# Children's "Headlamp for Kids"



## Bolster (Jul 30, 2011)

I spotted a headlamp for children in a sporting store the other day, it was 2AAA. I thought it was a Petzl but now that I'm searching for it, all I can find is a BD 2AAA Headlamp called the Wiz and a PT called the BOT. 

I like the idea of a 2AAA light for my daughter...one that won't blind her if she isn't careful...can anyone make a recommendation for a kid's headlamp, that DOESN'T take button cells? Either 1AAA or 2AAA would be great. Anybody own the Wiz or Bot and can comment on them?


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## Mark620 (Jul 30, 2011)

I just get my kids a inexpensive light at the local wallyworld...$5-20 dollar range


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## Bolster (Jul 30, 2011)

The BD and the PT are in that same price range, $16 and $19. Just curious if anybody owns either the Wiz or the Bot and can comment?

They have virtually the same high of 15/16 lumens, and both have a high and a low. From what I've read on this forum of the two companies, I'm leaning toward the PT Bot.


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## skyfire (Jul 30, 2011)

i was just at REI the other day and noticed the PT bot, first thing that came to my mind was... itll be nice for my niece.

ITP 1xAAA headlamp. the model name escapes me right now.


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## robostudent5000 (Jul 30, 2011)

*Edit* nevermind. i was thinking maybe the Mammut S-Lite, but i see you asked for a 1 or 2 AAA headlamp.


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## texasmufflerman (Jul 31, 2011)

I, too, have been thinking of headlamps for my 4 and 6-year old boys. I looked at the bot. My problem with the bot is that the leds are not efficient. Here are the specs:
Medium - 9 hours
Low - 4.5 hours
With a short runtime, I think i will worry too much about saving battery life. I don't want to put new batteries in each time the kids use them. The byte might be a better choice.

I am leaning towards petzl, maybe tikka plus 2. Here are the specs:
High - 55 hours
Low - 140 hours
Brighter and 10 to 20 times the runtime on a set of batteries is attractive to me.Yes, they are more expensive, but it will save me money in batteries and I think the kids will be happy with it for a longer period of time. 

And, if I get the core rechargeable battery, I can program it to give my kids low and very low until I think they can handle more power.

byte for $16
or
tikka plus 2 for $40 and core battery for $40

the petzl setup is very expensive. $80 per light is a tough pill to swallow, but I think it is worth the extra money if the kids will be getting frequent use.


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## Bolster (Jul 31, 2011)

Actually, a 1xAA would be fine too. Isn't the S-lite 1xAA?


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## Mark620 (Jul 31, 2011)

I have a 1AA Headlight
Rayovac Sportsman (Xtreme?)

1W Luxeon LED up to 45 Lumens
2 ea. 5mm LEDs in red 
1 ea. 5mm LED in blue
Built-in diffuser 

When the 1W white quits after 2-3 hours the red still works.


Check out the Energizer Micro LED Headlamp too.


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## robostudent5000 (Jul 31, 2011)

what age range are we talking about?


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## Bolster (Aug 1, 2011)

Six AND A HALF. If you leave off the "and a half" part, someone gets seriously insulted. 

Daughter is of the age where she thinks Dad is "cool" (how many months does that last?) and wants a headlamp like Dad is often wearing. But I don't want one that is as bright, or can get as hot, as what I wear!


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## Vesper (Aug 1, 2011)

My 8 year old uses the Tec Bot when reading. Great little light and inexpensive.


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## robostudent5000 (Aug 1, 2011)

Bolster said:


> Six AND A HALF. If you leave off the "and a half" part, someone gets seriously insulted.



haha... well, of course you can't leave off "and a half". you just can't! 



Bolster said:


> Daughter is of the age where she thinks Dad is "cool" (how many months does that last?) and wants a headlamp like Dad is often wearing. But I don't want one that is as bright, or can get as hot, as what I wear!



i was thinking of suggesting you give her your Irix, but then i realized that 40-50 lumens is a lot of power for a 6.5 year old. one of my friends has two girls (5 and 8) who use River Rock 2AAA headlamps when they hike/camp. those only produce 15-20 lumens and even those seem a little too bright at times. 

i think i'd try to see if a Tikkina would fit her. i remember a thread where turboBB got a Tikkina for his little girl and it worked out for her. other than maybe being a little too big, the specs seem about right. and at least you know the build quality and runtimes will be good. plus it comes in kid friendly colors.

the Wiz and Bot seem like they would fit a 6.5 year old's head better, but i don't have a good feeling about either of those lamps. i would steer clear of the Wiz altogether (cheap plastic) and consider the Bot only if i could verify the runtimes. after what happened with the Byte, i don't know if i trust PT to produce decent runtimes with a 2AAA headlamp.


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## gcbryan (Aug 1, 2011)

Too bad there's not a small programmable headlamp so you could just program in a low setting...Akoray K106 headlamp


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## borrower (Aug 1, 2011)

I can't believe this one hasn't been mentioned:
http://www.marksandspencer.com/Marks-and-Spencer-Dinosaur-Torch/dp/B0030JDEOM

It goes RAWRRR!


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## robostudent5000 (Aug 1, 2011)

borrower said:


> I can't believe this one hasn't been mentioned:
> http://www.marksandspencer.com/Marks-and-Spencer-Dinosaur-Torch/dp/B0030JDEOM
> 
> It goes RAWRRR!



that reminds me. my nephews-in-law have the Lego Headlamps and love them. but they use button cells and don't run for long on a set.


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## Bolster (Aug 3, 2011)

You've persuaded me off these childrens' lights. Their runtimes are inexcusable. Kids forget to turn their lamps off. 

A Tikkina 2 will output 23 lumens max for 55 hours, whereas the Bot will put out 15 max for 4.5 hours. 

I wanted a small 2AAA but whatchagonnado.

Is the Tikkina 2 the lowest output of the Petzl lamps?


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## Mark620 (Aug 3, 2011)

Bolster said:


> A Tikkina 2 will output 23 lumens max for 55 hours,


 
A tikkina 2 will output 23 lumens with fresh batteries then, 
you get constantly diminishing output for 55 hours, 
till its so dim you cant see anything...

tikkina 2 is Unregulated


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## robostudent5000 (Aug 3, 2011)

what Mark620 said.

and i think the Tikkina is the dimmest model Petzl makes. i think it's one of the dimmest full size models anyone makes.


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## Bolster (Aug 4, 2011)

Oh, it's completely unregulated? Doesn't drop out of reg, it's unregged from the start? Well cool, then I can control max brightness by putting in run down AAAs.


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## gcbryan (Aug 4, 2011)

All Petzl headlamps are unregulated as far as I know. That's a good idea regarding the used batteries to limit brightness!


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## borrower (Aug 4, 2011)

gcbryan said:


> All Petzl headlamps are unregulated as far as I know. That's a good idea regarding the used batteries to limit brightness!


 
Apologies if you were making a joke and I missed it, but the MYO RXP, Pixa line, and of course the two Ultras are regulated.


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## gcbryan (Aug 4, 2011)

borrower said:


> Apologies if you were making a joke and I missed it, but the MYO RXP, Pixa line, and of course the two Ultras are regulated.



Haha...I was being kind of loose with my facts  I knew that from the XP2 on down they were all unregulated. I figured the MYO through Ultra might be but I didn't know for sure. I didn't realize the Pixa line was regulated.


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## Stevie (Aug 18, 2011)

Tikkina 2 gets my vote. I have one of these in the collection and it just does what it does pretty well. No, it's not the brightest (but that's not what you want for the kids). It has high for walking around and low for bedtime reading. The batteries last well. The kids won't even notice it dimming over time until the batteries get REALLY low. It comes in colours the kids will like.

For what it is, it's a pretty good product and won't break the bank either.

Good luck with your search and I hope you find what you need for them!


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## taize (Aug 18, 2011)

Bolster said:


> You've persuaded me off these childrens' lights. Their runtimes are inexcusable. Kids forget to turn their lamps off.


 
Whats wrong with the BD Wiz? It has a run time of 120H an auto shutdown after 2 hrs to conserve battery life. I'm looking at this for my kids and it seems like a very good option.


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## B0wz3r (Aug 20, 2011)

Hey B, did you find anything for your kids yet? Just curious. My son is 11 and so I'm no longer 'cool'... my daughter is 3 and I'm the bees-knees to her... she's always wanting to play with my flashlights, multis, etc., which of course bugs my son just that much more... LOL.


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## Bolster (Aug 22, 2011)

No, and Taize's post has me rethinking everything. Auto shut-down would be great, and I was unaware the Wiz (and Bot) did that. My daughter almost ALWAYS leaves her handheld lights running.

Poor reviews at Amazon here and here and at REI here. I see runtimes listed variously as 35 and 50h, I don't see 120h anywhere. 

I see the Bot also has auto shutoff. No reviews at amazon and a negative review at REI. 4.5-9 hours only??


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## Norman (Aug 22, 2011)

I *THINK* there's a new Wiz, which may explain the contradictory information. I found it in a search at mec.ca, and it says "33% brighter, with a 16-lumen, 20-metre beam", 2-modes plus strobe, with 4-hr auto power-off with 120hr on low.

I remember very little about the older Wiz, but I do recall a 2-hr auto shutdown.

Maybe you can find more information at the manufacturer's site (I think it's here, but things are so slow that it may be a while before I find it)
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us


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## Bolster (Aug 22, 2011)

Norman said:


> I *THINK* there's a new Wiz...



Aha! The BD website (as of today) says the Wiz is 16 lumen for 20 hrs, or 4 lumen for 120 hours, with a 2 hr shutdown (I don't see anything about a 4 hr shutdown). There is also a strobe mode. As you say, this information doesn't match retailer's descriptions (such as Amazon claiming 35 hour burn time max and one-hour auto-off...REI claims 50 hr burntime with 4 hour shutoff...), so perhaps you are right. Maybe the Wiz got quietly updated.

Perhaps the new headlamps are distinguished by the headband pattern? Pink clouds or green octopus? These are shown at the BD website, whereas one Amazon page (the older page?) shows flame patterns on the band and the other Amazon page shows clouds/octopi. Just a hypothesis.


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## B0wz3r (Aug 22, 2011)

I remember seeing the flames pattern a long time ago on one in REI. Most likely that's an older one then.


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## taize (Aug 23, 2011)

The BD Wiz has got my vote.

Can anyone recommend somewhere that ships internationally so I can buy it at a reasonable price. (the US price is about 1/2 what they are selling for in Australia. Most of the camping stores I've gone to online want $50 to ship to Australia)

Kym


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## robostudent5000 (Aug 23, 2011)

taize said:


> The BD Wiz has got my vote.


 
why? especially when the Petzl Tikkina costs about the same and is built much, much better.

btw. i saw the PT Bot in a store the other day and was surprised by how big it is. it's almost the same size as the PT Remix and way bigger than the PT Byte.


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## taize (Aug 23, 2011)

robostudent5000 said:


> why? especially when the Petzl Tikkina costs about the same and is built much, much better.


 
Two things (bear in mind I have not physically touched either the petzl or BD) - firstly the 2 hr auto shut off - my kids are forever leaving things on, and secondly the "child-safe screw closure" - I'm sick of having to put cheap headlamps back together from being dropped or inquizative 3 year old hands

I'm looking at getting the petzl tikka xp for me (unless there are other suggestions)

Kym


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## robostudent5000 (Aug 23, 2011)

just beware that BD headlamps have great features, but all (but the Storm) have a tragic flaw. they're made of cheaper plastic which tends to break easier than that used by others.


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## Bolster (Aug 24, 2011)

taize said:


> ...I'm sick of having to put cheap headlamps back together ...



From the reviews I've read, you may have to deal with that, even if you buy the Wiz; 



taize said:


> petzl tikka xp for me (unless there are other suggestions)



A good light, but all depends on what you want the light to do for you. If you want to choose from a list of available options, see the links in my sig line. Also see here. You don't want a regulated light? 

Let us know how you like the Wiz when you get it! A review would be nice.


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## JacobJones (Aug 24, 2011)

What about an ITP HO1? I know it's a bit brighter than you really wanted but it's fairly cheap and being aluminium rather than plastic it should be able to survive the abuse it will inevitably recieve in the hands of young children.


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## Bolster (Aug 24, 2011)

JacobJones said:


> ITP HO1?



The light itself is small, isn't it? But just as you say...80 lumen is way bright for children. And, with it's band and holder, it's reported to be as bulky as a Zebralight AA. Also it has no auto-off feature which would be really nice to have in a kid's headlamp.

The irony about a kid's headlamp is: it needs to be a quality, well-engineered product. Kids are hard on gear and the design must be well idiot-proofed. Yet on the other hand people think if it's for a kid, it should be cheap, almost disposable. A fundamental incompatibility.


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## B0wz3r (Aug 24, 2011)

Bolster said:


> The irony about a kid's headlamp is: it needs to be a quality, well-engineered product. Kids are hard on gear and the design must be well idiot-proofed. Yet on the other hand people think if it's for a kid, it should be cheap, almost disposable. A fundamental incompatibility.


 
There's the rub, eh? I run into the same issue with my 3 y.o. daughter. She loves playing with my lights, and I gave her my old E01 as her own. But I still cringe every time she gets ahold of one of my nice ones. She threw my SC50w+ across the kitchen and into the dog's water dish a few months ago...  She is getting better about it now though.

Thankfully, my son is old enough now that I can let him use one of my good lights (or multis for that matter too) without too much fear he's going to lose it or abuse it.


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## taize (Aug 24, 2011)

Bolster said:


> Let us know how you like the Wiz when you get it! A review would be nice.



I'm struggling to find somewhere to buy the wiz. In Australia its A$30 whereas its $18 in the US. I'm trying to find somewhere that has reasonable shipping costs as most places want to charge US$30 for shipping!!


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## robostudent5000 (Aug 24, 2011)

taize said:


> I'm struggling to find somewhere to buy the wiz. In Australia its A$30 whereas its $18 in the US. I'm trying to find somewhere that has reasonable shipping costs as most places want to charge US$30 for shipping!!


 
any kind of tracked shipping from the US to abroad is pretty expensive and i don't think anyone selling a BD product would send it international without some form of tracking, so i think you'll have a hard time finding it for a reasonable price.


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## Cogitria (Aug 25, 2011)

robostudent5000 said:


> that reminds me. my nephews-in-law have the Lego Headlamps and love them. but they use button cells and don't run for long on a set.


 This unique shape has not very good performance, and it may fail to work because of kid's improper use.


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## Bolster (Nov 4, 2011)

Bump for adkdadto4 to read...


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## Bolster (Nov 7, 2011)

Why didn't I think of this earlier...why wouldn't the Irix Icon II be a good kid's lamp? Reasonably compact, 1AA, simple dial interface. Not terribly bright. 

What do you think?


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## B0wz3r (Nov 8, 2011)

Bolster said:


> Why didn't I think of this earlier...why wouldn't the Irix Icon II be a good kid's lamp? Reasonably compact, 1AA, simple dial interface. Not terribly bright.
> 
> What do you think?



Sounds reasonable. The purple one might even be good for a girl too.


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## robostudent5000 (Nov 8, 2011)

Bolster said:


> Why didn't I think of this earlier...why wouldn't the Irix Icon II be a good kid's lamp? Reasonably compact, 1AA, simple dial interface. Not terribly bright.
> 
> What do you think?





robostudent5000 said:


> i was thinking of suggesting you give her your Irix, but then i realized that 40-50 lumens is a lot of power for a 6.5 year old. one of my friends has two girls (5 and 8) who use River Rock 2AAA headlamps when they hike/camp. those only produce 15-20 lumens and even those seem a little too bright at times.


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## Bolster (Nov 8, 2011)

D'oh. Go back and read the thread. Got it. Sorry about that. 

Whether I was remembering your forgotten post (how's that?) or thinking this on my own, I was fretting about the bright end of the scale on an Irix Icon II. I was actually pondering finding a way to stop the dial midway. I need to get the light out of its "for emergency use" storage and see if that's possible. Hopefully a simple solution will present itself. If so...I think I -- no, Robostudent -- may have found my kid's light.


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