Thank you for posting this! I had this light for a couple of years, and I bought some 18650 3.7V batteries (not available at Harbor Freight) I noticed that after a few uses the green indicator would go to red on the brightest setting, staying green for low and flashlight end. I had problems with flickering, and then the stripped threads pretty much made this an expensive paper weight. Nice magnet though! Anyway, I replaced this one with a 7 dollar Quantum 7.5" hand held LED light which is almost as bright with a pocket clip and runs on 3 AA batteries.

This is a good case to cite when people ask why a professional tech spends so much money on expensive tools. Often the little things weekenders never think of can make you never waste money on the cheap tools.

We use these lights as well. Between the two of us and the amount we drop them, the hinge breaks off way before we have any other problems. We tend to find them on sale for 19.99 in ct and buy a couple then

Thanks for the review, great job

OEM makes the same exact light,I saw them the other day at AutoZone,that ones a cool green and black.Honestlty I think you're looking at things the wrong way,just buy another light ,keep one on the charger,than when it does grab another one.Honestly that's way easier than swapping the batteries out.

I have the same lights & one of them the charge port died on me; I got a set of the 18650 batteris and double charger from work; (employee discount); I would suggest getting the spare batteries & battery charger off the "jungle website" to save $. I still love mine. I used both of mine to do work under the hood on my 84 K20 Suburban. At 10:30 at night I had no shadows under the hood with over 1,000 lumens on the hood. The threads for the battery cap are still going good for me.

Had mine a couple years now. Works great for me, but like you say I'm just a DIYer and only charge through the USB port. I have a rechargeable work light that I alternate between when this one dies. Got it at Aldi, of all places... $15 lol

Yep - The threads on the cap are machined with a too-loose fit. A touch of paste wax might let them last a bit longer, as would periodic cleaning to get any grit/ground up aluminum bits cleared out, but it's a band-aid. They ought to tweak the threading dimensions and have a tighter fit...

The aluminum threads on the bottom and the button switch really let this down in any real common use scenarios. It's a cheap copy of the old AP 31SL, I think Astro recently came out with the 80SL which swaps batteries as well.

Tool truck coming to you is great, as long as tool breaks on wed. Thur. and truck arrives on Fri.

Best light I ever had. Dropped it several times, still working

I have one and am largely disappointed with two things. One, the battery fully charged has a short lighting duration even on the second softer light. Secondly, the location of the on/off button. When working with it I frequently touch the button and it either goes off, or cycles to the next lighting location. I am on the Internet looking for a better lighting solution. The flexibility and magnet features are good with the Braun and give those features and A. The light doesn't hold a charge long enough, it's a D for me and D for the location of the on/off button. Have not had cap retention problems yet.

First thing I noticed when I took the battery cap off is that it was dry. These threads and the o-ring are supposed to be lubed with some silicone lube. Hope that helps.

To make the thread's last longer use dielectric grease, have you reviewed the ICON version of this light?

The price was the biggest reason I didn't check them out more. Seemed inflated. I didn't know about the swappable battery though. That would be very appealing to me. My Astro dies a bit too fast, much as I like it. Those fine aluminum threads stripping is definitely a bummer though. Wonder about a DIY fix like two fine cuts and using a C clip instead, hah.

I cut new (coarser) threads onto mine with the lathe. A machine shop might do this for you for cheap. But the switch is the thing that goes wrong after you get past the aluminum fine threading issue.

Yeah, I'm convinced. I'm buying two and using one at a time.... it'll work for me.

my biggest issue is the plastic middle, one hack that I lucked into was one time I rebought the light the cashier gave me the warranty by discounting the light and putting the warranty on so it was back to normal price. That was a mistake on their part since I've warrantied the light 3 times since then. When they do the return make sure they return the light then sell it to you the same way with the warranty so that it is renewed each time and since it cost me $0 each time it has been well worth the initial cost of the warranty and this is coming from someone who would never ever buy any sort of extended warranty.

A thought on the stripped cap, cut 2 or 3 vertical cuts on cap and use hose clamp on cap. I'll try it if/when my cap fails.

I have that light and love too, but have the same complaint. What are your thoughts on the rechargeable astro one and charge pad? I'm considering it.

What about installing a set screw on the cap?

It’s definitely good for diy. I only use it for maybe a few hours at a time

I have two , one charging and one in use , recently got a third because my original one is getting beat up , no issues with bottom threads and my cost for 3 is like buying a streamlight flex head light

I've had 2 for a couple years and overall they're worth the money. One of the charge ports got loose so I have to wiggle it or use my external charger. I've also had the swivel get loose and the magnet come off.

I have 3 ($20 black Friday sale). EDIT: Wait 'til the black Friday or ITC member sale and have an additional light to charge instead of removing the battery every time. Yes, I have noticed the cap has to be very tight to make continuity. No more plug-in lights for me.

Have a couple of those HF lights and like them. Hadn't experienced the issue described. Last I checked they were still $25 with coupon. That is about as far as I would go.

I’ve been using these lights for at least 3 years. I’ve NEVER had that problem. I’ve had charge ports fail, magnets come off and for petes sake you lose them quickly. BUT all of that happens AFTER I’ve already gotten my money out of the thing… except the latter😒Most times, since I’m a full time Automotive Technician I’ll clip them somewhere around the shop and find it a week later😅. So I keep at least 2 on hand. That’s a fraction of the cost of their competition. I think it’s worth mentioning their warranty which is no questions asked and costs like $15 if I’m not mistaken. I don’t work for them, not affiliated, NOTHING! Just love the value in these little things. I recommend getting one or 2 and a cheap 4 cell battery charger from Amazon for the cells! You’ll still be spending 1/3 of a comparable snappy 🔦

Hmm, I wonder if you could coat the threads on a new one with some sort of thread sealant to give em an extra barrier of protection 🤔

Lubricate the ends and PROBLEM SOLVED! WARNING ⚠️: If you have it plugged in with a cheap quality USB charger you WILL sooner or later end up burning the lights micro USB port and your light will fail and not charge again. U will end up hanging to keep swapping batteries every time just to use them... I end up burning 2 of these light when they used to cost $12 when they came put, lesson learned 😂 p.s: if you already have a quality battery cell charger (AA,AAA,C,D) you can buy the Samsung (pink color) 3200mhA batteries for a stronger and longer lasting light or just rip old laptop batteries and take the battery cells out and use them as backups!

Mine turns red although my battery is fully charged. Anyone have an idea what could be the cause? I use a dmm to see voltage once removed

I have it. So far no issues. Love the flexibility of it.

got the same light & its great... but... my issue is it doesnt last very long... wondering if theres a "Better" quality battery i could swap into it? thanx

Personally , throw the battery that comes with it in drawer, install a high grade 18650 and light will last much longer and charge using onboard cherge port. Im a flashaholic so batteries I have. But use a button top as I've never tried a flat top 18650.

I have a suggestion put some anti-seize on your threads should save them

The Icon light for 10 dollars more is the way to go over this one.

Listened to your video was entertaining, but one part you didn't mention on the light is darn adjusting light area there's 2- Philip screws tiny ones on side and you can tighten the movement of light good bit but I got bum light the light part for movement keeps falling down like toilet paper they need to put better felt or spring washer there and light dies out in about 1- hours on full charge

Have you looked into the Milwaukee M12 or M18 work lights at all

If your solution is to buy two lights off the tool truck, why not buy 3-4 lights from HF on sale and swap in the highest capacity 18650 you can buy? Just recharge by cord like you plan to do with the new lights. Anyway thanks for the overview, might pick one up on sale one day

Astro has some similar but it has a magnetic wireless charging pad that can charge 2 at a time

My problem with that light Is the adjustable flex head it gets loose after you adjust it afterwhile and the charging issue you talking about. I went thru 5. I went on Amazon and bought something similar to that.

Ff to 4:40 to finally hear him say the threads on the battery cap strip out.

Never had an issue with threads, have had 2 lights for about 3 years, biggest issue is the hinge like other people mentioned. Wont take much abuse before it breaks there..

HF's prices have put a lot of their products on par with top name brands, leading me to start buying brand names instead. Especially since every HF is 80 miles away. All three! Sure, I may pay a little more, but since the savings isnt covering my gas anymore, that's how it is. My purchase history was off the charts, but has plummeted in recent years. How many guys remember buying the US General tool cart on sale for 149.99? I'm talking they're best one? Now its $289.99! The yellow Daytona jack with the included warranty for 179.99, now $289.99. Its a bummer. Oh, one more thing I noticed. The Predator 3500i generator I bought for $649.99 and is now $929.99! For those of us that shopped there when these were new, its sticker shock! Glad I hit it hard before the hikes, but when I need to replace this stuff, its going to suck.

I’d recommend the Astro 52sl w/ wireless charging

Great video, Jesse. I'm not a big fan of Harbor Freight tools, for all of the reasons you pointed out in your video. I happen to have the Astro 40SL slim light and it works just fine for me. I don't use it every day, so recharging isn't a problem. I like the idea of replaceable batteries, but the poor quality threads on the cap and body would be a no-go for me. Keep up the good work.

Got to use mine once before it stopped working

So now that i know where the weak points are on this light, having 2 again for $20 each (with coupon) i will now reinforce them weak points for a long lasting wear n' tear product 😂

That flaw would really piss me off. Glad they at least give you a second option and you aren't forced to charge the battery itself.

I have several of them in my shop, and have several many backup batts, multiple chargers and I have never had the trouble you speak of. I think it's pilot error.

Harbor freight now came out with a new light that has a different design and from my understanding that threads have been fixed

This light also rotates at the mid-section as well as bends, in case you were unaware.

Thanks for telling me why mine is working so shittily rn/.

I've had nothing but bad luck with these lights , I bought 3 on the memorial day sale and all 3 have been returned twice before the 90 day warranty was up , 2 of them the on/off switch stopped clicking , and the others would show charged when plugged in and light up but when I unplugged them they didn't work . All of them would shut off when I moved the head to a different angle , or barley bump them . I am about ready to give up on them and get my money back

Problem is probably the charger port on the light my boss had the same problem on his

This happenings same way to me ? Is better buy on snap on tool

ICON.... is the catch

Home depot has a similar style in a Husky brand for $20 excellent lights

Mine actually cooked the battery and the apple brick from being plugged in too long. Otherwise great product.

I'm seeing that light on HF website for $25 right now.

I’ve had them last about a year in a shop environment. 6 of them. I also have a 4 bay 18650 charger. Zero down time. The problems I have are, 1. The magnet will stay on the car one day, making basically useless. 2. The wire in the hinge will fail. I’ve Frankensteined two dead ones to make a good one. About the threads. A touch of anti seize and you’ll never have problems with the threads. They’re absolutely a steal on sale around the $20 Mark.

Just got one on sale for 20.00

The quality of the threads is fine, you just need to put some grease on them. They are aluminum, after all.

Go checkout the Astro 52sl.

Fyi the light also pivots about 300 +%

Use Teflon tape on the threads

They're cheap enough buy 2!!! \

nieko light better with 4400mah battery but not changeable

How 'bout wrapping the threads with some plumbers tape?

Go buy one at snap on for 800 then.

Planned obsolescence

They are junk i charge mine and it only last 5 minets is all, napa sells one i fell in love with, and i only charge it every 3 to six month and i do not charge it untell it cuts off on me

China makes it and not the store. HF needs to contact the buyer for the store to find another supplier.

i bought one of these for home use and battery connection fails once in awhile too. total pain in the butt. i would not buy another one. i agree it is a piece of junk

Plumbers tape--- that thread stuff, that's what I use, even when new

Price has dropped down to $19 as of today, anyway.

I never had a problem with a 30 or 25 dollar HF light so go by snap on for 120 stop hating the end...

Why not just buy 2 lights and have one charging? 🙄

Get Astro way better.

Come on man, really? You don't have to take the battery out all the time, mine lasts for hours. Buy a plugged in one if you want to use it all day long. What a joke review