I currently tend to use the glow sticks but have wondered about the battery type. Which are the best? Do they stand up to power casting?

mine do mate but make sure you have the blanked end facing the rod tip and not right at the top eye as it may get scrapped off.
another guy i know always takes it off for the cast then before setting in stand reattaches it

the guie whips on real easy and a coat of clear (nail) varnish secures it nicely
i tend to use the tiny wee lights in case of excess pressue on rod tip during cast

The line always seems to get wrapped around the tip light for some reason.

I have suffered the same problem as autumn, can be a right pig on a windy night.

I think it happens whilst baiting up or resetting break wires.

I have gone back to taping on a starlight, it has a smooth profile and I have never had the line catch on it.

I always used reflective tape, spiraled around the rod. Reflects plenty of light from a headlight or base light without needing to strap lights or starlights to the tip.

I've been using the battery tip-lights. Improvising a quick-clip out of a piece of PVC tube and glueing the light fitting to it to save the hassle of fixing it to the rod and it is still a pain. So,,,,,,,,,, I spotted the product linked below. Luminous paint from Glow-Tech. The lighter the colour the longer the glow. Also cheaper the lighter. Anyway, I painted the rod tips of two of my rods as per instructions and materials. (A cover coat is required for exterior use. Well you wouldn't fish indoors anyway would you!). So far so good. Doesn't glow bright for 20 hours as per tin but does glow for a hell of a time after 'charging up' with a bright light. I painted a Gargoyle's eyes (cruel or what?)in the garden and before the Summer and he's still staring brightly through the night even after all the rain on him. That's just normal daylight charging! Cost about £15 in total for the 2 jars off Ebay but it goes a hell of a long way. My rods have had 3 coats each of the Lumi paint (Aqua blue) and I've hardly gone a third of the way down the jar. Probably get five or six rod tips done in three coats each with the amount. Will it last? Let you know. So far so good, according to the Gargoyle. The link:
http://www.glowtec.co.uk/

I just paint the top foot of my rods white. I like starlites on floats for freshwater fishing but when I'm sea fishing I prefer to use a headlamp or a lantern. (Maybe that's why I've never caught a sole?)

I've got a foot of reflective tape, but at height, with rain and sea spray the base lamp does not normally do the trick. I like to keep my headlamp in reserve. Think I may well stick to the glow sticks as I know how line has a habit of wrapping around anything it can.

Definatley reflective tape, seen a rod tip snapped before due to line catching on a tip light, also find that the tape works better than a light aswell.

Matt

A bit off thread....but that glowtec site has some interesting stuff called glint & glow. Be great to paint on pirks and plugs etc.