I get my stuff at
ExtremeGlow as per Junglesmacks' suggestion. The prices are better or comparable to other places, including eBay, and the selection is very good. They also have their annual 10% off Burning Man coupon, which usually saves me the cost of shipping on my typical ~$100 or so order. Remember that EG's selection changes all the time, and they sometimes run out near the Event. So if you see what you need, get a bunch of it in your big order with that coupon.
We bought some batteries to replace battery-dead gear, but generally would opt to just grab a new light. I think that's probably a better choice. You can do the chore of replacing batteries back at home with whatever you bring back. If you do buy batteries, get them in bulk on Amazon.com.
After two massive orders of all kind of "that would be cool" stuff, I've settled on some workhorse winners:
- Fingerlights - Unfortunately, it looks like the page for finger lights on EG is down, but you can get these anywhere. I would not pay more than $0.25 each, and sometimes you can get something like 40/$6 on eBay. These are the main lights I give to strangers. They're pretty cheap on EG, and just a cool gift in general, despite only being $0.25 each. Many a burgin's eyes glowed in wonder after receiving a finger light. I even save the battery-depleted lights because they have nice LEDs in them and have a nifty package. I bought about 30-40 packs of 4x last time, and still have some in the box. If I run out of old Easter candy for Halloween, I'd probably give out these lights instead of candy.
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LED Chaser Necklaces. They're pretty cheap, come in many colors, and are actually quite durable. The nice thing about them being inexpensive is that I don't feel hesitant about giving them away to camp members, people I crash into (before Thursday that is), or just decking out my bike as needed. I bought about 10 of these. I would probably double that next time.
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Single color LED sticks - You might also be tempted to get the multi-color LED sticks for $1.10 as well. These ones are quite bright, nicely made (good transparent plastic), and relatively durable. The only shortcoming is that the lanyard may pop off, so consider taping it onto stuff, or making sure that it doesn't fall off whatever you're putting it on. Nice gift to people as well. We bought about 15 of these.
Glowy Ball Ornament - Don't buy a lot of these, but they're pretty cool. The ball is annoying as a necklace, but awesome to hang from your bike as is creates a star pattern under your bike. For some reason, most of these I bought I didn't want to turn on after making it to the playa, even when they worked at home. We bought about 4x last time, but I can only remember one working at the time.
Lights that have some utility for safety:
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Foam LED tubes - These last an okay amount of time when lit up, but unfortunately don't have the same "glitz" of the others. They are, however, very useful for marking guylines. The large diameter (relatively) and bright white foam make them easy to see both in the day and at night. It may even prevent someone from getting hurt from the padding, e.g. if you have thin wires or fences that people may run into, consider strapping some of these, even unlit. When lit, they last about a day. We bought like 20 of these the year we bought them and had so many left over that we just brought some back. However, we gave up on replacing the batteries.
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LED cups - These are actually quite well made of sturdy plastic. Consider getting one for "your cup". They're also good for putting over stakes, as they glow all night, provide a large visible target like the foam tubes, and can prevent someone getting punctured by something sharp (even if they get hurt from the impact).
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LED Christmas lights - These are ~$10, but come in a relatively durable package that you can string around your camp. I would pack them with NiMH batteries to allow them to last longer, but they're pretty good as is.
Not impressed:
- EL Wire - Okay, yeah, there is some cool EL wire stuff, but my experience with EL wire is that: 1) expensive for what you get, 2) not very bright, even at full power, 3) eats through batteries, 4) gets tangled and breaks easily. I had one of those bike kits that had a weatherproof battery box, and it cost me $15 on a sale. Great I thought. Well, by the end of the burn, the wire was half-snapped up and the lights dim, and quite frankly I just didn't care that it was. I've opted for those LED necklaces for the bikes instead.
Shit that sucked:
- Hats, swords, gloves - These are expensive, and not all that cool. The hats are generally too small to wear and it's usually more fun to make your own and attach lights to that; they also lack a neck-strap. The swords are just bulky and annoying. They seem like a neat idea, but quickly lose their charm after you don't want to be burdened with them while walking around; they also break easily, and are not good for sword fights.
The gloves don't fit very well, can get really hot, don't stay bright all that long, and are very expensive too at $10 each. They did keep our hands warm during rides, but weren't that great for much else.
- LED glasses - Okay, yeah, they're not terrible, but who wants to have some blinking and distracting light around your peripheral vision while riding at night? They also look kind of dumb and gimmicky.
Wow this was off-topic!
You said you weren't impressed with the EL wire, is that EL wire in general, or just the EL wire from EG? Have you used another brand that's better?
For everything else that isn't a camping flashlight/headlamp, blinkies, etc. are usually cheaply made for raves and birthday parties, and even when they're somewhat better, they're all not designed to weather a place like Burning Man. You'll have to seal them up, provide adequate power supplies, garment attachments, etc. It's not worth laying down $10 for blinky, or even $5 -- unless it's for something custom. Look at those prices on those Lilypad clothing-lights. Ouch! Maybe you could fab your own with PCBs, but that still costs a bit -- especially time.
