I saw that a reader had bought a 4-pack of these WorkPro LED flashlights, and decided to take a closer look.
At first glance, the price seemed shockingly low for an aluminum-bodied LED penlight. Is there a catch? Here’s what I saw:
The prices range from $9 to $10 for a 4-pack, depending on the color. But on top of that, each is eligible for a 10% coupon that drops the prices to $8.09 or $9 depending on the color.
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(I checked and it looks like the coupon works in different browsers and for different accounts.)
I don’t have high expectations for flashlights this cheap, but it seems Amazon has sold a lot of them and the user reviews seem quite positive.
It’s powered by 2x AAA batteries and features a tailcap button and pocket clip.
Maybe it’s a good deal after all, but as mentioned I wouldn’t expect a lot out of them.
Color options include black, green, blue, pink, and brown.
Personally, I would stick with the Streamlight Stylus Pro or the Olight i3T. The Streamlight is a sturdy penlight that’s priced at a little over $18 right now.
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The Streamlight is a little over $18 for 1, and the WorkPro $9 or less for 4. They’re very different products suited to different needs. Which would you pick?
If you go for the WorkPro, which color are you picking? Unfortunately, they don’t have a variety pack.
Read more about the Streamlight
Read more about the Olight
Related, Home Depot has a Milwaukee penlight 2-pack for $30 right now. That seems like a better value than $20 each.
TMedina
I imagine most people who would buy this are likely unfamiliar with just how far flashlights have advanced and as a result have very few expectations beyond price and brightness.
Alexk
There is no mention of lumens. Now that I’m slowly getting into better flashlights, I wouldn’t get these for myself, but I would have in the past. Nice to have affordable flashlights all over the place. Though, the ones I forgot to look at for a long time ended up with leaking batteries.
Wayne R.
These seem to be good candidates for those who’d benefit from the flashlights-in-every-drawer plan.
The rub in the plan is that it benefits greatly with Lithium cells rather than Alkaline, and a bunch of those can get pretty expensive. But a dead/ruined light is usually worse than no light at all.
The few-great-lights-and-a-bunch-of-simpler-lights plan is what we use here, and no alkaline cells anywhere.
Nick
I’ve bought ultra cheap flashlights like that just to keep them scattered around the house. I have a number of betters flashlights that I prefer to use if I need them for more than a few seconds.
Rog
Help a flashlight newb out: What makes the Olight better than these?
TMedina
Different modes, rechargeable battery, longer run times on lower modes, much brighter output potential (think turbo), and regulated power.
Depending on which Olight model, the specifics will vary, but any of them will outperform these except for price.
I’d expect these to be unregulated, which means you get a lot of light initially, but a steady and possibly fast drop in output as the batteries drain. In contrast, the Olight’s regulated output gives you a constant level of output over time before dimming.
Jerry
I thought about how to make the comparison: one way I might compare would be to compare it to a pen.
This light is like the pens you buy in the bulk pack of 10 or 12 for $2 at a discount store. Work OK for the most part, but crude, imprecise, prone to blotching and skipping, but to have around the house, or to give to your kids who will likely lose a few along the way, good enough.
A premium flashilight like the Olight, is like the Fisher Space pen. Refined, higher quality, something that doesn’t skip or blot (in a flashlight this shows up in an even beam without bright or dim spots, smooth precise controls, and overall better quality and reliability).
If you are the kind of person who just wants a flashlight that throws a beam, these are fine. However, if you appreciate precision, or use a flashlight a lot, you willl appreciate a higher quality one. Somethimes, a better one is worth it just on the reduced eye strain from an even beam, less glare, different brightness levels, etc.
However, saying that, a couple flashlights that I really like are simple but high quality. I don’t care for a dozen different modes, just give me 2 or 3 brightness levels, with a bonus if you can turn it on and off without toggling between them, and a nice even beam.
S
this is very much the debate of “harbor freight vs snap on” for wrenches, or “dollar store vs Japanese” kitchen knives.
These work pro’s are functional as dirt cheap light sources. They’re $2.25 each in black. Almost as cheap as the included AAA batteries.
But for $20/light, or even slightly more, much better can be offered. Stepping above $15/light generally offers features like inbuilt rechargeable batteries with USB charging(replacing AA or AAA batteries all the time drops the savings over the lifetime of the flashlight), and outputs over 300 lumens.
Take this Amazon recommended pen light that offers the above for only $23 in the same form factor.
https://www.amazon.com/Flashlight-Rechargeable-Magnetic-Breaker-Emergency/dp/B0F2SWMG3X/
But a lot of it comes down to how you the user intends to use the product.
If you’re planning on tossing it in the drawer for a power outage, the work pro IS a better option.
If you work a trade that involves a flashlight, and use it nearly every day, it’s ridiculous to not get a slightly nicer option that has better features that improves your work flow.
To answer your question about ‘workpro vs olight’ it comes down to user expectations. Olight is the same as snap-on, where the brand carries a specific definition of what the user experience is like to use their branded products.
There are far and away more brands that don’t carry that definition, and they result in a similar product for a lower cost. But they’re harder to find, and less consistent in the user experience.
I just ordered these olight arkfeld knockoff’s for $40/2-pack. I have an olight arkfeld. I like it, but it uses a proprietary olight charging adapter that these don’t.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0F8QKCPTJ
I’m not expecting these to be equal to the olight, but the features are close enough that I can appreciate the cost savings for the balance to what I get out of it.
Josh g
I run one from harbor freight that’s now changed to the Bauer brand. Simply because it’s good quality, cheap and has a simple on and off on no multiple modes drive me nuts
IronWood
What’s with all the WorkPro posts lately? I’ve never seen their stuff in person, I just always assumed they’re another cheap white-label brand. But you’ve been covering them a lot recently, so I’m curious what brought that about. Not a complaint, just curious.
Stuart
There are slightly different reason for each one.
Workpro is capable of designing and building tools to a wide range of price points. I suspect their parent company is the OEM for Bosch hand tools – https://toolguyd.com/bosch-pliers-wrench-sk-tools-similarities/ .
With this one, I saw it after posting about the Streamlight. Worth a post? Nah. And then yesterday I saw that a reader had purchased a set. Are they any good? I’m avoiding buying too many tools right now, and so I thought okay, maybe I’ll post about it.
A Halloween-themed utility knife caught my attention. https://toolguyd.com/kizer-limited-edition-halloween-utility-knife/ And then this one popped up when I was looking at related products https://toolguyd.com/workpro-titanium-utility-knife/ .
This time of year if a tool is worth my attention for a few minutes, maybe it’s worth a post. I’m also trying to get a sense for what readers are interested in. Additionally, every year there’s a request for more tools and deals other than main holiday promos, and so I’ve made it a point to keep that in mind as well.
So, that might mean maybe the Workpro roll up tool bag is on the table (a reader bought that too) https://www.amazon.com/WORKPRO-Detachable-Organizer-Electrician-Carpenter/dp/B0C6KFJSY9/?tag=toolguyd-20 , but not something like their 70pc mixed tool and socket set https://www.amazon.com/WORKPRO-W003068A-70-piece-Point-Socket/dp/B0839YJF65/?tag=toolguyd-20 .
The brand has been more visible to me lately, and my “meh, not really suited for a post” speed bump has been flattened a bit, if that makes sense.
S
Some of it is definitely that workpro is a much more definite brand over most of Amazon ‘alphabet soup’ brands.
They are a lot like G.R.I.P.(Grand Rapid Industrial Products) in that they tend to be an umbrella OEM for others products. But I’ve had a lot of success with Grip in the past. Even if their catalogue isn’t the easiest to locate.
Joel
I’ve had one of these since 2011-ish:
https://darksucks.com/products/preon-p2
Expensive as heck, but mine is still going strong all these years later. I actually bought 3. Gave one as a gift, lost one (it’s around here somewhere), and kept my favorite (neutral tint) close.
Get a pack of NiMH cells (e.g., eneloop) and a charger. Job done.
But I’m a nerd, so I go upmarket. I really can’t argue with a four-pack of pretty good for cheap!
Stuart
Me too! https://toolguyd.com/foursevens-preon-2-led-flashlight-review/
I bought one of the newer ones from Prometheus in November 2020, and also a Ti Preon P1. I wasn’t as impressed as I was with my older FourSevens.
Joel
Heeeeey, that’s the same one! I didn’t know toolguyd back then, unforch. But I knew 47’s. I have a heavy handful of Quarks and a bunch of the minis which are still great under the new ownership. I love the minis because (among other reasons) I can carry a second flashlight in barely more space than a spare battery. But I digress.
S, I use my old Quarks regularly, and recently bought one of the new Quarks. To me it’s the same experience, but the LED is a bit better. I’d love to learn what you moved to instead of the Quark.
S
Fyi, 4sevens got bought out in 2018. Honestly, I don’t feel any of their lights have the same ‘magic’ that they did before.
The brand moved to making more boutique lights in specialty finishes that didn’t work for every day usage anymore.
It was disappointing, as I pre-buyout I have something like 4 of the Quark123 tactical lights in different tints and emitters, but others have filled the void left behind.
Scott F
Not sure they sell it anymore, but I had wanted the i3t plus from Olight (2x AAA form factor). I love the i3e (1x AAA keychain size) for small and bright, i3t (1x AAA handheld size) for something a little more functional, and wanted to round out the collection.
I likely won’t try these unless the feedback is very positive here – I have so many lights already albeit still none in the 2x AAA form. Maybe will try a Streamlight one day, it’s really not that I need another light.
On a separate and unrelated note – I have been using the i5r (1x AA) pretty regularly. It came with a proprietary AA battery that recharges via USB-C on the top of the battery. Never seen that before but I like that if it dies I can pop a standard battery in. Don’t remember buying it, must have been a freebie from Olight. Their giveaways are the only reason I have so many lights – got the Seeker Pro for free on a flash sale wheel spin and use it any time I need long duration or high power.