When my eldest daughter started at secondary school, she had to walk to and from the school bus. We live in rural Warwickshire and our village has no streetlights nor pavement.
As the nights drew in, it soon became clear that walking in the road in her navy school uniform, she was practically invisible to drivers. Being a practical sort of woman, my thought process went like this:
'No problem, backpack lights must be the answer!'
closely followed by,
'Blimey, backpack lights are expensive and look a bit fiddly for an 11 year old to keep intact. Surely a bike light will do the job? Loads of them in the garage!'.
LED backpacks vs backpack lights
Well, it turns out that a bike light actually won't do the job and backpack lights weren't much better. It was fiddly to attach so that it shone in the right direction, it had to be taken off the backpack during the day to keep it safe (and reduce the embarrassment factor!) and it was time consuming to find in the bottom of the bag and reattach once you'd got off the bus, especially when it was dark, cold or raining. Too much to ask of an 11 year old that's for sure.
So the idea of creating an LED backpack, with bright LED lights built in, was born. The LEDs are encased in a plastic tube to protect from everyday knocks and wet British weather! They are visible from the back and side and combined with the reflective panels, make you easy to see at night and in low light conditions.
So sure, backpack lights are cheaper than a whole new bag, but actually I think our LED backpacks win out every time. An LED backpack is so much easier to use and easier to see.
So what are you waiting for? Get your LED backpack, join the Futliit family and #BeFutliit!
Other articles you might enjoy:
- 5 reasons why Futliit makes the best LED backpacks
- Turning the idea of a light up school bag into a reality Part 1
- What is an LED backpack?