One of the best selling holiday items for kids this year is the Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles from a company called EyeCyclops. We saw this product on Amazon’s best seller list and decided to take a closer look.

First, keep in mind that sophisticated night vision goggles are relatively expensive. The EyeCyclops infrared goggles do allow you to see in the dark, but they are not designed for longer range vision, such as required for hunting or combat situations. They are, however, a very nice high tech gadget for kids who are fascinated with technology. I was one of those kids when I was younger and would have been thrilled with a gadget gift like this.

The infrared technology used allows the user to see in total darkness. The technology uses infrared light, which is not harmful, and is also not visible to the human eye. This is combined with an infrared sensor, which allows the user to see the area illuminated by the infrared light.

Infrared light technology is used with most television and DVD player remote controls. You and I cannot see the infrared light, but the sensor on the TV or DVD player can. The infrared stealth technology used with the EyeCyclops Night Vision Goggles works using the same principle, but it converts the infrared light into visible images in the goggles. Cool!

The product description says that you can see up to 50 feet in complete darkness. The goggles have two modes. The “maximum surveillance mode” emits a barely visible ring of red light via an array of red LEDs around the eyepiece. You need to use this mode to achieve the 50 feet range. The second mode is a “stealth mode” that uses infrared light that is completely invisible. The range with this mode is limited to objects that are fairly close, such as the furniture and people in a room. There is also a switch that allow the use to change from a green display to a black-and-white display.

I can imagine all kinds of hide-and-seek games that kids could play in the house or the back yard at night. These days, a lot of kids are into spy gear and this is the ultimate in spy gear technology for kids.

The Eyecyclops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles is recommended for kids ages 8 and older. It uses 5 AA batteries (not included). You can find it for less than $70 at Amazon: