First seen on: FionaOutdoors
As soon as you place a headtorch on a child they love to look you in the eyes. The ensuing momentary blindness allows the parent to reevaluate their life decisions and whether or not they should have invested in slippers for their child instead. While Petzl has not eliminated the tricks that children can play on their parents with bright lights, they have done a great job at providing a solid headtorch which is well worth the purchase price, and keeps the dazzling to a minimum.
Features
- Brightness: 20 lumens
- Weight: 80 g
- Beam pattern: flood
- Energy: Three AAA/LR03 batteries (included) or CORE rechargeable battery (available as accessory)
- Watertightness: IPX4 (weather-resistant)
- Retail Price: 25£
Pros: What’s good about the Tikkid?
Joking about dazzling aside, the Tikkid provides about 20 lumens of power in high mode. This is a thoughtful feature which is meant to protect young eyes, and my own. This is also helpful when you walk into your “sleeping” child’s room and find them reading. Keeping the light to a lower lumen range ensures that the impact to the eyes is minimal.
The simple one button feature is also helpful. Too many options for the child means too many options for the parent to figure out. The three levels accessed through the single button are: low, for reading; high, for activity; and white strobe (20 lumens), to be visible from a distance. The final option also works as a party starter in the closet when the parents aren’t watching.
The goal with this headtorch is to give children the proper kit to enjoy the outdoors. You want their love of nature to not be impeded by cheap or malfunctioning equipment. And you want this love to grow from a very early age. With that said, putting a band around a child’s head is asking for dangerous accidents if it were to slide down to their neck. Petzl has addressed this hazard by making the clasp tight enough to keep the band taut, but when pulled, it releases.
Some final touches which make this a good option for children: there is a secured battery pack so little fingers can pry it open. Phosphorescent reflector for when you drop the torch on the trail, or in the “Abyss” formally know as the toy bin. And since the torch shuts off after one hour, the parent doesn’t have to constantly be checking on the batter level, which is pretty good as it is!
Cons: What’s not so good about the Tikkid?
This torch fills a particular age bracket, and it does so well. However, as they grow, older kids will want more light, more lumens, more power. So if you are in a situation where you child will be running, trekking, or stopping trains in the dark, you will probably want to step up to another torch.
Some might wonder about the price. You can pick up a cheap headtorch for a child for pocket change. I would recommend Petzl for multiple reasons even though it may appear slightly more expensive. One of those reasons is the quality. Petzl makes good lights and this is a good light.
Conclusion
I plan on purchasing another headtorch like this from Petzl as soon as are other children are ready for nighttime walks. Thankfully I should have my full vision back by that time.
If you don’t believe me, you can read my six year old daughter’s review below.
| Score | |
| Design | 9/10 |
| Features | 7/10 |
| Performance | 7/10 |
| Value | 9/10 |
All images except where stated Seth Grotzke.
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