6. Pros

• Radio Frequency (RF) tracking better suited to short-range, indoor tracking than GPS
• Wristag alerts loud enough to be heard even in crowded shopping centers
• Handheld Base Unit can track up to four bracelets (Wristags), visuall reporting the distance of each Wristag separately

7. Cons

• Locate feature doesn't work
• Distance indicator doesn't display actual distance (i.e. 40 feet), so you have to guestimate how far away a child is when the display shows the Wristag half way between you and the maximum distance
• Wristags must be re-linked to the handheld base unit every single time the unit is powered off
• Wristags too small for grown-ups, too big for kids
• Tamper-proof clasp makes the wrist-bracelet difficult to put on and take off
• LCD display can be difficult to read (low resolution, small print, weak backlighting)
• Opening the Handheld Base Unit requires two hands
• No holster or belt clip for the Handheld Base Unit
• Expensive

8. Conclusion

The ability to track up to four children and easily locate any child that strays too from you is a wonderful capability that will no doubt be of great assistance to many busy parents. Using RF instead of GPS makes a lot of sense for short-distance indoor tracking, where precision is more important than range. Unfortunately, Ion Kids isn't the solution you've been looking for.

When I tested the unit at home, everything worked exactly as advertised. However, when I tested the unit at a nearby shopping mall, performance was unreliable. The distance indicator seemed to work well, but the Find feature almost never worked. Try as I might, turning slowly in place over and over again, the Base Unit simply could not locate the Wristag's position. In some cases I could clearly see the child right in front of me, yet the Base Unit could still not get a lock on the Wristag. Re-activating the Wristag seemed to work for a few minutes, then the Base Unit would again lose the ability to Find the Wristag.

I got back home and tried things out again, checking the owner's manual to make sure I was doing everything correctly. Things seemed to be working again at home, so I headed out to the supermarket to give it another shot. Performance at the supermarket was identical to the shopping center experience: the distance indicator worked well, but the Find feature was unusable.

I also had issues with the Wristag. The wristband is too short for adults or teenagers, and the device is too big for small children to comfortably wear. The tamper alert and safety clasp might be a good idea for special needs children where device removal is an issue, but for the most part it was just a nuisance for everyday use. It would also have been a nice touch to include a simple digital clock on the Wristag, so that kids could be told this is a watch and not a leash.

For some odd reason the Wristag needs to be "Activated", or linked to the base unit, each and every time the base unit is powered on. That means you have to physically touch each wristag to the Base Unit every time the unit is powered on or off. There was no shortage of times when I wanted to turn off Ion Kids for an hour or two, and then power it back on when I needed to track the kids again. The requirement to re-activate each Wristag quickly became a major nuisance.

I liked the large red "Find" button on the Base Unit, but found it difficult to open the flip-top with one hand. I also would have appreciated a belt clip or holster of some sort to make carrying the Base Unit around easer.

If you don't want the Find feature, and are OK with just seeing distance displayed, or will mostly be using the device at home, it may be good enough. But given Ion Kids' relatively high price tag of $239.95, performance was unacceptable and I cannot recommend this product for tracking children in public places.