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Milwaukee M18 Search Light Notes

bushmechanic

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Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
4,820
This thing is outstanding, and I'll give it a 7/10.

It would be higher, but obvious missed opportunities are weighted in my personal evaluations.

I want to start off by mentioning the heat sinks. Milwaukee went to someone who knows their stuff when it comes to this light. There's tons of dissipation going on up there. Those LEDs, barring some mechanical failure, are going to last a very long time.

Moreover, once a battery is attached, all that metal up front gives it wonderful balance. Just walk around carrying it like a suitcase with the flood LEDs on, and you're happy.

It's incredibly comfortable to carry around. Since the day it showed up, I've used it in favor of all my other lights; and I do use lights frequently. The build quality is solid, the switches mushy, but appropriate for the product and durable.

I'd say it's priced about where it needs to be once you add the cost of a battery. This is every bit in league with other searchlights and work lights, and the damned thing is an exceptional work light.

The main beam has amazing throw, and it's impressive with the other LEDs on to fill out around you. You're not going to have to worry about performance, I'm sure; no matter what you're doing. They're also not a super-blinding color. So, outstanding here.

The secondary LEDs are... Incredibly surprising. You wouldn't think such a stylized reflector would do it, but damned if it isn't like a fog of daylight. It's so smooth and so even, it's a little strange, at first; like you just turned on a light in a room in overall fill. They're also more than powerful enough to illuminate a camp site or small work site.

When they say flood, they aren't fooling around. This has the juice of some of their big guns.

Here are the issues I've identified so far, and two are only missed opportunities.

1: They should have put a very low-output LED somewhere, such as might be found on a wallet multi-tool, for long-term emergency lighting. Similarly, it should be possible to at least select only two secondary LEDs instead of all four.

2: A little bit more attention should have been paid to the hinge, as there's a touch of play, and while solid, it doesn't feel as good as it could.

3: This light is versatile enough that adding a few bucks and including M12 compatibility would seem a no-brainer, for me.

I'd say they ought to take the first and third criticism and apply them to either the next variant, or to a separate product marketed for emergency/outdoor use.
 
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ThatSickRip

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Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
763
I think theyre a great light as well. I used mine when I rebuilt the front and rear suspensions on my 4Runner. It was great.

Ive been increasing my Milwaukee lights a lot over my last purchases. The versatility they offer in different situations is great:

Dual power lights
Lantern series with USB charing ports (great for power outage and phone charging)
Rover and magnetic lights
 

MushCreek

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Joined
Jan 14, 2015
Messages
9,765
Location
Upstate South Carolina
Are we talking about the 2354? That looks like a handy light. What kind of real-life battery life are you getting? My old M18 flashlight (that came with a set 10 years ago) has about had it. I could use another good light around here.
 

seber

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Joined
May 31, 2016
Messages
4,195
Location
Deep East Tx.
I'll wait for a reduced output mode to be included. For that much money, it needs to replace both my small flashlight and my lantern. They are only about ten dollars each and perform quite well.
 
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pbon

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May 14, 2017
Messages
3,498
Are we talking about the 2354? That looks like a handy light. What kind of real-life battery life are you getting? My old M18 flashlight (that came with a set 10 years ago) has about had it. I could use another good light around here.

With a 2AH or a 12AH?
 
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bushmechanic

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Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
4,820
Are we talking about the 2354? That looks like a handy light. What kind of real-life battery life are you getting? My old M18 flashlight (that came with a set 10 years ago) has about had it. I could use another good light around here.

It hasn't dropped below four bars with my 9.0 on the back, which was of course the first thing I tried. Not very helpful for you, there. :lol:
 
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bushmechanic

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
4,820
Still at four bars with general use as a common flashlight for someone with several storage units, as well as a room light for a little bit, and photo lighting for a porch when trying to take a picture of a damned impossible house and a few other things.

It's actually pretty useful as a studio light; and isn't the first Milwaukee light in my photographic arsenal. It's allowing me to do a shoot soon that would otherwise have been a bit too much trouble.

I did forget and put the battery in the Sawzall to trim the top of my tree, but that was just a quick zip with the pruning blade.

It looks like you'd easily get a solid weekend of frequent use out of this for camping or things of that nature; certainly for emergencies. I'm not seeing any drawbacks so far.

I know I'm not just running it down, but the illustration here isn't that it "lasts X hours". Of course it's going to last a long time.

The illustration is that it justifies being connected to a damned power drill battery. I wanted to see if it could be the light you always want to grab but never manages to be charged... Only this time it's charged.

I'm getting exactly what I expect to get out of a $200 battery plugged into an $80 light. That's saying something, because that ain't a cheap combo. :thumbup:
 
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