flashlight suggestions for small children?

I've got twin boys who just recently turned two. They have had an interest in lights for months now, but the fascination seems to have passed that of the "hay, its a new toy" stage. They are constantly trying to steal my edc!
They have had keychain style 5mm led lights, and are currently using a cheap, junk Chinese light with 9 5mm leds running on 3aa batts. I'm thinking something nicer, and more durable is in order.
Here's the requirements...
Small... they are always trying to pocket their lights.
Rechargeable... for all the obvious reasons.
Durable... they are 2yr old boys. They break more stuff than a platoon of marines.
Economical... hard to justify dropping serious coin on stuff they are likely to misplace.
Relatively bright... we take walks in the evenings... we live on 40 acres.
Not too bright... they still don't have the "don't point it in peoples eye" stuff down.

If I could find something minimag solitary sized with decent output and runtime I think it might be what I'm looking for.

The 5mm cheapie lights are best for smaller children since they won't blind anyone, and they're almost guaranteed to be lost. Be sure to use Eneloops for rechargeablity and to avoid leaks; kids usually end up leaving their lights turned on, and will only see if something's wrong with the battery after the light no longer works.

If you're looking for something more gift-like, the Gerber Recon is still my fave kids light, but it's not priced for loss or leakage..

Nitecore new light E01 style.

NITECORE T0 Titanium Alloy Bezel AAA LED

Features:
1x Nichia LED, Max 12lumens, runtime 21hrs by 1x AAA battery
Simply UI, reliable twist switch for On/Off
Titanium Alloy bezel with Diamond-shaped anti-roll rugged body design
Aero grade Alumium Alloy body with HAIII Military grade hard anodized
IPX-8 Water proof standard (2meters)
Size 73mm x 14.5mm, weight 17g

Package includes (with original box packaging)
Nitecore Flashlight (Blue)
Warranty Card
Five color available

As well as your list of requirements, I would suggest:
~~ Plastic rather than metal body - less likely to scratch other objects, such as your car, furniture etc.
~~ Difficult to disassemble - you don't want them taking out the batteries and playing around with them, even if they are alkalines.

try "fisher price model:my first flashlight" hehe

Hi,
From my experience with my boys - at age 4 I bought them Maglight 2D with LED drop ins. Big enough not to lose, cheap to run, enough durable light and virtually indestructible for kiddies.... and the best if the managed to break it (which they did not) – the Maglight swop out guarantee. Also the brackets in the room where they had to "store" their lights next to their beds made it convenient. Today, many years later they still have those lights, only with the Ultra Optec "lanterns" adaption's on it.
I must admit today you have lot more options – to fit your requirements for good value for money and something they can carry with them in their pockets I would go for something like the Xeno E03 XP-G R5 & XM-L T6 Neutral (1xAA, 1x14500) – it can take re-chargeables and a single AA remains a good option. Not too pricey a good overall option

How about the Fenix E05? Small, durable, 30 lumen flood. In any case, I'd go with single cell, so they don't take one NiMH to 0v by leaving the light on.

My wife and I got our boys some PT Fuel headlamps a few years ago. They really like them.

I also got them each thier own AAA Solitaire Maglites years ago as stocking stuffers. Clearence at Target for $3 and change each.

Worst part about the youngins seems to be loss... so I stick with sale stuff and more inexpensive lights.

The Gerber Tempo is nice. My survived a car running over it. It's a twist on (no switch) with 5mm LED and runs on 1xAAA.

Some good ideas here guys. I'm not sure that a single nicha is bright enough, but that nitecore looks very appealing. It might be better to have a tailcap button, if for no other reason than it would reduce the likelihood of accidental disassembly. I might have to go up to a AA light to get that though.
I honestly hadn't considered the advantage of plastic construction over metal for mitigating collateral damage. I exchange a fenix, so I'm familiar with those.

.....

abinok said:

It might be better to have a tailcap button, if for no other reason than it would reduce the likelihood of accidental disassembly. I might have to go up to a AA light to get that though.

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There are a few AAA clickie lights out there, but most of them are expensive. I EDC a LumaPower Avenger GX, for example, and there is of course the 4Sevens Preon (you can put a Preon 2 clickie tail on a Preon 1 body to convert it from twisty). And I believe LiteFlux makes (or made, they seem to be out of stock of all models) a AAA clickie. All of these are $50+ lights though.

You might look in to the Streamlight Microstream. It's more around $20.

You want something cheap so that it's easily replaced when your kids inevitably lose or break it. And when I say cheap I mean go see what's available at your local dollar store. When it comes to kids and flashlights, you need to be thinking disposable.

I recently got to try Tank007 TK-701 and -703, and they are pretty nice lights. Aluminum body, one-mode, tailcap clicky, water-resistant and quite bright using AAA. 701 uses an older SSC emitter, which produces an excellent flood beam putting out perhaps 50 lumens, while 703 uses XR-E Q3, puts out perhaps 70 lumens and has a decent throw.

Best of all; they are $15-20, so you won't shed any tears if your kids misplace or destroy them.

Don't have any that young, but our 8 year old boy is a fan of the new MiniMag LED verision. and I like the fact that it has long runtimes and is nearly indestructable. They are also classics by any deffinition of the word. Later on when he sees maglights in museum displays he can say to his kids "I had one of those".

My son (just turned 4) has this AAA light from coast. It's "free" with paid shipping, and he loves it.

Are there any flashlight out there that work like those old Fisher price lights that basically have some sort of timer that turns the light off if the handle/button is not pressed, after a few minutes? My niece and nephew never turn off anything and burn through batteries like no tomorrow.

I gave my 2 year old son a 5mm LED floating light made by DORCY. It's 4 AA with floating yellow plastic body with reverse side clicky. It seems about perfect.

The runtime is amazing and the output is about right ( Not too bright when he shines it in your eyes). The clicky makes sure he's not taking it apart and the plastic body with rubber bezel is easy on the house. Also the large, bright safety yellow body is easy to find when he leaves it laying around.

eternity said:

Are there any flashlight out there that work like those old Fisher price lights that basically have some sort of timer that turns the light off if the handle/button is not pressed, after a few minutes? My niece and nephew never turn off anything and burn through batteries like no tomorrow.

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The PALight "Star" turns itself off after 25 minutes. If you put used 9v batteries from smoke detectors in it then it is very economical to run.

My girls, 6 and 3, have Petzl Tikkina 2 LED Headlamps that they love! They're not bright enough to hurt their eyes, run for a long time on a set of Eneloops and are easy to use. Young "flashaholics" in training!