but not too bright.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Glowstreak ball seems like it was designed by people who had the same problems I have had with light-up balls. Glow in the dark balls have to be charged ahead of time, they don't glow very brightly or very long. Hard plastic LED balls don't bounce very high, and they hurt to catch.

Nite Ize already makes fantastically durable carabiner lights with replaceable batteries. The Glowstreak ball is basically an extension of that technology. The Glowstreak ball is motion-activated, after it hits something it flashes for a while before eventually shutting off.

Unlike a lot of light-up balls, this one is waterproof and bouncy. It's the size of a tennis ball, but with plenty of grooves to give it a good grip and make it easier to dislodge if a bigger dog gets it stuck in their throat. (Safety tip, don't let your big dog play with a small ball!)

Photo by Erin Koski

The heart of the Glowstreak ball is the removable core, which must be unscrewed. The core contains the lights and also the batteries. It seals inside the rest of the ball, making the entire thing waterproof. It's really quite durable too! Zip managed to unscrew it once, and the ball isn't any worse for the wear.

Pros: Soft, bouncy, bright but not blinding. Waterproof. Batteries can be replaced. Can take a bit of chomping, I let Zip gnaw it for a bit and though she unscrewed the core she didn't hurt anything.

Cons: Only comes in tennis ball size, no larger option for larger dogs.

Bottom Line: Now that the days are getting shorter, we are getting a lot more use out of our Nite Ize Spotlit beacons. We have them in pink, green, and blue so I can identify the dogs by color in the dark. Fortunately our Glowstreak ball has red LEDs.

Product Review: Nite Ize SpotLit LED Carabiner Light

The SpotLit LED Carabiner Light by Nite Ize is a sturdy and bright beacon that can be clipped to your dog. It comes in variety of different colors including Disco, which cycles through several different colors. It has a steady light mode and a blinking mode, and can provide 20-25 hours of light before it needs new batteries. It uses two 2016 3V lithium batteries and is water-resistant.

Photo by Erin Koski

I see these things on dogs at work all the time, and a lot of them have been wearing the same SpotLit for ages so these things clearly last a long time. This is actually a multipurpose clip light that can be used for just about anything.

The company, NiteIze, makes a whole ton of nifty doodads that I am prone to impulse buying while waiting in checkout lines. These include S-biner double-ended carabiners, gear ties, LED flashlights, and stretchy shoelaces.

These things are very, very bright. So bright, in fact, that looking at them in the dark is a bit painful. I've been putting one on Sisci for our late-night games of fetch in the tennis court, and in full darkness it's blinding. It looks totally awesome when she's chasing a light-up ball, though.

Pros: Super-bright and super-visible. Comes in lots of colors so you can put a different color on each dog. Very durable, lots of people just leave them on their dog's collar permanently.

Cons: Kind of blinding when it's really dark. A bit heavy, I wouldn't want to put this on a tiny dog and I'd be careful with it on a very loose collar as it does flop around a lot.

Bottom Line: This light is so effective and so popular that I don't actually see anyone using anything else.

Product Review: Mhu Ghu LED Air Mesh Harness

The Mhu Ghu LED Air Mesh Harness is designed for high visibility. It features a ring of bright colored LED lights around the neck area, and is built with sturdy hardware. The harness is available in three colors and three sizes to fit dogs with chests 11.5-25" around the chest. Ours is a large green harness.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is a neat harness, visibility can be a big issue and collars and leashes sometimes aren't enough lighting. A lot of lighted safety products feel flimsy to me, but this one is nice and sturdy. It fits high on the neck and leaves the shoulders free to move. The battery sits in a little pack on the back that is screwed in place. The battery in our harness is currently dead, but can be replaced as long as I have a tiny screwdriver on hand.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros: Comfortable and nonrestrictive. Bright LED lights are easy to see.

Cons: The neck is not adjustable, and may be small for some dogs. It fit Hellin just fine, but might be a bit tight on a larger dog with a 25" chest. Brisbane is 26" around and there's no way in hell this harness would ever fit him.

Bottom Line: I think there was a groupon for these a while back. I could see actually using this for nightime visibility if I ever end up with a bigger yard, or go somewhere I feel comfortable walking my dogs off-leash at night.