Nitroracer
Nitroracer UltraDork
12/13/18 8:26 p.m.

After looking at a car for sale last night I managed to leave behind my trusty shop light and now I'm in the market for a new one.  I had a cheapie from Harbor Frieght that had some pretty poor battery life and loose charging port.  I was due for an upgrade.  

Does anyone have a suggestion for one they actually like?  I'm fine with spending more than $20 bucks, but I don't need to drop $100 on the thing either.

Sonic
Sonic UltraDork
12/13/18 8:32 p.m.

I have this one.  It is excellent, thinking about getting another it is so good

 

Light

oldopelguy
oldopelguy UberDork
12/13/18 8:50 p.m.

I have one very much like this one and I would buy another. 

spandak
spandak Reader
12/13/18 9:42 p.m.

I have the one Sonic posted and like it quite a bit. The two hooks and magnet mean you can hang/mount it almost anywhere. 

Mine flickers a little which is annoying but apart from that I would recommend it. 

mad_machine
mad_machine MegaDork
12/13/18 9:46 p.m.

I like the Big Larry by Nebo. I have two, a regular battery powered one, and a rechargable.
 

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
12/13/18 9:52 p.m.

Paging JG because he has one that's like perfect. JG, you got your ears on?

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
12/13/18 10:01 p.m.

Yeah. I picked up one of these on the road to to provide light for a show I had to do from a hotel room. It's amazing:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Cat-600-Lumen-Led-Rechargeable-Spotlight-Flashlight/1000279319

I also just got one of these and Oh-Em-Gee. I've never seen something put out so much light from such a small package:

https://www.amazon.com/500-Lumen-LED-Work-Flashlight/dp/B079NPMNHY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1544760002&sr=8-5&keywords=nebo+flashlight

 

 

irish44j
irish44j MegaDork
12/13/18 10:19 p.m.

I have various nice shop lights, but somehow i always just throw like 3 of the HF LED mini-flashlights in my pocket if I'm going to do something at night. Small enough to hold in my teeth if I need both hands lol...

mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
12/13/18 10:24 p.m.

I've got a handful of Nebo lights (both of those already mentioned) because our very own GRM member spacecadet is a product engineer for them. They make some really cool stuff. I especially like their rechargeable that sits on it's base like my rechargeable toothbrush. Just sitting on the counter in the kitchen alway ready. 

dculberson
dculberson UltimaDork
12/13/18 10:40 p.m.

You can’t go wrong with a Nebo. I love the big Larry. But I also picked one of these up on a whim:

https://m.harborfreight.com/390-lumen-magnetic-slim-bar-folding-led-worklight-63958.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided

for $18 and it’s awesome. 

HFmaxi
HFmaxi Reader
12/14/18 6:40 a.m.

Have you bought into any current generation of lithium battery power tools? They all have various lights available to use your existing batteries. Tool only will certainly move you away from $100.

MINIzguy
MINIzguy HalfDork
12/14/18 7:44 a.m.
dculberson said:

You can’t go wrong with a Nebo. I love the big Larry. But I also picked one of these up on a whim:

https://m.harborfreight.com/390-lumen-magnetic-slim-bar-folding-led-worklight-63958.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided

for $18 and it’s awesome. 

Came in to link this one. I've read a lot of people on GarageJournal love this light for the $20 price point. No experience personally but once my other HF lights die, this is the one I want.

Toyman01
Toyman01 MegaDork
12/14/18 7:46 a.m.

I bought a Big Larry on East Coast Mojo's recommendation. It is a outstanding light. It does more camp duties than it does work light duties.

I also carry a Streamlight ProTac HL every day in a belt holster. It gets used as a work light more than my work lights do.  

pinchvalve
pinchvalve MegaDork
12/14/18 8:16 a.m.

$20 at Lowes for a 2-pack.  Such a handy form factor, love these little guys for getting light where I need it. 

spacecadet
spacecadet Reader
12/14/18 8:35 a.m.

So as Seth said, I work for NEBO in engineering. 

Live eat sleep and breathe flashlights and I'm passionate about it.

Here are my 2 favorites, in posting links to our website. But you can find these on Amazon as well. 

Slyde King Gen 2

Upgraded brightness over the Gen 1 Slyde King, but both are awesome. Slyde King is my favorite flashlight. 

https://www.nebotools.com/p/SLYDE-KING-%282nd-Gen%29/596

Big Larry Pro (this is the one Seth has and loves with the recharging base)

https://www.nebotools.com/p/BIG-Larry-PRO/487

Both of those are rechargable and use the same NEBO 18650 battery if you wanted to buy extras. Part number 6640-BAT under the batteries portion of our website. 

 

Also not a handheld but we made this monster for ACE. 3500 lumen worklight runs on 110v plug in. 

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/work-and-shop-lights/portable-lights/3835311?x429=true&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxs3gBRDGARIsAO4tqq1zFE8WO3_nXBjUj0kLkJZHX2rOs-JxVWFs50T7LhtkSlgvXR7Rx-waArgtEALw_wcB

You can also find it on a couple other websites. But we made it exclusively for ACE. 

 

Another One we did for them was this guy. 

Workbrite Pro. 

2000 Lumens on AA but also does 1000 lumens when you plug it directly into the wall. 

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/work-and-shop-lights/portable-lights/3835295

 

And last but not least. The Grab, another ACE product which is handheld, and it has a little magnetic telescopic grabber arm and it pivots on its base. It's rechargable and it's slick but I have very limited time with it. 

 

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/work-and-shop-lights/portable-lights/3835303

 

I little bit of internet searching will find most of these with a slight discount and free shipping. 

 

 

 

Edited with photos of the products. 

 

 

The0retical
The0retical UltraDork
12/14/18 8:46 a.m.

I just gave up and use a headlight now days. It seems like I'm always in the way of the floor shop light.

This one is rechargeable and has a flood light option as well as the narrow beam. Also accepts AAA's you're in a pinch with no USB cable.

For working on top of the car I usually just loop it around my neck.

spacecadet
spacecadet Reader
12/14/18 10:09 a.m.
JG Pasterjak said:

I also just got one of these and Oh-Em-Gee. I've never seen something put out so much light from such a small package:

https://www.amazon.com/500-Lumen-LED-Work-Flashlight/dp/B079NPMNHY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1544760002&sr=8-5&keywords=nebo+flashlight

 

 

SLIM is phenomenal, simple and bright and the size is great. The fully dimmable feature when you press and hold is great. the larry pro and slyde king also have the dimming with memory feature. 

RossD
RossD MegaDork
12/14/18 10:41 a.m.

In addition to some of the ones mentioned already, I love my CAT rechargeable light. CAT 324122 RECHARGEABLE. Prices vary wildly, I think at one point they were $20 at northern tool. 

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy UltimaDork
12/14/18 10:58 a.m.
Patrick
Patrick MegaDork
12/14/18 12:22 p.m.
mazdeuce - Seth said:

I've got a handful of Nebo lights (both of those already mentioned) because our very own GRM member spacecadet is a product engineer for them. They make some really cool stuff. I especially like their rechargeable that sits on it's base like my rechargeable toothbrush. Just sitting on the counter in the kitchen alway ready. 

I acquired one of the slim Nebo lights when I bumped into him at PRI and that little thing is incredible.  I’d recommend it to anyone.  The output is crazy for the size of the light, and the combo of clip, hook, and magnet make mounting it anywhere easy unless you’re naked and there is nothing metal around and everything on hand is too large for the hook to go over

adam525i
adam525i Reader
12/14/18 1:12 p.m.

Looks like a lot of good recommendations here already. For me when I am working I love having a cheap light on my head, often an energizer branded one from a hardware store that runs on 3 x AAA batteries. They are around 20 bucks, bright when the batteries are still good and put the light where you want it while keeping your hands free. Combine that with any of the lights above and you are good to go. I'm thinking of gluing one to the outside of my welding mask even to get more light onto that stuff in my poorly lit work space.

Adam

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
12/14/18 4:37 p.m.
dculberson said:

You can’t go wrong with a Nebo. I love the big Larry. But I also picked one of these up on a whim:

https://m.harborfreight.com/390-lumen-magnetic-slim-bar-folding-led-worklight-63958.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided

for $18 and it’s awesome. 

Bought one of these and liked it a lot. Then it died, so I bought another one. Then it died. Love the promise, but the execution has left me underwhelmed thusfar.

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
12/14/18 4:46 p.m.

I'm also big on the head lamp form factor. Been through a bunch, but I got one of these from HF not long ago and it's pretty solid:

https://www.harborfreight.com/310-lumen-headlamp-63921.html

The ability to vary beam width is a handy feature. I was going to buy another one, but then I saw that Nebo made headlamps and I was fairly blown away by the Slim and the Big Larry 2 so I just ordered one of these:

https://www.nebotools.com/p/Rebel/543

 

So I'm kind of hearing that shop lighting and work lighting might make a good live show someday? Would you guys watch that?

John Welsh
John Welsh Mod Squad
12/14/18 5:01 p.m.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

i like the idea of a lighting show.  Seems like a good topic in the winter (dark) months.  Heck, next week, is the first day of winter and coincidentally the shortest (darkest) day of the year.  

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