List Price: $254.00
Sale Price: $130.25
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Summary: A sturdy work light that is very bright with excellent usable features that can shine the light where needed. Steady recharge (10 hour) and included empty 4 AA brick for normal battery use if rechargeable goes out while in use. Worth the money if you need a good quality rechargeable light.
Just real quick, this light is also available without the rechargeable battery pack, chargers and base for about $80 bucks cheaper: Streamlight 90642 Knucklehead Work Light Alkaline Model, Yellow
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I live out in the country a bit so having a reliable flashlight on hand is a must. Seems like whenever something breaks it is either at night or in a dark spot like under the house. Power outages happen and in a small town it can take a bit to get the lights back on. So, when this work light became available on Vine free to me, I snatched it up.
I've already had a chance to use it in the storage shed digging out a hd power cable. The super strong magnet was super handy just stick it to the wall and adjust the head to shine the light where needed.
Some of the features:
--Very, very bright LED bulbs. 200 lumens is no kidding.
--4 different light levels easily set by holding on/off push button for x amount of seconds.
--The head swivels 210 degrees and turns 360 for pretty amazing light placement.
--Super strong ~130 pound magnet the light stays put. The magnet is covered in rubber boot nice touch.
--Built in hook for hanging light.
[edit]
--Designed to trickle charge forever must have feature.
--Comes with wall plug in brick and auto 12v cord charger base accepts either one.
--Comes with AA battery housing for optional use with regular batteries.
--Base is designed to be wall/work_table mountable with flush bottom and 4 holes with included screws.
--Charger base locks light in.
--Charger base has charging indicator light (which is the lock/release button too).
If you haven't experienced a really bright LED light then you are in for a pleasant surprise. This light is really, really bright. That means that even if the light isn't directly shining on the task at hand you can still work. I tested that out in the bathroom, one of the darkest rooms in the house with the power out, and it really lights up the whole room with the light colored walls in there. Shower and shave no problem even in an outage. I have one of those 3D cell mag lights and this light is both brighter and easier to just set down and point the light up.
4 light levels that make sense. Most of the time you'll just use the super bright level, get the work done and return the light to the charger. But if what you are doing isn't real tiny the lower level light setting can give you lots of time to get the work done without worrying about running the battery down before finishing. Even if that happened you could throw in the included AA battery brick (with your batteries) and keep working.
The strobe light is very handy if you are helping a plane land :p or, seriously, you are stuck beside the road and want to alert drivers to steer clear while you change the tire or whatever. That is one of those features you'll never miss till you really need it so bravo to Streamlight for including it. I can see it being handy on job sites too for warning off vehicles or for calling attention to yourself across the field to let your compadres know where you are. I can tell you for sure I have been on job sites in the dark looking for the spot I was supposed to go to and a strobe like this would have been the bees knees. So much better than a 50 cent flash light the salesman is waving around.
The Moon light setting is very dim and also one of those features you probably won't use frequently but excellent to have when you need it. I envision using it in the tent while camping as a night light so you don't step on anyone when you are going to the head in the middle of the night. Or maybe when you are in the dark, having a powwow about how to proceed and just need enough light to see everyone.
Designed to sit on it's base plugged in without damaging the life of the battery. Always charged up when you need it and you'll always know where it is because it isn't in the back of a drawer or did someone move it somewhere else and now you are hunting for it all through the house in the pitch black. A 12v plug cable for charging is included too so you can charge on the go. Very nice.
I like the lock in base with the lit charging indicator light. The base is modular so when you use the car lighter wire the light is still locked into the base it won't slip out and not get charged.
Another attention to detail thing with this light: included is a brick for using your own AA regular batteries. If you are gonna be where you won't have access to power to recharge it just bring along some extra AAs and you are good to go. One pack last about 3 hours on super bright so you can do the whole shift with 8 AA if the light isn't on 100% of the time. Pretty nice.
If you have a spot for the base, you can mount it in place with the included screws. The base doesn't get moved around, or dropped, and you always know right where to look for or take the light back to.
The magnet is going to hold the light in place period. The only thing I don't like about that is you need to be careful about getting your electronics close to it, watch, cell phone, lap top, whatever. The magnet is covered in a replaceable rubber boot another nice attention to detail item. The hook is nice and big so you can just used the light like a drop light too.
All in all, this is a well thought out feature packed work light that should give you years of service. I am biased because I really appreciate a fine work tool for the stress relieving properties they exhibit. Cheap tools just mean frustration when you need them and they break or do not do the job very well making whatever you are doing that much harder.
[Edit May 19, 2011
Ah. I got to rereading the paper pamphlet that came with the unit and looking at the other Knucklehead lights and I realized that the pamphlet was a bit confusing about the 1 Hour quick charge when comparing it to the products available both here at Amazon and on the mfg site. According to the pamphlet, the one hour charge base is hard wired, not modular, but I couldn't find a unit like that although I did find 'quick charge' Knuckleheads.
So I contacted the mfg and explained the situation and asked them what charger actually came with this unit. I'm sad to say the answer was 'steady charger' only. There is also a label on the mfg box that the unit comes in that will tell you the type of charger steady or quick too. They also said they do not make a Knucklehead with a hard wired base.
The good news is the response to my question was fairly quick. The bad news is the response was a bit muddled. After looking into it a bit more I figured out the response and the situation so I didn't bother asking for clarification.
So. No quick charge for this unit. Very disappointing but I can live without it. The spare cartridge for 4 AA batteries will work if needed.
For completeness, if you really need the quick charge version here it is: Streamlight 90640 Knucklehead Work Light with 12V DC Fast Charger, Yellow
/edit]
[edit May 25th 2011
Just thought I'd update this review again.
We had bad storms come through a couple of days ago and power was knocked out for about 6 hours starting around 7pm. That made some areas of the house pitch black immediately and the rest of the house plunged into darkness when the sun went down. I used the work light to read by on the not super bright setting for an hour or so before laying down to read for another hour or so on the same setting.
No power means a very dark room since no electronics were giving off their normal glow. When I hit the sack I set the light on my desk with the beam pointed up and set to the Moonlight setting. Perfect! It was exactly what I needed to be able to get up in the dead of the night without stumbling over anything or banging my toe into some unforgiving, unyielding object and make my way down the hall to use the bathroom. It gave off lots of light without waking me up by being too bright. And I knew when I went to bed that the light would be on all night at that setting without making a dent in the battery.
It was also very easy to walk down the darkened hallway and go right to where the light was sitting on its charger base when the power went off.
Another nice thing about this light, being a work light rather than a flashlight, it is designed to light up a larger area than the narrow beams flashlights throw off. So, in a power outage it is a great tool to have to light the room you are in.
/edit ]
[edit: 2/16/12
I was just browsing through my previous reviews and I thought I'd update this one. I love this dang light. I use it all the time. Not having to worry about batteries makes a huge difference. I use it at the drop of a hat because I know even if the power goes out tomorrow I'll have a fully charged light.
/edit]
Highly recommended.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This rechargeable LED work light has nice features, and also weak points, including a primitive NiCd battery system.PROs:
* Lots of hanging, pointing and mounting options
* 3 brightness levels + Strobe. Nice! (see Note 1)
* Adapter for AA batteries (extended wilderness use)
Water resistant (IPX4 can take rain and gentle splashes)
Nylon housing 2 meter impact-resistance
2-year warranty (Lifetime warranty on non-electrical defects. See Note 2)
Looks like a high-end flashlight
OKs:
* It's a work light optimized for close range. It does not throw a concentrated beam. (See Note 3.)
This model (90627) includes the Steady (slow) 120v AC or 12v DC charger. It does NOT include the 1-hour FAST charger.
CONs:
* NiCd battery Not Li-Ion (1990's technology, self-discharges or wants 24x7 trickle charge. Other issues -see Note 4.)
* Dumb charger wastes energy, no charge status indicator. (See note 5)
* Very expensive for what you get
* Ergonomics Not great. (see note 6)
Not very comfortable when hand held
Super-strong magnet: A pointless design element with multiple hazards (see note 7).
Owner manual: Some carelessness and missing information. (see note 8)
Note 1: 3 brightness levels + Strobe: From very bright, to "moonlight," which lasts 20 days. Nice!
Note 2: Limited Lifetime Warranty: "Streamlight warrants this product to be free of defect, including the LED, for a lifetime of use. We will repair, replace or refund the purchase price, at our option, of any Streamlight product that does not work as a result of a manufacturing defect for as long as you own it. This limited lifetime warranty excludes abuse, batteries, chargers, switches, electronics and normal wear and tear. Rechargeable batteries, chargers, switches and electronics have a two (2) year warranty with proof of purchase."
Note 3: It's a work light: It's good for lighting up whatever is 3 to 20 feet away. It does not throw a concentrated beam; it does a poor job lighting up distant objects.
Note 4: NiCd battery: In addition to weight, self-discharge, and memory effect issues, the following applies: a.) "Several charge and discharge cycles may be needed to achieve full battery capacity." b.) "A small leakage of liquid from the battery cells can occur under extreme usage or temperature conditions. This does not necessarily indicate a failure. [
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