Light for a 6 year old...

My little brother will be my ring-bearer in my upcoming wedding. I was 18 when he was born and he has always enjoyed playing with his big brother's toys. I want to give him his first "real" light as a gift for being my ring bearer. He is already a little flashoholic in the making so I want to get something that will really send him on the road to flashoholism.

So what would you suggest keeping in mind the following requirements:
1. Should be able to stand up to a 6 year old.
2. I'd like to keep this right around 20 bucks.
3. Should run on common batteries (AA,AAA,D,C).

Thanks for your help,
Matt

Mini Mag with some sorta drop in..Nite Ize, etc

I'd bet he'd really like an Eternalight Derringer. Lots of modes and just a bit over $20.

Geoff

The Princeton Tec Attitude is a great light for kids, and it can be had for about $20 or a bit less. Both of my children have one and it stands up to the hard use it will see as a kids flashlight. Being waterproof is also a big plus for this use!

It puts out a nice amount of light and runs for what seems like forever on 4 AAA batteries which is a good idea since all kids will at some point leave the light on and forget to turn it off until you or another adult notices. It is also a great backup light or car flashlight, so it makes a nice gift for adults too.

BTW, congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Hi Matt-

Congrats on your wedding. Leading your innocent little brother down the path of flashaholism? Great!

When I read your post a couple of things came to mind:
LED definitely-run time & bulbs too fragile.
All Plastic-both case and lens.
Not too small and a minimum of removable parts.
Rugged and at least dunkable.

Only one light popped into my head instantly and
steven_newyork nailed it. PT Attitude.

Great look in the translucent green, big clip and for about another $3 add PT's lanyard. Runs over 100 hours on 4AAA.

I'll bet he will love it. Heck, I would love it.

Congrats Again

Mark

I have two of the original Attitudes (smooth body/no clip) and they are fantastic lights! There is only one thing that concerns me and that is that he will remove the LED module and replace it incorrectly. Will that ruin the module?

Thanks for the suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

No-

I just lab ratted mine. Must have some good built in polarity protection. It is mechanically possible to put it in backwards-just does not light.

Also xenon lamp assy from PT Rage is interchangeable.

Mark

I just realised one of mine was in my laptop bag and tried it too. Still works! Could be a good choice.

Rechargeable is good. As a kid I never had enough 'play' time with lights and stuff like that because I kept running out of batteries /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Today, my fanatical devotion to rechargeable systems has resulted in what can only be termed 'infrastructure' - the vast array of chargers, analyzers, DMMs, and so on littering my workbench /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

AA with NiMH support is a Good Thing(tm) for him.

I would suggest the CMG Inf Ultra but I need to warn you that it's an extremely efficient battery eater that'll kill NiMHs if left on indefinitely. Unless you want to teach him "as soon as it gets dim TURN IT OFF" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The Infinity Ultra is not a bad idea at all. Very tough, waterproof, and no lens to scratch up or break. One battery at a time, too.

There are several previous threads on this, but dealing with slightly younger kids. I went through it for my grandaughter at age 2-3 and my choice was the Infinity, but not the Ultra because I didn't want it that bright. Younger kids will stare into the light, which is why I choose the standard Infinity. They're no longer made, but I'm guessing that you can still find one, although a 6 year old can handle the brighter one.

I've just started to love the EternaLights, but I don't know much about the Derringer. It's the only one that's not waterproof and no lifetime guarantee. For another $10 you can step up to a model that is both.

Another good choice for another $10 would be the new stardard ARC AAA. I eliminated it for the younger kids because it was small enough to be a choking hazard, but I don't see that as a problem for a 6 year old.

My grandaughter now plays with the Infinity, a Dorcy AAA and a larger "animal" light (D x 4).

Well the new dorcy metal gear is $18.88 and it uses AAAs. Heres the post:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=LED&Number=1045196&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all

I dont expect the battery life to be good though.

-David

My three year old loves the Inova X5T, however, I keep her supplied with the CR123s.

rgc

Ps. nice ring bearer gift, what are the groom's men getting?

I'd suggest one of the low cost 1xAA multi-LED lights as sold at SZ's and at Emilion's . Emilion's prices include shipping, SZ's shipping is about 25% extra. I think a 6 year old might find these more impressive than the Infinities, and you can get several for less than $20 in case he loses it.

[ QUOTE ]
rgc said:
Ps. nice ring bearer gift, what are the groom's men getting?

[/ QUOTE ]

Nice to see another VeggieTales fan... I know my ring bearer and I are big fans too.

I am undecided on the groomsmen at this point, but probably lights. I am thinking Surefire G2 or maybe Inova X5.

I like the idea of the cheap LED lights... hmmm, maybe I need a few.

As a ring-bearer gift, I gave my 5 year old nephew a Palight "Workman". He loves it.

It has an auto-shutoff after 20 minutes (I think!), long runtime, tough rubber casing, and is as bright as an Infinity Ultra. I removed the focusing lens (replaced it with a trimmed minimag plastic lens) so it has a broader beam.

Cost is about $15.

SO many great choices these days: Infinity Ultra, Gerber Trio, Minimag with Opalec, UK4AALED, Attitude, UK2AAALED...

Oh, and I got my groomsmen Streamlight 4AALED's. They love them--it was their first LED light.

Bob

I think that any kid would feel empowered if the light had a clickie switch. Two of szwholesale's 5LED 1AA lights have one on the tail. The largish $10 8LED 1AA sold by batterstation.com has one at the neck and is superbly built (if heavy). And it's no brighter than my 8LED Xnova.

A Dorcy could easily fit the bill. Maybe a 4LED 2AA? A good starter light to show that there's more out there than "you know who" in flashlights.

You could also consider a Nuwai 0.5 watt flashlight, the 1AAA would probably be best. These lights really showcase an above average LED light's capabilities, they have one bulb but it's got multiple contacts, so it's more like 3LEDs on one capsule. Anyway, they're $19 Canadian where I get mine from here. Obviously they'd be even less in USD.

A Princeton Tec Impulse II could also be an alternative choice to the Attitude/Rage. It's 1LED, but uses a neat optic to focus the beam to a tight 'full moon' spot, and will run for something like 75 hours (advertised). I suggest it purely for the cool factor of the beam, it's like the Inova X1, but with some useable sidespill so it's more of a personal light than a spotlight.

I'd say Infinity Ultra, or Gerber Trio.

I like the Ultra or the Arc AAA for close to indestructible and long runtimes and single battery, but kids love to swing things around, so he puts it on a lanyard he might whack himself or another child by accident.

So, I'd go with a Princeton Tec, for the still tough plastic body, and nicer selection of bright colors that may appeal more to kids than metallic or HA.

Congrats on the upcoming nuptials!
daloosh