Can anyone steer me towards or away from the aforementioned products from this fine establishment?
It is time for me to upgrade from my florescent, corded model from 25 years ago.
And I am cheap, no scratch that. I am dollar wise. No, I can't really say that either, because I have 7 vehicles and only 5 of them are drive-able.
But people here understand. Maybe.
I have one of these and can say it was a great investment. 
In reply to ChrisTropea :
From Lowes I presume? That is ok! I know where a Lowes is.
Thank you!
No problem, here is a link to the product: Kobalt 625-Lumen LED
i like this $5 one from Harbor Freight. Compact, pretty bright, has a magnet, and stands up on its own without getting knocked over as easily as the stick ones.
I have found the MTBF of HF LEDs to be short enough that I don't bother anymore.
I tend to get my LEDs at Home Depot, they have decent options. I use either a penlight for directed light or this little magnetized guy if I need to light up a wheel well. I like using smaller lights because they don't get in the way and I can stick them in my pocket. I'm also usually working in my well-lit garage.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-300-Lumens-LED-Magnetic-Flood-Light-2108/306261360
For roadside repairs, I have a big chunky flashlight that also has a flood feature. Haven't had to try it out.
I have an Astro AO70SL. Bright, batteries last a long time, and magnetic base is very strong. So strong, in fact, that it spent 3 hours riding around Sears Point stuck to the bottom of my car when someone forgot to take it out after doing a quick repair before the NASA WERC enduro last summer! Was still there when I got the car home!
I have an older version of this one by Braun via China Freight. Love it. You've seen its light in the magazine. :)
Andy Hollis said:I have an older version of this one by Braun via China Freight. Love it. You've seen its light in the magazine. :)
Agreed. I have two, and I often give them as gifts.
Thank you all.
I absolutely love this one from HF:
I particularly like the short flashing sequence when it's getting low on charge, so I know it's down on life and needs to be charged. Rather than just dying at an inopportune time.
The one that j_tso called out, on the other hand, was total garbage for me. Lasted like a week.
Unlike most things where quality seems to go down the more recent it is, HF stuff actually seems to be getting better in quality. 5 yrs ago at least half the stuff was crap. Now they have a lot of nice stuff. I just avoid their very lowest end stuff.
pushrod36 said:Andy Hollis said:I have an older version of this one by Braun via China Freight. Love it. You've seen its light in the magazine. :)
Agreed. I have two, and I often give them as gifts.
Another vote for these. I have a few, zero issues.
I have this one from Coast: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0877ZTY6W
The magnetic base sticks really well and I like to focusing beam. The battery lasts quite a while too. This has been my go to flashlight/worklight since I bought it. Its like $35 which might be more than you are willing to spend though.
I also have one that j_tso posted. It perfectly fine for $5.
I was a big fan of the earlier version of this Braun from HF
Until I realized I had 6 broken ones in a drawer. The micro USB charging port was bad on each.
I understand the Icon version has a USB C port and is supposed to be more robust
But I counted the dollars I spent on the Braun units and realized it was more than the Matco from this video. The Matco man here is a super nice dude so I chose to support him. I have zero regrets. It is a great light, lasts a good amount of time and the wireless charging works with the pad from my phone so I have never had to plug it in.
My Streamlight Flipmate falls into "from my cold dead hands" category.
What it does well:
What it doesn't do well:
Its bright enough and broad enough that you can clip it to the underneath structure of an EZUp and the whole thing is lit with nice even light with minimal shadows.
I have the ICON pictured in the above ad and I love it.
In reply to 84FSP :
Same, though I have misplaced it unfortunately.
I almost never go to HF - it's on the other side of the valley, and I'm pretty well set for tools. But I was there today picking up a new generator motor for a friend, and saw they had a $15 off coupon for the ICON. So of course I brought one home :)
In reply to 84FSP :
As do I...
84FSP said:I have the ICON pictured in the above ad and I love it.
Same here, just bought it this year and I love it. Really friggin bright, long battery life, strong maget, and USB-C rechargeable.
https://www.harborfreight.com/lighting/work-lights/magnetic/800-lumen-led-rechargeable-magnetic-handheld-foldable-slim-bar-work-light-59103.html
Good until the end of the weekend.
If you have a need for something hands free, I recommend this. I used this while replacing the brick in my wood burner then almost finished fluid filming the car before needing a charge.
Just wanted to note that ANY light is a magnetic-base light if you have a strong magnet (dirt cheap on Amazon) and a hot glue gun/epoxy/etc.
Bbc Keith Tanner said:I have found the MTBF of HF LEDs to be short enough that I don't bother anymore.
I tend to get my LEDs at Home Depot, they have decent options. I use either a penlight for directed light or this little magnetized guy if I need to light up a wheel well. I like using smaller lights because they don't get in the way and I can stick them in my pocket. I'm also usually working in my well-lit garage.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-300-Lumens-LED-Magnetic-Flood-Light-2108/306261360
For roadside repairs, I have a big chunky flashlight that also has a flood feature. Haven't had to try it out.
^^^^ So much this. I've had a couple HF led flashlights that self destructed inside when I dropped them. Not from the top of a ladder at ceiling height, not from shoulder height, but from knee height. Do you remember those toy cars you had as a kid with the spring loaded parts that would fly apart when you crashed them together? That's what the super thin plastic that holds the batteries does when you drop it from more than a foot high. Unfortunately you can't snap it back together like you could with those toy cars, so the light goes right in the trash. And on their smaller/cheaper lights the switches rarely last more than a year or so before failing. 
In reply to Trent :
That video is pretty revealing on the cheaper lamps.
Thank you.
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