When our daughter discovered how to climb over the gate in her door (way too early for our comfort) we started leaving the bathroom light on to help her navigate the hallway. This worked, but we wanted a better solution, preferably something she could use on her own. Enter Mobi Technologies’ TykeLight GloMate and TykeLight Jr.
These unique lights won’t provide the same illumination as a traditional flashlight, but their rounded, “MSN chat guy-like” plastic bodies allow them to glow with a soft, even light that is comforting in a dark room and enough to light up a nighttime bathroom trip. And thanks to internal LEDs, they remain cool to the touch and can be used safely in and around the bed at nighttime.
TykeLight GloMate
The $20 TykeLight GloMate is powered by an internal rechargeable battery. Each milky white GloMate comes with a saucer-shaped stand that charges him when he is place on top of it. Lifting the GloMate from the stand turns him on and the light from the internal LEDs is spread out evenly by the white body. Additionally, if the power goes out while the GloMate is on the base, he’ll turn on automatically as well.
If that was all the GloMate did, it would be a great product. But there’s also a small button on the bottom that changes the GloMate’s color. You can select a 15-minute blue fade or a solid blue, pink or green that remains on until the charge is gone (up to 10-hours per Mobi) or the GlowMate is turned off. In addition to the solid colors, there’s also a rainbow setting that rotates through the colors, gradually fading from one to another. This last setting is neat and reminded me of the soothing effect of lava lamps.
TykeLight Jr.
Like the GloMate, the $10 TykeLight Jr. glows with a soft even light. However, the TykeLight is powered by 3 AAA batteries instead of the GloMate’s rechargeable battery.
The TykeLight Jr. is available in blue, pink or green and the color is determined by the TykeLight Jr.’s plastic body, not the lights inside, so there’s no color-changing feature. Three power choices (high, low and 15-minute fade) are set by a button on the bottom. The harder plastic body and the AAA batteries (enough for nearly 75-hours of light) make the TykeLight Jr. a good choice for traveling.
Conclusion
While both lights would be a great nighttime addition to a child’s room, I did like the GloMate more. The color-changing feature was a big hit with my daughter and the GloMate’s plastic body was a bit softer than that of the TykeLight Jr. But as much as I like the GloMate, I do have two minor quibbles with it. First, each time you lift it from the stand, the GlowMate resets to the default blue 15-minute fade. Sure it’s easy to tap the button a few times to get to the setting you want, but I wish it would remember the last one I used.
Second, I would really like to be able to use the 15-minute fade with something other than blue. This seems like an easy feature to implement, so perhaps it will be added to future versions. But for now, if your child likes green or pink save yourself some money and get the cheaper TykeLight Jr. However, if blue is your child’s favorite color, get the GloMate. The additional colors, rainbow mode, and rechargeable batteries are definitely worth the extra $10.