It has been nearly a year since Dewalt first announced their 20V Max DCL043 LED spotlight, a cordless worklight meant for throwing gobs of light at a distance. At the time, I considered that perhaps the new LED worklight might not be suitable for indoors spaces, due to the tight and bright illumination that spotlights typically deliver.
The Dewalt DCL043 throws a whopping 1,000 lumens of bright white light. That’s right, a thousand lumens. That’s a pretty bright output, and since this is a spotlight, that light is focused into a narrow beam with tight spread.
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I really thought that this would be best suited for inspecting outdoor structural areas, and for things like that. What use would 1000 lumens be in doors?
Related: What’s a Lumen?! and Other LED Technical Speak
But then I had to inspect a few things in a dimly lit and dark-floored basement. Scanning the floor was a lot easier with the DCL043 than a handheld flashlight. To be fair, the other flashlight was a Maglite 2D LED, which is far from being the brightest flashlight I own. But it’s what I had around before I went back and loaded up the Dewalt spotlight.
I was extremely surprised at how comfortable I was using the Dewalt spotlight indoors. It was very bright, no doubt, but not uncomfortably so. Make no mistake, this is not a close-up worklight. But it’s also not the long-distance-only flashlight I though tit was.
For now, I think I can comfortably recommend it. I want to run the battery down a few more times with normal use before abandoning all reservations. Don’t do as I did and assume that it’s not suitable for your needs because it’s a spotlight with very high output rating. Unless you need a floodlight, this might make for a pretty good medium-distance worklight.
The DCL043 cordless LED spotlight can of course still be used outdoors, for inspections, maintenance tasks, and other sorts of applications and activities you might want a bright spotlight for.
I really liked that I could rest the LED spotlight down on a flat surface, and that I could pivot the lamp head horizontally, vertically, or in between to shine light exactly where I need it. I haven’t made use of the hanging hook yet.
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Runtime is said to be 4 hours on high, and 13.5 hours on the low 90 lumen mode.
Speaking of which, there are no true “high” and “low” power modes. At high power mode, the 3 topmost white LEDs are illuminated. At low mode, the bottom red LED is illuminated.
While red LEDs are great for use at night to help preserve night vision, I don’t find them as useful during the day. Because of this, I wish there was at least one other mid-level white light brightness mode. Also, the brightness modes always cycle, and so to turn the spotlight off you have to momentarily turn that red light mode on and then off.
Dewalt’s cordless LED lighting products have impressed me in recent years, and continue to do so. Next, I want to see Dewalt come out with a floor-standing cordless LED worklight, similar to Milwaukee’s upcoming M18 tripod worklight. It would be even better if it collapsed into a ToughSystem tool box for storage!
At around $79, the DCL043 LED spotlight isn’t cheap. And don’t forget – that’s for just the worklight. You’ll need to add your own L-ion battery and charger.
Price: $79
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Thank you to Dewalt for providing the review sample unconditionally.
Lenny
I have this light and agree it’s awesome. Had the same concerns about it being too bright in small areas but that does not seem to be the case. Used it all day while doing some plumbing work under a sink and couldn’t be happier with it. However I still think the red light mode is a bit odd. Have still not needed to use this once.
Michael Milligan
Not odd to me – I’m specifically looking for a light with red light mode to preserve my night vision.
tim
I have the ryobi one and agree totally. Theyre amazingly useful.
Colin
Agreed, this is a great light. During the heavy rain last week I discovered a leak in my attic. Turns out it was one of the static roof vents located 15-20′ above the attic floor. No way I could have spotted it with a regular flashlight. This bad boy put brilliant illumination right where I needed it, so I could ascertain exactly where the leak was coming from. Well worth the investment.
Drew M
I think your $79 would be better spent on a Nitecore MH20. It is much smaller and has 5 brightness levels with a real world peak of about 900lm.
That said, I am in the market for a flashlight that can pull double duty as a work light. The best I’ve seen yet is the new Fenix FD40.
BikerDad
A regular flashlight doesn’t stand on it’s own and can’t be pointed like this light can. I do think it would be nice if the tool companies would pair up with a flashlight specialist and bring the control features and such to their “work torches” that outfits like Nitecore, Fenix, Surefire, Streamlight, etc have introduced to their products. (My Nitecore MH12 is charging off the USB from this ‘puter right now.)
Drew M
The FD40 does have a 1/4-20 tripod mount hole though…
Joe
I have a zebralight sc600 mkii. Its nice and small. I carry it around all of the time. Its a nice balance between flood and throw for what I need.
For when I know that I need a light for longer periods of time I use my headlamp. A zebralight H602. Super floody which is perfect for my needs.
The both have tons of options for different lumen settings.
I haven’t used a worklight since I picked up these two lights.
Tim
…when you already have a dozen dewalt 20v batteries it’s a no brainer purchase. Love mine for sure.
BikerDad
Methinks the low level red light is a nod to outdoorsmen who are using DeWalt products.
Nathan
I’ve been tempted to buy one just for the next camping trip. red light for night visibility – bright azz torch for everything else. 2-4ah batteries and I think it would work for a 3 day camping trip just fine.
Travis C
I just ordered on for $66 shipped from the Blain’s Farm & Fleet sale. I will be using this when I go camping for sure. The red light will definitely help for late night excursions, trail walks, and the such when I want to keep my night vision.
Mike
They made a great work light. I don’t have this one, but another replaced my small portable halogen lamp. No more dealing with the heat my old lamp put out and no more thinking “What’s that smell?” if I accidentally set something down too close to it.
I’ll bet you felt like a boob when you realized it wasn’t just for long distances.
Joe
Lol, I once lost a lighter on a jobsite and used a halogen worklight to light my smokes for the rest of the day. Worked well.