Headlamp for 11yo

[jmwking]

My 11yo daughter is smitten with my ZL H31Fw and wants a headlamp of her own, one that can be used as a standalone flashlight, too.

She's norotiously hard on the stuff she doesn't lose first, so I'm not really relishing the idea of giving her a ZL of her own.

Can anyone direct me to something more affordable, LED but not necessarily as bright as my ZL, preferably using AA or AAA?

thanks,

-jk

 

[carrot]

My cousin (8) this year is getting a Petzl Tikka 2 Plus. I'd recommend any of the standard Tikka models from Petzl for younger people: low maintenance, simple to use, surprisingly durable, and plenty bright.

 

[varuscelli]

My 11yo daughter is smitten with my ZL H31Fw and wants a headlamp of her own, one that can be used as a standalone flashlight, too.

If a headlamp that also serves as a standalone flashlight part is a hard requirement, I think the choices become quite limited (to something like ZebraLight or Spark), meaning I think it will be difficult to identify a good but less expensive option.

Another option might be to consider a Fenix headband and then whatever small flashlight you'd like to add. The only problem with the Fenix headband is that they're bulkier than some when taking into account the flashlight holders. Still, it might be plenty wearable by an 11 year old if you used just one of the holders (they come with two), don't attach the battery holder (too much extra bulk unless she wants to wear it, too), and perhaps leave off the top strap. If you like, I can post a shot of my 10-year-old daughter wearing this slimmed down version of the Fenix headband with a small flashlight attached (a single AA light to keep things simple).

The Fenix headbands run around $20 on the low end, so overall cost will depend on the small flashlight you'd choose for it.

A NiteCore headband might be good, too, coupled with a small flashlight -- but I think the NiteCore headbands are a bit limited in terms of being able to direct the flashlight the way you want. But they're inexpensive (something like $10-$12, I think) and can be used with a pretty wide variety of different flashlights.

 

[THE_dAY]

I would recommend the Nite ize Headband which goes for around $5 on ebay.
http://www.niteize.com/products/headband

Great for converting a regular flashlight into a headlamp.
It can accommodate many sizes.
I have one and use it with my CR123 light as well as my AAA light.

 

[Bolster]

See also:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?319384

 

[Bicycleflyer]

In your own words, she is prone to breaking and losing stuff. I would just go to a store and get the energizer or ray-o-vac brand headlamp. Home depot for the holidays has gift sets of three headlamps right now. Give her one, when she breaks it, get out the second and then third.

If you want name brand, the look at PTs Byte. small, bright, easy to operate, and sells for under 20 USD.

 

[carrot]

In your own words, she is prone to breaking and losing stuff. I would just go to a store and get the energizer or ray-o-vac brand headlamp. Home depot for the holidays has gift sets of three headlamps right now. Give her one, when she breaks it, get out the second and then third.

If you want name brand, the look at PTs Byte. small, bright, easy to operate, and sells for under 20 USD.

But honestly, for the same $20-30, a Petzl Tikkina 2 or Tikka 2 will be better constructed than an 'equivalent' Energizer or Ray-o-vac.

 

[robostudent5000]

But honestly, for the same $20-30, a Petzl Tikkina 2 or Tikka 2 will be better constructed than an 'equivalent' Energizer or Ray-o-vac.

+1 for the Tikkina 2 which can be found for $16 or less at some places. some kids, especially girls, have an unbeatable "cheap crap" detector. they know when they're being conned with inferior goods.

*edit* wait a minute, she's eleven? tell her she can buy a Zebra herself if she does $64 worth of chores around the house.

 

[jmwking]

Thanks for all the ideas, folks. Food for thought and very helpful.

-jk

 

[Bicycleflyer]

But honestly, for the same $20-30, a Petzl Tikkina 2 or Tikka 2 will be better constructed than an 'equivalent' Energizer or Ray-o-vac.

20-30$ ???

The models here at my local wally world are 10 to 12$ The gift pack at home depot I mentioned above is 4.88. Between my son, being a foster parent, and my 10 years at Big Brothers I have lots of experience with kids..mostly tweens, and teens. You do not want to give an 11 yo anything of too much value, unless they earn it themselves. Being a flashlight freak myself, I naturally wanted to get the kids a good flashlight or headlamp. Big mistake, they end up lost, broken, stolen, or loaned out to a so-called friend to never be returned. I even found one out in the yard after a month. So long as it is a headlamp like daddy's, she will be happy.

I have found that if a kid works to earn something, they do tend to take better care...sometimes. That means they earn it BEFORE it is purchased. None of this buy it now and work for it later. That approach never works.

 

[varuscelli]

Kids...levels of responsibilities....what they deserve (and when)...a lot of that stuff depends on the specific kid.

Making sure that they earn things that they are given is a solid general approach, but there are also degrees of various exceptions with things like Christmas presents, birthday presents, etc., where "earning" the thing in question is only part of the equation.

If a kid habitually loses or abuses things of value, then there's good reason to be hesitant about giving them gifts of much value (especially small and valuable things that are easily lost or broken). But if a kids has started to show that he or she has a good developing sense of responsibility, there's probably no real reason to withhold an occasional gift or reward of value.

I recently gave my daughter her first nice flashlight as a birthday present (she just turned 10), and although she didn't specifically work for it by doing chores or the like that specifically applied to the gift, she's been showing me a pretty high level of self-responsibility for things either given to her or left in her care. The flashlight is a further test of her sense of responsibility, but one that I think was deserved and that I was certainly willing to take a chance in giving her as a birthday present. She practically treats it like gold, recently even declining to take it to a sleepover with her friends for not wanting to take the chance with it (I suggested she take it, she said she didn't want to because she thought something might happen to it).

I definitely don't believe in showering kids with undeserved gifts, but if they've got an interest in something like a good flashlight, I'd rather give them something like a flashlight that has some real value and usability than give a $30-$40 toy or game that might either be outgrown or otherwise become an item of little interest in a short time.

I dunno...there are a lot of different takes on such things, but that's just my two cents on it (at least, at the moment). :)

 

[Blue72]

Another one for the petzl Tikkina

My Kids went through several headlamps until they finally got the petzl. They hold up well !

 

[carrot]

20-30$ ???

The models here at my local wally world are 10 to 12$ The gift pack at home depot I mentioned above is 4.88.

You and I are probably looking at completely different models then!

These are the only ones I ever saw at my Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Energizer-Head-Beam-with-6-LEDs/8111444

 

[Bicycleflyer]

Kids...levels of responsibilities....what they deserve (and when)...a lot of that stuff depends on the specific kid.

Making sure that they earn things that they are given is a solid general approach, but there are also degrees of various exceptions with things like Christmas presents, birthday presents, etc., where "earning" the thing in question is only part of the equation.

If a kid habitually loses or abuses things of value, then there's good reason to be hesitant about giving them gifts of much value (especially small and valuable things that are easily lost or broken). But if a kids has started to show that he or she has a good developing sense of responsibility, there's probably no real reason to withhold an occasional gift or reward of value.

I recently gave my daughter her first nice flashlight as a birthday present (she just turned 10), and although she didn't specifically work for it by doing chores or the like that specifically applied to the gift, she's been showing me a pretty high level of self-responsibility for things either given to her or left in her care. The flashlight is a further test of her sense of responsibility, but one that I think was deserved and that I was certainly willing to take a chance in giving her as a birthday present. She practically treats it like gold, recently even declining to take it to a sleepover with her friends for not wanting to take the chance with it (I suggested she take it, she said she didn't want to because she thought something might happen to it).

I definitely don't believe in showering kids with undeserved gifts, but if they've got an interest in something like a good flashlight, I'd rather give them something like a flashlight that has some real value and usability than give a $30-$40 toy or game that might either be outgrown or otherwise become an item of little interest in a short time.

I dunno...there are a lot of different takes on such things, but that's just my two cents on it (at least, at the moment). :)

Well said....

 

[varuscelli]

Well said....

Thanks -- I know we parents tend to walk a kind of fine line with that sort of thing. With my own daughter's semi-fascination with flashlights (by osmosis, I guess), I've been tempted for the last couple of years to give her one as kind of a special gift between the two of us...but I gave it a little bit of time until I felt comfortable that she'd treat the gift with a bit of respect if I gave her something a bit to the nicer side. I think I timed it about right for her, but it's always a judgment call. She sure seems to like having a flashlight of her own, though (something that doesn't have SpongeBob or the like printed on the side of its plastic body)... :)