Petzl Tikkid Children Headlamp Evaluation

Bottom line

We applaud Petzl for creating a kids’ headlamp that’s more than just a toy. It’s a functional and durable light designed specifically for kids. Our three-year-old expert gear tester breaks more toy headlamps than we care to admit—and even a couple of adult ones in his short time on earth. If you’ve ever handed a small child a bright light, you know to brace yourself! Kids love shining lights in their eyes—and everyone else’s. But jokes aside, when camping or hiking at night, having a headlamp that helps them find their way (and their toys) is refreshing. The Tikkid has plenty of child-friendly features. It’s bright enough to be helpful without being blinding and comes in fun, kid-friendly designs. Overall, the Petzl Tikkid is our favorite kid-friendly headlamp of the year.

Maybe your kiddo broke or lost your headlamp or is ready for an upgrade. Check out our headlamp gear guide for more tested and reviewed options.

Illumination & Light Quality

The Petzl Tikkid is a surprisingly well-thought-out piece of gear. The Tikkid addressed everything irritating about your kid playing with your headlamp. For starters, this headlamp has a maximum brightness of only 20 lumens. This helps protect both young, sensitive eyes and the watchful eyes of adults. It’s bright enough to be useful on the trail, while camping, or during play but not so bright as to cause harm. Simply put, the Tikkid doesn’t offer a lot of illumination, and its light quality is muted and dispersed. It’s bright enough for a young child to use while night hiking with you, as long as there’s another light source. However, as an adult outdoors person, you’ll want your own light to illuminate the trail. It’s a tool—and for some, a toy—but it’s a great entry point for young outdoor enthusiasts.

Burn Time

This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, given that the Tikkid’s maximum output is only 20 lumens, but we’re impressed by its burn time. Kids can burn through batteries quickly, so we appreciate that the Tikkid offers between 61 and 110 hours of use before needing a battery replacement. This burn time is comparable to some very expensive high-end headlamps, although those models have much higher lumen ratings. We love that we won’t have to replace the batteries every couple of days. We found Petzl’s claimed burn times for the Tikkid to be accurate, depending on which brightness levels were used and for how long. The biggest struggle is making sure your young adventurer remembers to turn off their Tikkid to save the batteries.

Weight

The Petzl Tikkid is a bit hefty at 4.6 ounces, but luckily, our three-year-old gear tester doesn’t get counting ounces, and not once did they complain about the headlamp’s weight. At this age, most kids are loaded with anywhere from four to six “special” pocket rocks at any given time, so as long as the headlamp doesn’t cause discomfort, its weight isn’t much of a concern. You could save your child some weight by giving them an adult headlamp—if you don’t mind sacrificing your eyesight—but we don’t see the weight of the Petzl Tikkid being an issue. The real concern with the weight of the Tikkid is that, if you’re backpacking, it might end up in your pack, adding unnecessary ounces to an already heavy kit.

Comfort

You might wonder, “Did you actually wear a kid’s headlamp for several hours while hiking to test this product designed for children?” Yes, we did. We were surprised and delighted that the strap fit a large adult-sized head. While we generally trust our little gear tester, we like to double-check everything to be thorough. Each child who tested the Tikkid told us it was comfortable, but we decided to take matters into our own hands. Surprisingly, the Tikkid is even comfortable for adults! It’s cozy enough to wear from sundown until bedtime without inducing any whining, and our young testers were excited to wear their new headlamp night after night.

Ease of Use

The single-button design is simple enough for anyone with working fingers to use. A simple, single-push button controls the light with ease. It might be an oversimplification, but that’s what our three-year-old gear tester liked most about it. The button cycles through the two brightness settings, the strobe feature, and then to off. Not only is the Tikkid easy for kids to use, but the head strap is also simple for parents to tighten on squirmy toddlers and easy for toddlers to remove themselves if they choose. Older kids can adjust it themselves without having to remove the headlamp. The usability issue we found was that clumsy young fingers inside gloves may have a hard time pressing the button, which has a low profile design.

Features

Unsurprisingly, the Petzl Tikkid isn’t packed with features. However, it includes some kid-friendly elements that we appreciate as parents. A single button cycles through brightness levels and includes a slow strobe function to help locate your child in an emergency. The adjustable strap is designed to release under tension, ensuring safety if the headlamp gets caught on something. The battery compartment is secured with a screw, making it difficult for kids to access unless they’re skilled with a screwdriver. Lastly, to conserve battery life, the Tikkid automatically turns off after an hour of use, which we found especially helpful since our little gear tester tends to leave their headlamp on after every use.

Should You Buy the Petzl Tikkina?

We don’t say this lightly, but as parents, we found more value in this headlamp than possibly any other we tested this season. If you’ve ever camped or hiked at night with kids, you know how much they love playing with your headlamp. The Petzl Tikkid has probably saved us more mental anguish than any other product we’ve purchased in a long time. We also value our eyesight, and handing a toddler a 700-lumen headlamp quickly reminds you how fast night vision can disappear. Giving our toddler his own light keeps him happy and gives him a sense of purpose. As gear testers, outdoor enthusiasts, and parents, we find that benefit absolutely invaluable.

If your child is ready for their first genuine headlamp—one that functions effectively as both a tool and a toy—this is an excellent choice. It’s perfect for young adventurers who need a reliable light for camping, hiking, or just playing in the yard. The Tikkid is designed with children in mind, featuring a low-lumen output to protect young eyes and a user-friendly design. While it’s not suited for demanding or technical uses, it provides a safe and enjoyable lighting experience for kids, making it ideal for family outings and everyday activities.

What Other Headlamps Should You Consider?

If your kiddo is ready for an upgrade, check out these models or the rest of our lineup on the list of our favorite headlamps:

Petzl Tikkina Review: There aren’t many quality headlamps designed specifically for children on the market, but if your child is older and you’re looking for a budget-friendly, easy-to-use headlamp with more illumination than the Tikkid provides, consider the Petzl Tikkina. The Tikkina has a similar design but offers a brighter light in a comparable package.