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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 105 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 Fatally Flawed Nov 29, 2011
By John Jorgensen
While this does look like a charming toy, whatever enjoyment the kids can get from it is ruined by one fatal problem: THE NOISE! The campfire log has two components, a light which is supposed to illuminate the "glowing ember detailing" (which is not all that detailed, and not realistic) and "cast soft night time glow;" and a fan, whose job it is to cause the little flame-shaped cloth cutout to flap around like a flickering flame.
The visual effects are not that realistic, but they just might be close enough to keep little kids happy; the kids I gave it to didn't mind. I had even thought it might work as a nightlight, but that idea vanished as soon as I turned it on. The fan is so LOUD!! Turning this campfire on means having your ears assaulted by a constant whirring noise that never lets up and never even changes till you've turned it off. It's about as aloud as having an airplane fly overhead, assuming you're a few miles away from the airport. It upsets little kids, it annoys adults, and it sucks any enjoyment one might get from this toy right out the window. This is supposed to help kids relax after a long day of pretending to hike in the woods? Who would find this thing soothing?
I gave it two stars instead of one because it's not a COMPLETE mess. It looks okay; the packaging is pretty good; it's the centerpiece for a line of camping-themed toys, which is imaginative and engaging, so I can't fault the concept; and I appreciate that batteries are included. But the second I turned it on, I realized that that horrible noise was going to cancel out all of those things and then some, and there's just no way something so obnoxious can ever grow on you. I hate to keep harping on this one point, but that noise really does ruin the entire toy. I like the idea of this thing, but having seen it in action, I can think of only one use for it: Donate it to a school for the deaf.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Loud, but still fun. Dec 21, 2011
By Lynda Jones
"Bookworm. Wife. A bit of a nerd."
As other reviewers have mentioned, yes, this product is a bit louder than I expected. I was disappointed when I took it out of the box and heard it. It may have bothered me, but it didn't bother the kids at all! My nieces and nephews had a blast playing with this. They built a tent in the living room out of pillows and blankets and pretended they were camping. The noise of this toy couldn't be heard over their chatter and squeals. One nephew pretended to chop wood to add to the fire (I will have to pick up Campfire Kids Wood Chopping Set for him!) and the other pretended to fry fish on the crackling flames (I guess he will be getting Campfire Kids Fish Fry - Trout. There are so many neat Campfire Kids products that I didn't know about. This was a hit, so I can just imagine their faces if they saw the whole set. Two thumbs up.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Kids really enjoyed it Dec 16, 2011
By Andrew Olivo Parodi
It's difficult for me, a middle aged man, to review a toy. All I can do is offer the perspective of the children it was given to. In short, the children loved it. They found it fascinating. It brought a lot of happiness to them.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
The flickering flames of cheap, mildly amusing childsplay... Dec 01, 2011
By Andrew Ellington
Lightweight and solid yet cheap looking (it does NOT look real) and underwhelming; this fake campfire really does absolutely nothing noteworthy and its existence somewhat baffles me. I got this for an indoor campout with my daughter.
I was not impressed.
She was.
Go figure.
I understand, to a degree, the concept, but the cheaply looking piece somewhat negates the point behind this thing. It just looks like a plastic turd and the supposed `embers' look more like an open wound. The flickering flame, made of a thin fabric, dances while the log is turned on, which is pretty cool since from the picture I thought it was a solid plastic flame that lit up, so the fact that it actually moves was pretty cool (I guess). It blows cold air, which is strange. I just don't see this making much of an impact. It has a specific purpose, but I can't see kids finding lasting enjoyment by pretending to sit around the campfire. It just doesn't provide enough to warrant wasting time in front of it. It doesn't even produce that much light. Like I said, my daughter loved the idea while we were snuggled in sleeping bags in the living room. She hasn't touched it since, but I'm sure she'll beg me to turn it on next time she gets the notion to sleep on the floor.
Oh, and I'm actually not offended by the sound of the flame. I like white noise (I find it comforting) and I didn't find the noise level too severe or overbearing. It took you out of the campfire vibe, considering that a real campfire doesn't sound like that (would it have been too much to ask that this sound like snapping embers and twigs instead?) but then again, a real campfire doesn't look like a gigantic bloody bear dropping either.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 It's cute...but needs the accessories for the best play. Nov 28, 2011
By Ms. Parrothead
"Book Lover"
This review is for the Campfire Kids Campfire, which is a part of a new line of "indoor camping toys" for kids. This is a cute toy, and I would have loved to have had it a few years ago when I needed to make a "campfire" for a vacation bible school project.
The "toy" (it's really more of a decoration) consists of a brown plastic log with a small section of red "embers" on the top, and a small piece of yellow material cut in the shape of a flame. When the power is turned on, a small fan turns on inside and blows the material up, where it waves/"flickers" like a burning fire. True to the advertising, the log never produced any heat, but it does need to be placed on a hard surface, I put the log down on my bed, and the motor started making a strange noise and the "fire" stopped waving. So, keep the air flow going. The small fan inside does make noise, but it is not too distracting. I would place the noise at slightly louder than my small desk fan, but not as loud as say, an oven exhaust hood (on low).
I think this toy is cute, and would be great with the other accessories (such as the "fish fry", wilderness tent, or "roasting sticks") I would say that this toy (and I speculate about the others) would be best suited for children between the ages of 3 and 7. Older children probably won't be interested in pretend fires and make-believe camping, but I believe that the 3-7 age group would really enjoy it. All in all, it is a cute product, and along with the other items, would make a great make-believe gift for girls and boys alike.
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