Flashlight friends are plush toys for children which includes a built-in flashlight. We offer our Flashlight Friends review along with additional product information.
Website
The official website is flashlightfriends.com. It was first registered on September 28, 2012. Below you can see a screen capture of the website, taken in January 2014.
Claims and Features
- Eases fear of the dark
- 6 styles available: Pink unicorn, black penguin (only available online), green turtle (only available online), green dragon, blue puppy, purple panda.
- Lasts for hundreds of hours
- You can find four of the designs in stores
- Requires three AAA batteries, not included)
- Tap toy to turn it on, and it will automatically shut off after 10 minutes
- 8.5 inches tall
What is the cost of Flashlight Friends?
The cost is $19.99 plus $7.99 shipping and handling, for a total cost of $27.98. You can buy it locally to avoid shipping charges and delays.
Our Flashlight Friends Review
Light-up toys for children have risen in popularity over the past few years. We’ve seen Glowerz slippers, Nite Brite slippers, Dream Lites, Party in the Tub Lights, Glow Pets, even a glowing Play Doh knockoff called Lumi-Doh. Now we have Flashlight Friends, the light-up plush toy for children.
We found that the product is made of slightly below average quality. If your children are rough with their toys, this may not be an ideal match, as the light and battery cover tend to break easily with rough play. We should also point out that – as anyone who has given a flashlight to a small child can attest – younger kids sometimes like to put the light directly up to their eyes, which is certainly not recommended (The instructions issue a warning not to look directly into the light).
Poor construction
The threads and seams tend to separate easier than one would expect. Some have reported that the light stopped working after a few days, although we did not encounter this problem.
Batteries not included.
The product does not come with batteries. While this is a small issue, it is disappointing that the product cannot be used right out of the box. Including a set of cheap batteries couldn’t have increased their bottom line that much. Inserting the batteries may prove to be a difficult task to some, and we found that the battery cover is not always efficient in keeping the batteries in place.
In those cases where the construction is not a problem, Flashlight Friends may be a welcomed addition to your child’s bedroom. Durability is the product’s greatest downfall.
Fake Reviews?
As with any product vying for your dollars online, there is always a chance of fake reviews, which are often found in one of two formats. There are the fake or affiliate website reviews. These tend to be glowing endorsements, which have nothing objective to say – and typically end with a link to purchase the product. Another place to be aware of fake reviews is on websites selling the product, such as Amazon, Walmart, etc. Those associated with the product often flood such websites with accolades, hoping to boost the product’s overall star rating.
Note that in order to maintain neutrality, we don’t link to any products we review at wafflesatnoon.com.
Bottom Line
As with most As Seen on TV products we have encountered, Flashlight Friends is a good idea which has been poorly executed due to cheap construction. We recommend picking up Flashlight Friends at a local store such as Bed, Bath, and Beyond. This will save you any headaches in the return process should the item stop working.
Your Flashlight Friends Review
Have you used Flashlight Friends? Let us hear from you in the comments below.
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