“Light saber” work lights are cropping up all over the place nowadays, and there’s a good reason for that. Light-emitting diodes are durable, cheap, and very bright, making them perfect for a hard service life. Fluorescent tubes, on the other hand, are fragile, fairly dim, and notoriously power-hungry. LED lights draw so little power that even a cordless trouble light with a hundred of them can run for six hours on a charge.

Jack’s Tool Shed has a $35 trouble light available, which is a pretty low entry price for one of these beauties. It’s a bit sketchy, since the manufacturer isn’t listed (unless “Professional Mechanic’s Ultra-Bright” is a maker I’ve missed), but having laid hands on similar units, they’re plenty good for occasional use. If online tool purchases aren’t your thing, you can find similar units all over the place, right up to trouble lights with multiple modes and three-digit price tags.

Mechanic’s Ultra-Bright Cordless 100-LED Work Light [Jack's Tool Shed]

Smith and Wesson’s Galaxy 4-in-1 flashlight/flasher/lantern package includes three AAA batteries, a white lantern filter, a red lantern filter, and a carabiner clip. The tailcap has a magnet for attachment to flat metal surfaces. Turning the flashlight and then holding the “on” button for three seconds activates a flashing mode good for emergencies, especially with the red lantern filter. Right now Buy.com has a special on the package for $16.99 (about 30% off street pricing) — with free budget-level shipping.

Smith & Wesson 4-in-1 Flashlight [Manufacturer's Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Nite Ize [Manufacturer's Site]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Mag-Lite [Manufacturer's Site]

Carabiners make everything better, right?  That seems to be the mantra of SnapGate, a company who builds a carabiner into products like tape measures, flashlights, and pens. They sell both plastic promotional products and a few real tools.

One of the real tools is an 6″ aluminum flashlight they claim to be waterproof (non-submersible) and shatterproof. Two AA batteries power the flashlight’s krypton bulb. The other real tools are the tape measures which they manufacture in 16′ and 25′ lengths. Both tapes feature a rubberized coating over an ABS plastic case.

If you’re into snapping things onto your belt loops, the tape measures will cost you either $7 or $9 shipped while the flashlight will set you back $6 plus shipping. Check out SnapGate’s contact information on their website if you’re interested in their promotional products.

SnapGate [Corporate Site]
Flashlight [Campmor]
Tape Measure [Harbor Freight]

Normal flashlights tend to have narrow-angle beams that are usually more useful to the person holding ‘em than to anybody else, but for less than $30 you can buy Bayco’s Night Stick NSP-1136 flashlight, which gives you not only the traditional narrow spot beam but also a floodlight that illuminates a much wider area. (more…)

Forget holding the flashlight in your teeth, or depending on that underpowered light the manufacturer puts under the hood — instead shine some real light into your engine compartment with this under-hood work light sold by Jack’s Tool Shed.

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A few years ago when Chuck wrote about the Snap-on magnetic flashlight holder, he asked, “Have any of you seen something like this on the market for less?”  Well, Lee Valley recently started retailing a flashlight/trouble light holder that’s not only cheaper but looks to be a lot more versatile.

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I’ve carried a Photon keychain light ever since my dad gave me his old beat-up one, which I nurtured back to health (read: replaced the batteries). We’ve talked about the Photon micro-light on Toolmonger before, but this new version is insane, with four LEDs, adjustable brightness, and four safety modes including strobes and SOS.  Best of all, it’s rechargeable, and it can even recharge from a normal AA or D battery.  You can recharge the Photon’s Li-ion cell 500 times, and you can get 20 charges from a single D cell.

Ok, it’s a little steep with a list price of $30, but street pricing is closer to $20 — and keep in mind, that’s money you wont be spending on batteries. If somehow you figure out how to bust it there’s also a limited lifetime guarantee so you won’t have to lay out the cash for another one.

Photon ReX Rechargeable Micro-Light [Manufacturer's Site]
Street Pricing [Google]

Grabbing and holding small components with tweezers is hard enough in good light, but if you’re working in a poorly lit and confined space don’t worry about grabbing the flashlight — grab a pair of illuminated tweezers instead.

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Whether you’re crawling into a dark space or working on a project in the shop, you want a small, bright flashlight by your side. I went looking for an inexpensive one and stumbled across the Romisen RC-F4 — this little LED flashlight houses a CREE Q5 LED, which means it packs a punch comparable to its professional competitors.

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Have you been burned by the power going out in the middle of the night and screwing up your alarm clock?  Yeah, most alarm clocks have a battery backup, but in my experience it’s always dead when you need it.  Plug the PowerOUT! from Reliance Controls into a spare outlet and when the power fails you’ll know it by the 86dB alarm and bright safety light.

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With no warning or explanation, toss one of these Striker ball lights to somebody and ask them what it is. We got quite a few entertaining answers right out of the box, everything from disco ball and mini-land mine to one horrified person who dropped it immediately and scolded us for tossing them a sex toy. It’s actually an LED light with magnets stuck all over it for providing light in odd places.

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Van Helsing must have wet dreams about the Black and Decker V-3 Million Power Series rechargeable spotlight.  We’re not kidding.  We shouted, “The power of Christ compels you!” every time this thing lit off the first week it was in the shop.  Yes, it really is that bright.  However, if you have no vampires to destroy, it’s also a super-handy work light.

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We’ve all heard a variation on the phrase, “as useful as a solar-powered flashlight,” yet many manufacturers offer flashlights that recharge via a solar panel.  Daylight Savings sells this solar flashlight for $25 — it’s just one example of dozens of solar rechargeable flashlights on the market.

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Now that smoking isn’t politically correct, most automobiles don’t come with a cigarette lighter — the manufacturers have repurposed that hole as a power port.  Fill the empty port with the Auto LED flashlight from Coast.  You can leave it charging in your vehicle’s power port, always ready, like the lighter it replaced.

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Stanley continues to keep its flashlight line fresh with the coming addition of the 3-in-1 tripod LED flashlight.  Just from the look of it the new light seems more capable than its predecessors — it features better bulbs, each contained in a separate unit that can be removed from the master unit and carried separately.

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Since Bosch introduced the PS20 a few years ago, most of us who got our hands on one have lamented the fact that a flashlight wasn’t in the line-up. Bosch has now corrected that — and they’re also releasing the PS20-2A driver, the second gen of the original driver.

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