Glow Stick or Flashlight for Trick-or-Treating?
Our customer asked:
Should my kids carry a glow stick or a flashlight when they go trick-or-treating?
TL;DR
Both, because they do different jobs. A glow stick or reflective tape helps drivers see your child. A flashlight helps your child see where they are walking: curbs, porch steps, lawn decorations and the extension cord running to the inflatable pumpkin. For a kid, a small light with a wide beam around 100 to 150 lumens is plenty. Skip the 1,000-lumen lights and the strobe mode.
I run product innovation at LUXPRO, and every October our team gets this exact question from parents. The picture I always describe is the same: kids lit up like a rave with glow sticks, tripping over the same dark curb. I like glow sticks. They just are not flashlights.
What a glow stick does, and what it doesn't
I think of a glow stick as a marker. It gives off a soft, even glow that is easy to spot in the dark, especially when it is moving. That makes it good at one thing: helping drivers and other walkers notice a small person.
What it cannot do is light the ground. The light from a glow stick is far too dim to show a step edge or a sprinkler head a few feet ahead. When we test lights, the difference is obvious: hold a glow stick at your hip in a dark yard and you see your hand, not your feet.
Reflective tape is the other half of being seen. It does nothing on its own, but when car headlights hit it, it throws the light straight back at the driver. I always tell parents to put a few strips on the front and back of the costume and on the candy bag. In my view they are worth more than any accessory you can buy.
What a flashlight does that a glow stick can't
- It lights the path. From what our customers tell us, most Halloween trips and falls happen at the same places: curbs, porch steps, uneven driveways, and yards full of decorations and cords.
- It makes your child visible from farther away. A moving beam catches a driver's eye in a way a static glow does not.
- It gives kids confidence. A dark side yard is a lot less scary with a beam you control.
How bright should a kid's flashlight be?
Less than you think, and this is where I usually surprise parents. About 100 to 150 lumens is the sweet spot for a child walking a neighborhood. That is enough to light the sidewalk a few steps ahead, and it is not bright enough to dazzle the next kid in line.
When we design a light for walking, we care more about a wide beam than raw brightness. A tight, long-range spot shows the house three doors down and leaves the step right in front of you in the dark. For walking, you want a broad, even pool of light at your feet.
Here is what I would avoid for kids on Halloween night:
- High-output tactical lights. A 1,000-lumen beam in a crowd of kids is a face full of glare for everyone else. Save it for the adult at the back of the group.
- Strobe mode. Kids find it, kids love it, and on a crowded sidewalk it disorients other children and can be a problem for anyone sensitive to flashing light. If the light has a strobe, show your child how to get back out of it.
- Loose lithium-ion batteries. For young kids I prefer lights that run on ordinary AAA batteries. There is nothing to charge and nothing to puncture.
Features that matter in a kid's flashlight
| Feature | Why it matters on Halloween |
|---|---|
| One simple button | Small hands in gloves or costume sleeves need on and off, nothing else. |
| A lanyard or wrist strap | Kids drop flashlights to grab candy. A strap keeps it with them. |
| Small and light | It has to fit in a costume pocket or ride in a hand for two hours. |
| AAA batteries | Easy to replace, nothing to charge, and cheap enough that a lost light is no tragedy. |
| A wide beam | Lights the ground at their feet instead of the far end of the street. |
Two of our lights fit what I look for almost exactly. The LP833 two-pack gives you two 120-lumen lights in blue and teal aluminum bodies with lanyards, for $9.99. The head pushes and pulls to switch between a wide flood and a tighter beam, so set it to wide before you leave the house. The LP222 is a lightweight pocket light that puts out up to 138 lumens on three AAA batteries, for $2.99. At that price you can put one in every trick-or-treat bag, or hand them out at the door.
The setup I recommend
- Reflective tape on the front and back of the costume and on the candy bag.
- A glow stick or glow bracelet on the wrist or the bag handle, so your child is easy to spot in a group.
- A small flashlight on a lanyard, set to a wide beam, for seeing the ground.
- A brighter light for the adult at the back of the group, for long dark stretches between houses. Our LP843 ($12.99) and LP630v5 ($19.99) both focus from a wide flood for the sidewalk to a tighter spot for dark stretches, and both have a low setting that won't dazzle the kids around you.
- Fresh batteries, tested the night before. I say this every year: nobody wants to discover a dead flashlight on the first dark street.
If your kids would rather keep both hands free, a headlamp is worth a look. I cover how to fit one and the one mistake everyone makes in Should kids wear a headlamp trick-or-treating? For our full roundup of Halloween lights, see 8 Best Flashlights for Halloween.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are glow sticks enough for trick-or-treating?
In my view they are enough to help your child be seen. They are not enough to see by. Pair them with reflective tape and a small flashlight.
Q: How many lumens does a child need on Halloween?
About 100 to 150 lumens with a wide beam. More than that, in my experience, mostly creates glare for the people around them.
Q: What color glow stick is the most visible?
Green and yellow tend to look brightest, because the human eye is most sensitive to that part of the spectrum. Mixing colors also helps you pick out your own kid in a crowd.
Q: Should my kids use a rechargeable flashlight?
For one night of trick-or-treating, I recommend simple AAA lights: nothing to charge and nothing to worry about if one gets lost. Rechargeable lights make more sense for adults and everyday use.
Q: Can a black light flashlight make Halloween costumes glow?
Yes, and it is one of my favorite party tricks. Here is what glows and how to use it: What glows under a black light for Halloween?