Review: Petzl Tikkid headtorch for children

One of my kit reviewers, Seth Grotzke, has written a review for the Petzl Tikkid headtorch. His six-year-old daughter did the testing.

Features include:

Brightness: 20 lumens
Weight: 80g
Beam pattern: Flood
Energy: Three AAA/LR03 batteries (included) or CORE rechargeable battery (available as an accessory)
IPX4 weather-resistant
Retail price: £25
See Petzl.

Pros: What’s good about the Petzl Tikkid?

The Tikkid provides about 20 lumens of power in high mode. 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 a 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 goal with this headtorch is to give children the proper kit to enjoy the outdoors. You do not want their love of nature not be impeded by cheap or malfunctioning equipment. And you want this love to grow from an 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 that make this a good option for children:

There is a secured battery pack so little fingers can pry it open.
A phosphorescent reflector for when you drop the torch on the trail
The torch shuts off after an hour.

Cons: What’s not so good about the Petzl 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 and more power. So if you are in a situation where you child will be running or hiking 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.