A new Milwaukee’s M12 LED Stick Light (2351-20) came in last week for testing, and it took me just 2 minutes to fall in love with it. Well love is perhaps too strong of a word, but it’s safe to say I think this is a fantastic compact work light.
The Stick Light is priced at $79 for just the work light, and you will need to supply your own M12 Li-ion battery and charger.
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LEDs
There are three bright white LEDs that deliver 220 lumens of illumination. This is a lot of power, and glare could be an issue if you bring your face and the work light too close to highly reflective objects. There’s no dimmer or brightness control, so keep in mind that this is not the best LED light for closeup work.
Beam spread and diffusion are excellent, and small baffles between the three LEDs help improve the quality of light.
You get a nice even distribution of light, perfect for automotive shop use, which seems to be what Milwaukee was going for.
Build Quality
The Stick Light feels quite solid and almost begs for abuse.
The clear impact-resistant lens (polycarbonate?) is user-replaceable, which initially had me worried, but after testing the light I cannot imagine that the lens could be physically damaged to the point where it needs to be replaced. What I’m thinking is that perhaps Milwaukee was thinking that solvent damage or corrosion might be an issue. Certain automotive and industrial solvents can be harsh on clear plastic.
Features
There are a few places where I couldn’t help but think ooh that’s a nice touch. You get an M12-standard built-in battery fuel gauge with 4 LEDs, a comfortable handle, a sealed easy-toggle switch that’s guarded against accidental presses, and an adjustable hanger.
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On the back of the Stick Light there is also a metal 1/4-20 threaded mount for the optional magnet attachment (sold separately for ~$20). This opens up the potential to use 3rd party equipment to mount the LED work light in other ways.
Overall
Judging by some of the comments to the LED Stick Light preview post, the $79 price tag is a big detractor for some users. It’s hard for me to comment about the price, as I did not pay for the test sample, but I really do think that you get your money’s worth with this work light.
The LED Stick Light is a solid-performing wide-beam work light designed for industrial, automotive, and high demand work environments. If you already have a couple of Milwaukee M12 Li-ion cordless tools and batteries, you might want to consider the Stick Light for your lighting needs.
The days of cordless work lights only existing to increase the tool count in combo kits are over. Definitely, a lot of effort went into making this a robust and useful work light.
I will be testing the Stick Light further and will report back with any new findings. While I don’t expect my impressions of it to change, anything’s possible. If there’s a testing scenario or application you want me to explore, please let know and I’ll see what I can do.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Buy Now(Magnet Attachment via Home Depot)
More Info(via Milwaukee)
Thank you to Milwaukee for providing the review sample unconditionally. Review samples are typically given away, donated, or retained for editorial and comparison purposes.
John Sullivan
I have been waiting for any of Bosch’s 10.8 or 12v(Max) flashlight products to go on sale, ever since I bought into the Bosch platform. If it weren’t for the higher price tags and the fact that I’m pretty entrenched with my Bosch pocket tools, this is the “last straw” that has me wanting to jump ship onto the Milwaukee ecosystem.
Seth
$79 and you get no adjustable output, no battery / charger, no magnetic clip/stand? Pass. This needs to be a $40 or $50 product if they want anyone other than fully-invested milwaukee fans to spring for it.
John
I got this light a few weeks ago and it’s fabulous. I can’t imagine working under the hood without it now. I just need to find the best way to clean my greasy hand prints off it.
Jerry
Saw one briefly, and it made a good impression. However, I might make one suggestion for improvement. Have the switch setup so with one click, one LED comes on, then have them all come on with another click. Maybe not as nice as a dimmer, but reliable and idiot proof. My first thought was nice light, but there are times it could be over bright.
Stuart
I think they would have had to add a lot more electronics in order to implement multiple LED settings. Plus, the rectangular lens looks to work best with all three LEDs on. With only one or two on, the diffusion and light spread would never be as good.
I think it came down to cost where they couldn’t justify a minor feature that could have increased the retail cost beyond $79.
Seth
That’s kind of a funny argument as plenty of $5 flashlights work this way. The additional functionality would cost pennies to implement.
Stuart
When a cheap flashlight burns out, you don’t feel bad about throwing it away. Flashlights with power regulation and proper thermal management cost quite a bit more than $5.
Jerry
It wouldn’t need that. I don’t mean a dimmer, just a 3 position switch, with off, one LED, 3 LEDs, instead of the 2 position switch, with off, or all 3 lit.
I have to admit, I really didn’t think about the diffusion, shadow, etc of having just one light instead of all 3, though.
truckdriver
I have had mine for almost a year now and I love it. I made my own magnetic base for less than $10.
rgz47
Please do tell. I have 2 of ’em and use $9, 60″, camera tripods and work amazingly. The magnetic option would also be great.
Pablo
I’ve purchased over $1000 in Milwaukee cordless tools in the last 6 months, and can’t bring myself to pay $79 for this.
M12 Port-a-band, $139, sure.
M18 Fuel Circ Saw, $199, love this thing, it’s a beast.
M18 Fuel Sawzall, $199, maybe a little overpriced but still awesome.
M18 Fuel 3/8 Impact, $159, love this thing, use it everywhere.
I have the M12 jigsaw, Fuel impact driver, oscillating tool, and die grinder as well.
But $79 for a light? Can’t stomach it for some reason. Value just doesn’t seem to be there.
LORDDiESEL
No kidding! Their m18 flood light is 100 bucks! This is an item that takes very little time/money to R&D and they are bending us over on the price. I’ve spent over 4 grand with milwaukee in the last 12 months. They won’t be getting my money for these 2 products.
Ryan
Shop around, I wasn’t going to pay that much either. Found one new in Ebay for $55, & it’s so worth it. You can’t compare this with the flood light because just like drills, different tools for different jobs.
Hang Fire
Please include a prism in your further testing. I find that some LED lights to be all glare and no useful light, and the only thing I can figure is that the color component must be significantly different than, say, Sunlight.
My deWalt 12V Max LED is one lovable worklight, though.
Stuart
The spectral distribution is absolutely different for LEDs. I went over this a little bit in my Zebralight review a while back – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/zebralight-h502w-led-headlamp-review/%3C/a%3E .
I didn’t notice any extraordinary harshness from the light. I have too many projects on the benches to allow for photos, but even then it’s terribly difficult to accurately photograph LED color hues.
Greg W.
Why only 220 lumens? Why not 800 lumens instead?
Stuart
Are you kidding? 220 lumens is a lot of light for a work light. If the LEDs were any brighter, thermal regulation could become a bigger design concern.
Greg W.
I have a 50-60$ Chinese flashlight that claims 800 lumens. It is a very bright, good light. It would be cool to have a milwaukee/makita light that took their 12 volt battery’s that was as bright as good flashlights.
Michael Quinlan
I had (post tense) this light for s few weeks and returned it. While the optional magnet is infinitely more useful that the one built into their flashlight, it’s still on the weak side, and I doubt it would support an XC battery. Lack of a pivoting head make among the light all but impossible I’d you have limited choices for mounting it.
That said, I agree that the uniformity of the light pattern is excellent, and the light is very bright. But ignoring the price, I would never choose this over the DeWalt 12V Max light.
Matt
Have it love it.
I was put off by the price to. But its a quality light not a chicom 5 buck light. Go buy any high end light your in this price range..
And the 18v flood just as good. I wish I had a couple more of them honestly.
I think all the nahsayers on the price should look at any othe tool brands offerings they all arr in this price range, for similar light. Dewalta and makita both have stick lights(both suck compared to this)
The new dewalt does look like a improvement over that tutd they had for the nicad line..
Ben
I’ve got 2 of these now to replace the EZRed 3000s I’d been using. I paid for one, and got the 2nd as a bare tool promo. The EZReds were costing me $50-80, depending on source. They’re great when they’re new, problem is they don’t hold up. One drop can kill them, and I’ve had the hook just snap off unprovoked in the first week of use. Hence the $80 to buy them from Snap On, since I could swap them easily.
I haven’t broken either stick light yet. The lens of my older one got hit with carb cleaner and clouded up, I just knifed it clean for now. I have yet to have them fall on account of the hook, and being able to turn it sideways and hang it from a hood is great. OK, so the EZRed comes with a battery and charger for the same price… but when the battery dies, it’s out of commission to charge, so you better charge it every night, shortening the battery life.
I agree the $80 is a bit rich, and I’m kinda pissed the magnet costs another $20. That’s why I only paid for one light, and don’t own any of the magnets… I’ll make my own solution for that much. If you’re not a mechanic, it’s probably not the light for you, and the Dewalt 12v is definitely cool for general use. But I have yet to find another cordless light like this that’ll take the abuse it will.
jay k.
I do a lot of hvac work which is why I love the m12 size (attics/crawl spaces); do you think this light is too bulky when you’re trying to keep as slim as possible?
Stuart
Thickness-wise, its diameter is smaller than that of a common 1/2 liter, pint-sized water bottle. It’s a little bit taller.
While not pocket-sized, I think the work light is definitely pretty compact. If you have your hands full, you could open up the clip and attach it to your bag or a belt loop.
But if you’re trying to keep as small and light as possible, you might want a headlamp instead, though with a headlamp you won’t have anywhere near the same level of brightness.
jay k.
Exactly what I needed to hear… that many lumens over a broader width… I’ll have to splurge as soon as the wife lets me. 🙂
matt
I put mine in my pocket all the time.. they will cram in a hammer pocket(or whatever they are called) on a pair of carharts or similar work pants..
Javier
Hey we reviewed this the same day! It’s a great light. Very powerful
KL
I was also not going to pay $79 for this but it got it thru the Home Depot promo of buy an M12 kit and get the light for free. The kits were competitively priced and there was one I truly needed, so it really was kinda like getting the light free. I just find the lack of a magnet annoying. And my Ryobi Tek4 LED utility light has a dim and bright setting, for much less cost (but also less light output) than this.
Noah
I’ve been thinking of getting the regular incandescent flashlight instead. With rechargeable batteries I don’t worry about battery life, and incandescent still has the best CRI.
Stuart
The problem with incandescent bulbs is that 1) they’re fragile and replacement bulbs can be tough to find, 2) they lose brightness fast, 3) most users wants LED.