My article on LED lighting gear went up on PopMech yesterday, check it out if you’re interested. The article features the best LED flashlights and worklights across a range of categories, from a Fenix that you can carry in your pocket, to a Pelican that requires a shoulder strap.
Illuminating Gear to Light Up Your DIY Life, via PopMech
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You should also check out my separate roundup of the top 10 LED flashlights. The roundup will updated in a couple of months with new recommendations, but I’m also open to suggestions. Let me know via a comment or email if there’s a particular model you want to see tested and possibly considered for top-10 placement.
P.S. I’m incredibly busy these days, but always open to expanding my reach. If you’re a web or print magazine editor and need a little help filling pages, send me an email, I’d be glad to contribute.
gman says
I am not impressed with Popular Mechanics reviews after following this link. This led me to their site and I found that most of their reviews compared apples to oranges. They compare $30 Harbor Freight tools to $300 pro grade. They will compare a top of the line pro grade with the cheapest home owner grade version of a competitor ‘s tools. Thanks for the link though.
Stuart says
I guess they do all-inclusive comparisons b/c that’s what some users want. Personally I don’t like comparisons at all, since most are limited in scope. There’s no way to test for everything, and even then there a lot of other factors that might be left out.
I remember one drill/driver comparison on another major magazine’s site that took off major points and complained about how one drill’s battery took a lot longer to charge than the other drill’s packs. Yea, that’s what happens when you compare a heavy-duty drill/driver with 3.0Ah battery pack against compact drill/drivers that have 1.3Ah-1.5Ah battery packs.
Kyle says
This is hardly an all-inclusive review. Rather, it just shows a few shots of the Festool Syslight used in a dark room but it does help give a qualitative impression of how bright/diffuse that one light is. Stuart, maybe it can inspire some aspect of similar tests you may perform between different lights?
Also, if you like carpentry and Festool, this youtube user has some neat videos showing his tool/shop and neat things he has made to integrate with his Festools.
Video
Jerry says
Personally, I like reviews that cover different price points, provided they are detailed enough to give strengths/weaknesses of the tools. For example, if I were planning to just remodel one room, and nothing else for a few years, I may only need a saw that cuts accurately, and is safe to use, and not need a pro grade tool. By including tools at various price points, I can get a feel for whether or not I need to spend the extra money.
Paul says
Good job Stewart. I just finished up a large article with another magazine and if your writing project was anything like mine….What you wanted to say has no relation to what was actually printed. Print magazines have a whole different approach to reviews than what we are used to out here on the wild, wild web.
Dan Richards says
Nice to see one of my favorites, the Craftsman Nextec fluorescent lamp, make the list even if it’s just an honorable mention. Love that lamp, and it’s C3 counterpart, for the actual usable light they put out can’t be touched by LED at their pricepoint. Huge value in that, and the C3 model has outstanding all-day runtime.