I was originally a bit concerned about the expiration date issues noted by other reviewers. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I ordered a 100 pack of SnapLights from Amazon in mid-October 2015 and received a Cyalume factory-sealed box with an expiration date of 07/20. I have never bought the military grade SnapLights, so I cannot compare how the two product lines differ; nonetheless, they were a big hit as party favors and Halloween night visibility aids.

Once activated the are very bright and last 12 hours plus. They last a long time in the foil wrapper try to use with in 2 years. They do go down hill after expiration date. Heat is hard on them and shortens the shelf life. This is a quality and it would be a good call to have a couple in each car and safety kit.

Very disappointed. Sub par quality. Don't buy from Amazon. I've purchased thousands of glow sticks since '95 and this was my first order with Amazon. They must have given product which was sitting on the shelf for many many years. They were not as bright as they should be, especially the military grade, nor do they last as long. Buy direct from the manufacturer if you can because they won't screw you.

Cyalume makes the brightest and the best light sticks I have tried. I have tried both the Snaplight and the Chemlight (military version) and, in my opinion, the Snaplight is a bit brighter and lasts a bit longer. The white ones are among the three brightest colors...along with yellow and green. The blue and orange are equally bright but not quite as bright as the formers. The red are the least bright but make excellent markers.

Cyalume Technologies recently began selling directly through Amazon and I am so happy about that. Because of expiration date issues, I have been reluctant to purchase from Amazon. Cyalume, when shipping them direct to the customer, sends fresh light sticks! For example, my first order was placed in January 2015 and the sticks I received expire in December 2019...which means they were manufactured the month prior to shipment. In comparison, Amazon sometimes sends me sticks that have been sitting on the shelf more than half of their shelf life (they actually sent me a box that had an expiry only 6 months from the date I received them, which means they had been sitting in a warehouse for 4.5 years before I got them).

Very very happy with these!!

I have been buying these Snaplights from Amazon for over a year. Usually, I get somewhat fresh boxes with an expiration date between 10/2017 and 3/2018. They are bright (about midrange in the Cyalume color spectrum...with white, yellow, and green at the top and orange and red at the bottom) and they last at least the full 8 hours.

My issue is that the last two times they have sent me OLD Snaplights and the price has been considerably higher. I thought I would at least get fresh light sticks if I'm paying 20% more than average. Not the case! The first box I received had a 2/2017 expiration date. I returned them for a replacement and received instead a 2/2016 expiration date and an open box item! There wasn't even tape on top...the box was just hanging open. These light sticks are good for 5 years past the manufacture date so 2/2016 means they have been sitting around for over 2½ years out of the 5!

I am going to try one more time but, if I get another old box I'm done. They're good but not worth this much hassle.