What flashlight for 4 year olds?

My cousin wants his first flashlight, after borrowing one from me at a family gathering to play with a squirt gun at night.

I don't know if I want to give him a Dorcy 1x123; the good is that it'll never be damaged by leakage, makes a good battery vampire, and a competent mod host even compared to fancier lights. But I don't know about batteries; his dad might take one look and blow off ever buying new batteries, even if I supply them.

A Fenix E01 with a pack of lithium primaries is good, but small enough to be lost, and not really bright enough or focused enough to impress.

Maybe a minimag rebel or something else I've overlooked would be better. Something from the Target clearance? the Brinkmann 3xAAA tactical is awfully cheap and again, still a decent beater.

Small pieces of metal that lil kids chock on is a bad idea imho. Try a streamlight pp.

Playskool.

Purpose-made for the job.

R@ndom said:

Small pieces of metal that lil kids chock on is a bad idea imho. Try a streamlight pp.

Click to expand...

I thing a four year old is well past the stage of swallowing shiny objects. I'm sure he'll be fine. My nephews have played with my fauxton lights since they were 2.5 years old. A problem to consider with kids is that they like to look directly at the light and like to shine it at other people's eyes.

If you want it to be something he carries everyday, I think the e01 with a decent sized lanyard would be ideal. If this is something that he's only going to be using around the house or for camping trips and such, the solar powered lights they sell at costco would be suitable.

My 3-year old likes her DX/KD pig light. Her other favorite is a MiniMag with a old cyan TerraLux drop-in and a Kroll.

Dont get nothing too bight might shine it in his or friends eyes.

My 4 year old likes her Fenix L2T which she keeps beside her bed.

My 2 year old son likes any light he can get his hands on, but has a preference for single AA or CR123. The Nitecore Extreme is probably his favourite due to size and form factor, although he does go for the D20 a lot, even though I gave him a D10. He still drops lights a lot, while my daughter never drops hers.

E01 is not a good idea, since the head unscrews easily due to the switch type, and a lost head is a useless light.

Take a look at the Princeton Tec line. I forget the model names at the moment but there are 2 lights that are great for kids. There is a 4xAAA with 3 LED that isn't very bright, but has a burn time of about a week. Its waterproof and all plastic with no tail cap. You change batteries and turn it on and off by unscrewing the bezel. Super simple design, and its cheap ( about $15 ) They also make a 2XAAA that is great for small hands but its an incan and only lasts for a few hours....leave it on once and the cells are done. You can take them in the tub, swimming pool, mud puddles, or whatever, parts are interchangeable and they are a very simple design. A 4 year old might even be able to manage a battery charger and a set of NiMh cells.

For a four year old I think I'd just start with one of the plastic Energizer or Rayovac LEDs that are starting to show up at Target, WalMart, etc. Simple to operate and feed. I've seen two-packs for less than $10.

Geoff

I'm leaning strongly toward the Brinkmann Cree at the moment, for being powerful enough to be impressive and cheap enough I can afford to give one away.

PetaBread said:

Click to expand...

+1 Perfect for irresponsible kids!
Put an LED drop in in there with the 2xC cells it'll last years. It has an auto-off feature and is impossible to disassemble without tools (which every kid will try to do). Use this dorcy drop in module with the discount code (I think it's freeship20 or something.) I use mine to fall asleep to sometimes. I like the dimming off feature. With the drop in module it dims out in about 3 minutes growing ever darker till you pick it up by the handle. Plus it has a red and green filter to add to the fun.

I got my son (22 months) an Elmo light, and all he ever plays with are my surefires (I usually let him handle my nitrolon ones). He can work the twisty cap like an adult, he doesn't try to eat them, and he has yet to break one of them. He's gettin' his own G2 for his 8th-9th-10th birthday. :twothumbs

Try the rayovac "industrial standard" lights at lowe's. they're cheap, built out of tough plastic, and take common batteries. They're even nicer than the lights most grown ups rely on for emergencies.

Not that I'd recommend it, but my 6 year old thinks my Fenix L2D with diffuser is his own personal lightsaber. It's fun to watch him wave it around in the dark.

Has Inova updated the Bolt series?

I already picked up a AAA version for a 3 year old.
Maybe I should upgrade him to the AA version.

I recommend an Inova X1 for these purposes. Simple twisty, tough as nails, 1xAA, not too bright to blind them, available at Target.

Get something thats made out of aluminium and uses AA or AAA batteries.

Don't over think it, think fun. Start small, you can always get him more.

One simple light is Garrity's 9 LED Mini FlashlightK035. It's got a floody beam and feels great in the hand with a somewhat tacky casing. ~$6 at WalMart.

I bought my son Garrity's Heavy Duty Rubber FlashlightItem # KT009 and he loves it. The tire tread grip is pretty cool even to me. The head and tail are rubberized and the clip is pretty sturdy. Its optic gives a nice spot beam. I got it at the local Farm & Barn. ~$10.

They're both fairly durable, simple lights. Both take three AAAs in holders.