Review: Luminescent Safety Dog Leash (AT9506BK)

As a Christmas gift Crystal and I received a Luminescent Safety Leash (model number AT9506BK), for walking our crazy dog Phoenix in the dark. The product is offered by The Sharper Image, a retailer that always has cool gadgets and trinkets, but nothing I ever want to buy, usually due to practicality and price. This leash follows that pattern, coming in at $20 on sale, with a regular price of $40 - this is far too much for me to ever consider buying this leash, but I have to admit that it was a thoughtful, creative, and fun Christmas gift (I just hope that the person who got it for us ended up paying the $20 instead of $40).

This leash has a battery powered light-up strip running the length of the leash that lights up a cool blue color. The switch is at the base of the handle, and it has two options, solid light, and flashing light. The “instructions” introduce the leash with this paragraph:

“Walking your dog at night can be dangerous. The Luminescent Safety Leash helps keep you and your dog safe by providing a high-visibility light that moves with both of you.”

It is a cool concept, and the light is actually quite bright in the dark, but this leash does have a few faults. Firstly, because of the extra hardware, it’s a very heavy leash. The strip of fabric is thick, and it just seems to be a bigger burden than it should be. The battery pack/switch box also add to the overall bulk. Also, because of the bulkiness of the material, it is very hard to wrap the extra slack around your hand, like I usually do with a dog leash. This is an especially important technique with Phoenix, because he is very far from being a polite leash trained dog (I have a feeling that he would rather be a complete spaz than a well behaved citizen during his walks anyway). So, if I am struggling with the leash and the dog during a walk, then I am probably not in control.

Looking beyond these faults, the light up strip is a nice feature to have on a leash, just for the bit of extra safety it provides. While conducting a very non-scientific experiment I found that it is possible to see the leash from a distance in the dark, although in my test the leash wasn’t connected to a dog, and neither I nor the leash was moving. Nighttime visibility might be diminished if both the walking dog and the hypothetical car are moving at different speeds, but I guess it’s better to have a light than to not.

I haven’t had the leash long enough to comment on it’s battery life, but I imagine that the 2 AA’s will last quite a while, as the small light strip shouldn’t be a power hog. I have used it a number of times (playing with it, and walking the dog) and not seen any signs of diminished power so far.

So, if you often walk your dog in the late evening, early morning, or at night, and your dog is well behaved during walks, this might be a good investment for you (or if you are cheap like me, you could put it on your Christmas wish list for next year).

I would like to give a special thanks to all three of my pets (Ebony, Cyrus, and Phoenix) for helping me take the pictures.

Luminescent Safety Leash (AT9506BK): 3.5/5

Do you have any fancy leashes for walking your dog? Have you ever seen someone walking with a glowing leash? Do you own the Luminescent Safety Leash already? If so, what are your impressions?

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