Reading Flashlight for my 2 & 4 year olds

I'm looking for some suggestions that Santa can put into the kids stockings.

My daughter is about to turn 4 and has been using an old Husky brand (Home Depot brand) 2xAA aluminum flashlight that looks like a Mini Maglight but it has a switch on the side barrel. I like the light because the incandescent bulb is dim enough for reading night time stories, it's water and shock proof, and is small enough for her to carry around easily. What I don't like about it is the button is currently failing after only a year of use and she un-screws the top off and snaps the bulbs trying to get the top back on which is annoying to discover just before bedtime. We did buy a Mini Maglight 2xAA LED as a replacement but she didn't like the twist to turn it on and off, and the light was too bright!

She uses it not only for stories but also for lighting up the hallway at night, scaring away monsters, and finding mom and dads room.

My just-turned-2 year old son really likes her flashlight and so it makes sense to get them both flashlights this christmas (from Santa, of course)

So, other than Maglight brand are there suggestions that you could make?

Thanks!

If it doesn't have to be incandescent, I have had a good experience with a Thrunite T10, it uses a single AA and features a 1/5 lumen "moonlight" and 20 lumen medium(as opposed to the 87 lumen mini-mag) mode that is perfect for night vision. When my eyes are fully adjusted it can light up a whole hallway on low and I can read with it as well. The mode spacing is great and the batteries last very long on low and medium. I think that the switch is easy enough to operate, I had some of my young cousins using it and they were able to figure out how to change modes fairly quickly. It is also waterproof and very durable so the only thing to worry about is them losing it though I found a way around that problem (I wear mine around a lanyard under my shirt). I think that the T10 or similar light would be a treasured gift for years to come. My uncle gave me a maglight solitare when I was 5 or 6 and I carried that with me almost everywhere I went until the tailcap unscrewed while it was hanging from a carabiner on my belt loop when I was 12 or 13 on a campout. So don't assume that a nice flashlight would be wasted on small kids I am sure that they would love it and use it a lot as long as there is a good method to prevent it from getting lost. The T10 also has a lanyard hole in end that doesn't unscrew so having them loop a lanyard through a belt loop would help keep if from getting dropped outside while still being able to use it.
Welcome to the forums and good luck.

*edit* The maglite LEDs probably have a slight bluish-hue (or even possibly greenish-hue) to their light which some people don't like and it also reduces the vibrancy of colors. On most mid-to high end lights there is less of a problem of far off colors and my thrunite looks plain white compared to typical flashlights (most incandescents have a more orangish hue) .
Here is a picture of it (middle on medium brightness) compared to a very cheap flashlight and my phone's light. Just something to consider if you ever want to get more into the details of LED flashlights.
sorry if this is too off topic, I don't know of many incan flashlights because it has mostly switched to LED.

I was going to mention the Nitecore Tube until the two year old came on scene. The Tube is small enough that it could be easily swallowed, so that's out. I was thinking of the Streamlight Microstream, but that is 20+ lumens, which might be too bright for reading, and the switch is a little stiff for small hands. I will suggest the Streamlight Protac EMS. It is a single AA light, has threee modes of 3.7/10/50 lumens, and always starts in Low mode. I think the Low would be ideal for reading in bed, and either the low or medium would work for navigating at night. Plus, it is just the right size for mall hands. I would suggest staying with primary cells, because at that age I can easily see falling asleep while reading and totally draining the cell, which would not be good for NiMH cells. Do they even have protection circuits?

Awesome request!!!



^^ these little deals from Sears.
About $3 with batteries, and each puts out 6-10 map reading lumens.
Plenty of light to read by and while reading to the 2 year old the 4 year old isn't saying "turn out that light please...it's keeping me awake"

The clip on swivels and can attach to many many things in use or not.
I use one when working under a car and need both hands.

The black one is a single LED, tail switcher. It tail stands as well. Good table lamp when darkness is scary to the 4 year old. And running off 3 aaa's it's economical if it keeps getting left on.

Both are battery sippers.
The clip on has at least 20 hours on the supplied coin cells over a 3 year period.

The black one is great for lighting shadows in an engine bay...or scaring away the boogey-man.
It too has at least 20 hours over 3-4 years on supplied aaa's.


^^ took the clip on off my hat to peer into a cavity.
"Why won't that motor mount seat"? lol
Guy on the left had a headlamp. Great general use, but for peering deep down the clip on worked better.
Great for finding that shoe under the bed too.

I appreciate the suggestions and am surprised that I didn't consider that LED flashlights came in different colours/warmth. I was looking for suggestions in the incandescent section of this forum because I was looking for a dimmer and warmer light than what the LED Mini MagLite offered. Even on it's lowest setting the LED Mini MagLite was too bright for pointing at pages. If there are additional options in the LED area that have a lower intensity and greater warmth I am certainly open to them.

As an addition. When I told my wife what I was doing for our daughter she said "That's great, as long as it is Purple or Pink." <sigh> Are colours possible?

I too have a recently turned 4 yo daughter. She is beginning to become a flashaholic....guess that's my fault.
I got her an Xtar wk50....and it comes in different colors....including pink. Seems to be of good quality with all AL body. Nice space of brightness modes at 150, 80, 30, and a "moonlight" of 3 lumens. Throws a nice beam too for the $$. Takes a single AA and with a good quality rechargeable gets good run times especially in the lower modes. It does have an end clicky but is easy to push and never gets accidentally turned on....at least so far. Will tail stand too as well as memory of last mode used and IPX 8 water rating. Pretty cheap, should be able to get one around $12-13 delivered on the auction sites. I was quite surprised with the overall quality of build and brightness. Purchased 3 so far as gifts for the girlies.....

You might be able to find a pink maglite solitaire incandescent but that still has the problem of twisty operation and coming apart easily.
The Eagle Eye F05 comes in pink and offers a neutral white LED option but is probably not dim enough to use as a reading light.
This looks like a typical incandescent flashlight that is still being made. Plastic body comes in different colors http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CQAO5TY/?tag=cpf0b6-20 It would still have the problems of the original incandescent

I would personally still go for the Thrunite if possible, all of the pink flashlights that I could find for sale I would imagine have negatives such as:

• too bright on low / low not very low
• Bad pwm on low
• Bluish tint LEDs
• cheap / easily breakable

Honestly if it has to be pink I would go for the lumilight, it probably won't last very long though. (Or the xtar, it has pwm but to be honest that doesn't really matter to most kids)

Moving this to Recommend Me A Light for.....forum.

You might consider the Fenix EO1 about $11 single 13 lumen output so you don't have to worry too much about too much brightness. It comes in a variety of colors.

OK, I appreciate everyone's input so far! Currentlywe are using rechargeable batteries for the flashlights. Is there a problem with LED flashlights and rechargeable batteries that I should know about?

There are all sorts of tiny clip-on book lights - amazon has tons.

My kid (now a 12 yo avid reader) used one until he got his backlit kindle.

-jk

mr.steevo said:

OK, I appreciate everyone's input so far! Currentlywe are using rechargeable batteries for the flashlights. Is there a problem with LED flashlights and rechargeable batteries that I should know about?

Click to expand...

Good Man!

Be sure to use protected cells and a good charger.

What that means is cells that have internal stuff to prevent over charging or discharging.
Chargers should match as in have over charge protection.

Eneloop bundles (as in charger incuded) are fine.

Probably be better to not use Li-Ions in the kid's lights. Safer to use Alkaline or NiMh rechargeable's. Kids can go through batteries pretty quickly, so Alkaline AAA or AA's, depending on the flashlights chosen, would be good as they can be purchased in bulk for very reasonable prices, and you wouldn't have to go through the hassle of recharging batteries.

Bill

Fenix came out with a new coin cell headlamp light. But I'd be concerned about a small child accessing the small battery, about the size of a nickel, so use discretion and good judgment!

Eneloops and a quality charger are actually the way to go for good flashlights! Alkalines have a tendency to leak and don't perform as well under the strains modern quality flashlights can put them under. Not to mention the inherent benefits of being rechargeable!
Anyway, many quality flashlights have what is called a firefly mode or a moonlight mode (generally way less than a lumen or .5~1 lumen respectively). These types of modes are very good for preserving night vision when doing night activities like reading or walking to the bathroom without waking people up, so I would recommend that having such a mode be a high priority in your search.

That said, the L3 Illumination L11C sounds like an excellent choice. It's a single AA clicky, comes in black, grey, or orange, has 4 modes (firefly, 3 lumen low, 30 lumen medium, and 140 lumen high, which is a good spacing), and you can get it with a Nichia Hi CRI emitter which provides a more natural light. It's about $35 from SBFlashlights. If you do get one, make sure you get the C version (which is a clicky rather than a twisty) and 4 mode (the 3 mode doesn't have Firefly).

You could also consider a headlamp so they don't have to hold a flashlight while reading.

mr.steevo said:

OK, I appreciate everyone's input so far! Currentlywe are using rechargeable batteries for the flashlights. Is there a problem with LED flashlights and rechargeable batteries that I should know about?

Click to expand...

There are precautions that you should be aware of when you go to Lithium Ion batteries, but there really isn't much concern about NiMH batteries, such as the ones you'll be using in low power lights for your kids.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. My wife and I will hash this out and come to a decision. She is of the opinion that body colour is the most important part of a flashlight so we will see where that takes us.

Ive noticed that the 6 month old, hardly used LED mini Maglite flickers and won't stay on so now it's time to figure out how to fix that.

I believe the Xeno E03 comes in a blue/purple colour. Unfortunately, a bit on the bright side and starts on Medium, but it isn't a bad light.
The Nitecore Tubes come in a variety of colors, get down to 1 lumen/up to 45 lumens, and are USB rechargeable.
The L3 illuminations lights used to come in a wide variety of colours, so you might be able to find one floating around.
If none of those seem right, there is always the argument of STICKERS. Bundle the lights with a sticker book and let 'em customize their new lights.