Today’s post is part of the #ScoopThatPoop campaign hosted by Sugar the Golden Retriever. GoMotion provided me a LITEBELT for review. However, to me, free does not equal good so everything I say about it is really how I feel.
The short winter days mean that most of our walks are done early in the morning or late at night when it is dark. That poses a challenge when picking up dog poop. It can be harder to see and there are times I have spent 5 minutes searching (and sniffing…yes, really) around for that sneaky little pile.
I thought the common sense thing to do was bring a flashlight on my walk so I can spot the poop easier. At least it seemed like a good idea until I was holding onto two dog leashes, a flashlight, and trying to open a poop bag while not losing sight of the poopies. That is a little maddening.
So then, like the smart little outdoor camper person I am, I dug out my trusty headlamp. Voila. A hands-free flashlight. I thought I was genius until it was also a pain in the butt. When the strap was loose it would slip down on my forehead and I had to keep pushing it back up. When I tightened the strap, it left this red, welted dent in my forehead. That welt would stick with me for an hour or more too so imagine the embarrassment if I had to go out in public after our walk.
When I was contacted by the PR agency for GoMotion asking me to try their LITEBELT. I thought that was an even better idea than my other two. The LITEBELT is a waist belt with an adjustable 100-lumen LED light mounted on the front. The light beam can be focused or used in flood mode and has three brightness levels.
I love using this belt for our walks in the dark. I can point the adjustable light at the ground and effectively search for poop without having to play the juggling act or coming home with a divit in my forehead.
It’s a real bonus that the belt helps you be seen in the dark so you don’t get run over. In addition to the light in the front, there are reflective straps on the side and two blinking red lights in the back. It also has a built in poop bag holder. Ok. Not really but I slipped a roll of bags on one of the small side pockets and popped one out through the hole for headphone wires (I thought that was pretty genius if I do say so myself. Ha, ha).
Unfortunately, the “poop bag” hole is kind of around the side so I either have to twist around to get them and feel for the perforations in the bag (because I can’t totally see them) or spin the belt a little so it is easier to reach. If I had one of those dedicated poop bag holders, I could hook it onto the belt strap in the front so they were easier to reach. However, I like things bouncing on me as I walk less than contorting my body a little to grab a poop bag so I am going to stick with the headphone-jack dispenser.
So far, this belt has been the brightest idea (punn intended) for seeing and picking up poops on our walks in the dark. I actually look forward to using it. In a way it makes me giggle. I doubt the inventors imagined their product would be really great for picking up dog poop 🙂
GoMotion makes several other wearable lighting systems too. All of their systems include:
- 100 Lumen Cree LED with Fresnel lens offering a bright, lightweight light that is clearer than traditional headlamp lights.
- 3 adjustable light levels that don’t diminish as the battery life fades.
- A ratchet system to angle the light up and down, depending on your activity and needs.
- Spot to flood beam control (Beam distance: spot: 20m – 100m, Flood: 10m – 80m)
- A warning when the batteries are low (run time 8 hrs on high, 18 hrs on medium; 54 hours on low)
- Rear, red flashing tail lights in the battery pack that can be turned off when you don’t need them
Bethany says
January 19, 2014 at 9:36 PMWhat a great product idea! I always wonder when everywhere we go in the winter seems exponentially more poopy if it’s because of laziness about scooping poop in the bad weather or inability to clean up properly in the dark. We keep several flashlights and headlamps near our poop bags in “the dog closet” but this belt makes thing very convenient! Less excuses will hopefully help more people clean up after their dogs.
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 10:34 AMI like to think it is more because people can’t find it in the winter as well. I stepped on a big pile yesterday that as hidden under a pile of leaves. I know that even WITH a light I have trouble finding poo amongst dead leaves.
Jana Rade says
January 19, 2014 at 10:53 PMAah … when we go out in the dark, I drag a pretty good LED flashlight. In the winter it’s quite easy; dark poop stands out against the white snow. In the summer, it can be sometimes hard to find.
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 10:36 AMI just have a hard time juggling a flashlight, a couple leashes and trying to find dark poo on dark grass or leaves. If it was in the snow it would be no problem. It would stand out. It doesn’t snow around these parts though.
emma says
January 20, 2014 at 3:51 AMNow that is an awesome idea! When it is dark out in the winter, the poop is super easy to see on the snow, but in the fall before it snows, it is nearly impossible to find, even when Mom watches us make our pile and we don’t carry a flashlight…with three leashes, no spare hands. We have a headlight but Mom doesn’t like having things on her head. Very cool idea.
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 10:38 AMOur winter is like eternal fall – all dead leaves, stick, and grass on the ground. When I go walking with my friend, one of us “spots” while the other one digs the poop bag out 🙂
Amber DaWeenie says
January 20, 2014 at 4:35 AMWhat a great idea! They should re-name that product to SUPER DOOPER POOPER SCOOPER FINDER! Now that’s a mouthful (well, maybe not such a good name)
Hap-Pee Monday!
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 11:00 AMHa, ha. I sent the PR woman the link to the post and she did find my spin on the product very interesting 🙂
Kate says
January 20, 2014 at 6:22 AMGenius! I wear my headlamp around my neck like a pendant, and angle the swivel so it projects out, which works pretty well…..but it doesn’t hold a poop bag! I quit carrying a flashlight after I dropped it IN the poop trying to juggle 2 leashes and scoop…..
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 11:05 AMHopefully the headlamp doesn’t hang down low enough to graze the pile when you bend down to pick it up 🙂
To be honest, if I had dropped a flashlight IN the poop in the dark I propably would have walked away from the whole shebang. I would go back in the morning and try to take care of it if it was still there. Come to think of it though, I would feel sorry for the poor sap out walking in the dark that grabs the flashlight and exclaims “look, somebody dropped their…..UH, OH”
Kate says
January 21, 2014 at 6:22 AMOh, that was definitely the end of that flashlight!! I picked the whole mess up in a second poop bag and threw it in the trash….still lit…. 😀
Oz the Terrier says
January 20, 2014 at 6:37 AMTotally ingenious use for that GoMotion belt, Jess! Ma always has trouble finding my poop in the dark. I imagine it’s because I am a small dog, so smaller poop…not easy to spot! I love how you made the pocket into a poop bag dispenser. Maybe GoMotion will think your ideas great and make a special Scoop That Poop belt! I know Ma would buy that!
Happy Monday!
Oz
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 11:07 AMThey were pretty impressed with my whole take on their LITEBELT 🙂
I never thought about it but, you are right, it probably is easier to find big poops.
Christina Berry says
January 20, 2014 at 7:59 AMGreat review – thanks for sharing! I can see how this would totally make night-time walks a lot more pleasant!
Golden Woofs: Sugar says
January 20, 2014 at 8:17 AMPAWsome 🙂 better than the lighted leash (which don’t work at all). We will check on this … great for spotting poop in the snow. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar #ScoopThatPoop
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 11:23 AMGood to know we shouldn’t bother trying a lighted leash 🙂
Jodi Chick (+ Kolchak & Felix too) says
January 20, 2014 at 8:47 AMUm…brilliant. Just brilliant, yo. You know how dark it gets how woofing early and I am FOREVER trying to track down poop using the light on my iPhone (which I live in fear of dropping right in a fresh steamy pile.)
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 11:25 AMPhones are slippery little buggers too. I’ve dropped mine onto Chester and Gretel’s head more than once while checking the Facebooks in bed 🙂 My friend uses her iPhone for finding poop. I’ll remind her not to drop it.
Jessica says
January 20, 2014 at 10:36 AMWhat a cute idea. My Petzl headlamp is actually pretty comfy, so I don’t think we’ll be rushing out to buy one, but I can definitely see the use.
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 11:27 AMMy headlamp works fine for seeing but I don’t like wearing it on my head for hour-long walks around the neighborhood. Glad yours is comfy.
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 11:52 AMI read your confession post (yes, the whole thing 🙂 ) and left this long comment. However, I comment using my Twitter login on blogs using that comment system. The last couple of days, I haven’t been able to log in to comment using Twitter. It’s not just your blog. I refuse to use a G+, WordPress.com, or Facebook (because I have to use my personal page) to leave a comment so I haven’t been leaving one. I wanted to leave the one for you though so I am posting it here:
The new standard for internet font size is 14 point…and some sites have even moved to 16. Your theme may not use the 14 point font. You could find a coder to go in the back end and change it for you, research how to do it yourself if you don’t already know, or switch to a newer theme with the correct size font. Honestly though, I can’t say what you have NOW. I have a 13 inch laptop and have to use ctrl+ to make the pages bigger and easier to read…..so whatever font is on the pages I am reading probably isn’t the size I am viewing it in.
I know you don’t want to do a review on it but I am intrigued by what was so offensive (but I guess you answered that in your three sentences above). I won’t read it…because I don’t have time to read if it is not a blog or book for college…but I mentioned it on my radio segment the other day. Perhaps I shouldn’t have recommended it. I thought it would be more about “adventure”.
I also have to steady job. I go to school and walk dogs part time but, honestly, have sufficient time to do my blog stuff. I find myself checking the Facebooks a million times instead of doing something productive though (but, hey, I am reading and commenting on blogs this morning. Yay, productive! Ha, ha).
Jessica says
January 20, 2014 at 1:03 PMInteresting. I know basically nothing about the back-end of my blog, I’m sad to say. Because I am 1) cheap and 2) don’t get a lot of traffic, I’m sticking with the free WordPress platform and their fairly limited free design options for now. I’m also on a very small laptop, and have resorted to zooming in on a lot of things. I refuse to think of it as getting old.
Too bad about the twitter login. You’re right–it doesn’t work at all. Do you know if Twitter and/or WordPress is working on the problem already? I can presumably put in some kind of help ticket.
Jessica Rhae says
January 20, 2014 at 1:50 PMI don’t know if WordPress knows about it. I didn’t notice it being on free wordpress blogs only but that makes sense.
Marquie says
January 20, 2014 at 2:00 PMWhat a clever idea! This would be handy in the summer months, when we walk when it’s dark and cool. Clever to use the headphone slot as a poop bag slot! 😉
Ann Paws says
January 20, 2014 at 2:34 PMWhat a cool product! It looks handy for so many things, especially picking up the poo.
Patti Ann Palmieri says
January 22, 2014 at 9:29 AMThat is so cool. Just to think, I’ve been contemplating wearing a cap with a flashlight attached to it, AKA; Miners hat, because it is pitch black out here in the desert when I walk my dogs this time of year. The lighting is minimal, and many residents and guests here where I live, do not honor our HOA’s rules and regulations, and pick up after their doggies. Its pretty nasty when I step in it as well. And, not only that, seriously, if slippery, can be very very dangerous with falls on my part. YIKES!! Its happened to me by the way…. I almost broke my back, because I went flying after stepping off the lawn to the driveway on a smoother surface, and I landed on my shoulder after usingmy right wrist that practically snapped. I need my health to work with no insurance!!!! I am self employed… Its not just about poop and ICKY, its about trips, slips and falls!!!!! This belt is cool!!!
Jessica Rhae says
January 22, 2014 at 10:16 AMVery good point Patti. There are several reasons to pick up your dog’s poop beyond just the environmental impact and “little smell on your shoe”. That sucks that you slipped and got injured but I can totally see it. I’ve slipped in dog poo a few times myself. Luckily I was able to catch myself or “run it out”.
I’ve seen the flashlights you can clip to your ball cap. I hate wearing hats though. The only time I do is stocking caps when snowboarding or hiking in the winter. Even then, I am not totally thrilled about it. That’s why I find this belt really handy. Plus, a flashlight on a baseball cap doesn’t help you be seen from the back like the blinking red lights on this belt do.
Sand Spring Chesapeakes says
January 22, 2014 at 12:12 PMgreat review, never seen that before. great idea and makes scooping poop in dark much easier.
Jenna,Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady says
January 23, 2014 at 7:11 AMThat seems like a great product!! I like the fact that it has the poop bag spot there to!
There have been so many night when we have been out walking and I have used my cell phone light to try and see where the poop was!
((Husky hugz frum da pack))
“Love is being owned by a husky”
Dolly the Doxie says
January 23, 2014 at 12:16 PMWhoa this is one of those “Why didn’t’ I think of that?” products! The only problem I would have would be getting it around my waist in winter as there’s a down coat and insulated pants! But I do really love the idea and just hope that Dolly poops under a street light in the early morning! Love Dolly Pees: Check out my #ThrowbackThursday blog hop!
Dawn says
January 23, 2014 at 2:48 PMClever! I like the idea of a light belt better than one that goes on my head. Except for the poo bag part, it looks pretty simple and easy.
Jodi says
January 29, 2014 at 12:30 PMPretty cool. I have a light that clips on my visor and I love it!