Litecubes, retail $13.36-$17.95 / pkg of 4 (Litecubes)
Manufactured by Litecubes LLC
Last updated: 12-05-05
* All of the Litecubes except for the purple and pink LED versions were lost in a move between 10-10-04 and 10-20-04.
Litecubes are ice cube-shaped, freezeable lights that you liven parties up with. They can be placed in drinks, punchbowls, hot tubs, pools, vases, or anywhere
you want to add a splash of color where it was previously not possible to.
The disposable, ice cube-sized devices are filled with a non-toxic freezeable gel, and come in a number of different colors.
The outside is also made of FDA approved, food-grade plastic.
As of May 2003, Litecubes come in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pinkish-purple, violet, and white.
Litecubes may be frozen before use (recommended for drinks & punchbowls), and will act like ice when placed in a drink. They can also be used as-is for swimming pools, hot tubs, and other places where ice isn't really needed.
The first thing you should do when you get your Litecubes is to hand wash them with warm water and dishwashing liquid, and rinse.
Then you can use them immediately or pop them in the freezer for awhile.
It is recommended that they be used with ice, rather than instead of it. Mixing Litecubes with regular ice cubes in a drink or bowl is the best way.
To turn them on, turn the cube on its side so the label on the bottom faces you, and aim the arrow that says "Tap On" down towards a table, counter, or other hard surface.
Then whack the cube a few times. When you first use them, they might need to be whacked pretty good 6 to 8 times; after that it will become much easier and
probably turn on with just a firm tap or two.
To turn them off, hold the cube the same way as you do for turning it on, but rotate it so the "Tap Off" arrow is now pointing down. One good tap usually does it.
Although the cubes are tough, if one of them should become broken and leak, just toss it in the garbage can or flush it down the toilet. The freeze gel inside is non-toxic,
and the batteries are sealed in their own compartment seperate from the gel.
The batteries in Litecubes are permanently sealed inside, and cannot be replaced. It is a disposable product.
Once expired, you should either discard them or, if you're like me, crack them open with a hammer and rescue the LED before throwing the rest out.
Battery life is stated at approximately 12 hours, when used intermittently. They will probably last considerably less time if you just run them
continuously.
Here's my opinion on one way to help them live a long life: Use only a few in a drink, keeping a few more off to the side and turned off.
When you go to refill your drink, exchange the Litecubes too, so the ones you had going in your drink earlier are now turned off and resting.
It's like rotating them, so no one cube is on all the time. The package advises "one cube per glass is all you need" but of course you can use more
if desired.
I have to say, when I first heard about them I wasn't sure what to think. But now that I've seen them, I can't wait to go bar hopping with a pocket full of them. :-O
They appear to be durable - they withstand some pretty harsh smacking without breaking or cracking. They are not dishwasher safe, however. Hand wash them in the sink with hot water
and liquid dish soap, then rinse thoroughly.
Each Litecube has the instruction label embedded in the base. This label is inside the Litecube, and so cannot wash off or come off in your drink.
The cubes tend to be slightly buoyant, floating with the base down in most cases (especially if a single Litecube is the only thing in the glass besides the liquid), but tending to end up on their sides when a bunch of them are in
the same container. The picture below gives you an idea of what they look like.
If the label is showing in a drink and it bothers you, just poke at the offending cube with a straw and it will turn.
Litecubes glowing in a glass of water, and in a 007 (vodka, orange juice, 7-up).
TEST NOTES:
Units were initially tested in a tall glass filled with water. Subsequent tests were done "on the road" in drinks like screwdrivers and blue hawaiians.
Test units are 4 yellow, 1 blue, and 1 green.
Test samples came with a retail bubble package containing a seperate insert, presumably the congratulationary message and instructions written in a foreign language, which
appears to be French or Italian. The English instructions with pictures of how to activate & deactivate them are printed on the back of the package itself.
UPDATE 10-03-01:
Although the test units just arrived this morning, today is my once a month trip to the local bars - and guess what I'll be bringing?
UPDATE 10-04-01:
The "field test" was successful. Here are some of the pictures of Litecubes in various concoctions...
Tested in a screwdriver (vodka, orange juice, orange wedge)
Tested in a Blue Hawaiian (vodka, blue curaco, pineapple juice, cherry)
UPDATE 06-16-02:
Product has undergone a couple of improvements over the last six months or so. Additional colors are now available, the cubes themselves are sparkling and transparent (instead of hazy), and they are now labelled on their bottoms as to what color each cube is.
UPDATE 05-03-03:
I was sent a couple of new colors of Litecubes while I was in the hospital recovering from brane surgery in November or December 2002, so I really haven't gotten a chance to test them in drinks. But here is a picture:
The violet LED version on the left, and a purplish-pink one on the right.
The camera really doesn't show the really super deep violet color of the Litecube on the left, and overexposed it a little too; so this picture may be a little deceptive in that regard. :-/
I really wouldn't want to put the deep violet Litecube right up to my eye for a long time, but when used like an ice cube, it ought to be as safe as any of the other Litecube colors.
UPDATE 08-04-04:
I have decided to place Litecubes in "The Trophy Case" section of this website; I think they rated highly enough to deserve this honour.
UPDATE 12-05-05:
Sample of the new RGB Litecube was sent to me by a fan of the website and was received on 12-02-05.
This is the new RGB Litecube (named "Lite FX"), that can display seven colors plus an RGB "color wash" mode.
It has a small rubberised button on the bottom to activate and deactivate it; rather than the "smack switch" the previous generation of Litecube uses.
The sequence of colors is: red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, purple, white, and color-cycle mode.
Quicktime movie of the new Lite FX (.MOV format) in color-changing RGB mode.
This clip is approximately 4.4 megabytes (4,693,704 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.
PROS:
Very unique and festive
Durable
Freezeable
Reusable as long as battery holds out
Long storage life (many years)
Multiple colors available.
CONS:
The fact that they're disposable and cannot be "reloaded"
They're a bit pricey if you're on a budget; not something you'd want
to use every day of the year for this reason
Some of them really need to be smacked an awful lot to turn on.
MANUFACTURER: Litecubes, LLC
PRODUCT TYPE: Disposable novelty lights
LAMP TYPE: LED
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: N/A
SWITCH TYPE: Percussion type on/off
BEZEL: N/A
BATTERY: 1 CR2032 or 2 CR2016
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Not able to measure
WATER RESISTANT: Yes
SUBMERSIBLE: Yes
ACCESSORIES: None
WARRANTY: Unknown
Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind?
Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of
real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.
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* All of the Litecubes except for the purple and pink LED versions were lost in a move between 10-10-04 and 10-20-04.
