Ryobi is coming out with a new 18V cordless LED tripod worklight, and there’s so much going on with it that I don’t know where to start.
At first glance, the new Ryobi cordless worklight, PCL691, looks fairly ordinary, and even boring. You can probably understand where I’m coming from; tripod lights have been around for a while, and besides, how innovative or pioneering can a new worklight be?
This is also Ryobi that we’re talking about, a brand that mainly caters towards budget-conscious DIYers and homeowners. I wasn’t expecting them to be so groundbreaking.
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After skimming through the main features, I checked out Ryobi’s press kit media gallery for image selection, and that’s when it hit me – this is not an ordinary worklight.
At a glance, it’s a standard tripod workight, and not Ryobi’s first 18V cordless model.
The light panels can pivot, allowing users to aim light where they need it.
The Ryobi cordless tripod worklight be extended to a 7-foot height, and delivers up to 3,800 lumens of max brightness.
And you can also attach a Ryobi cordless fan on top.
Wait – what?
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How did this image of a tripod-mounted fan get into Ryobi’s media gallery?
Oh. WOW.
So, the tripod base has a Ryobi 18V interface built into the top. You can remove the worklight head and attach different Ryobi “lifestyle and recreation” products.
Ryobi has a very long list of compatible LED lighting, radio and speaker, and fan options that can be used with the tripod base. If you forget, a QR code on the product itself will take you to the appropriate support page.
Some of the compatible products go back to Ryobi’s blue days, before they switched to a hi-viz yellow-green color for their tools.
If you have a different worklight you prefer for specific tasks, go for it!
The connection head can pivot 135°, adding versatility to any of Ryobi’s compatible cordless flashlights and worklights.
Or attach a Bluetooth speaker or jobsite radio. That seems convenient for placing your tunes or podcasts at ear-level.
The tripod looks a bit chunky when folded down, but still very portable.
It also features 3-way hybrid power options. The Ryobi TriPower tripod LED light can be powered by an 18V cordless power tool battery, 40V cordless outdoor power tool battery, or AC power via a standard extension cord.
What can you do with the light head once removed from the tripod base? Pop in a battery and use it as a separate worklight.
There are 4 brightness modes: low, medium, high, and single panel.
Grab the light and bring it with you when working in tight spaces, such as under a car.
There’s also a flip-up hook built into the side handle.
This lets you hang the light for added convenience and versatility, such as inside a camping tent.
The handle is also sized just right to clamp onto wood studs and standard construction lumber.
That’s a LOT of versatility and flexibility in what initially looked like an ordinary cordless tripod worklight.
Ryobi is packaging the tripod light with the base and worklight, and the worklight will also be available separately as model PCL632.
Key Specs
- 7′ max height
- TriPower compatibility
- Ryobi 18V battery
- Ryobi 40V battery
- AC power via extension cord
- 135° pivoting head
- 3,800 lumens max illumination
- 4 brightness modes
- low: 1,300 lumens
- medium: 2,300 lumens
- high: 3,800 lumens
- single panel: 800 lumens
Price: $199 for the tripod base and worklight bundle (PCL690)
ETA: August 2024
The new tripod worklight will be sold exclusively at Home Depot.
Discussion
I wonder if some of my awe is due to my surprise. The tripod light came off as a solid but otherwise ordinary-looking worklight, and then it quickly demolished my expectations.
As a tripod worklight, I’m not very impressed, but I also don’t see any major compromises or “gotchas.”
The TriPower feature seems useful, and essentially means you can power the light – or any compatible Ryobi 18V cordless lighting, fan, or sound options – with any Ryobi 18V or 40V Max battery, or AC power if accessible.
The tripod base lets users aim lights or fans to better aim exactly where they’re needed.
Just these two features – being able to swap different power sources or different head attachments – provides enormous convenience and an abundance of possibilities. I think that Ryobi raised the bar with this one.
I think this is a great example of a brand that perfectly understands the needs and wants of their core audience and target users.
Ryobi says the new light provides “unmatched versatility,” and I think they could be right.
Is the worklight package lacking in any way? Can you think of features that should have been added? I can’t.
Scott K
This looks really well thought out and flexible. We have a few rooms with poor lighting, so I would definitely consider this when I’m ready to repaint.
Tool_Hound
I see one problem, as identified by a Youtuber I can’t recall the name of: the light will NOT rotate to point straight down, unlike Ryobi’s previous, 18v model. That model would provide a completely symmetrical circle of light to work within, and this one will require moving the light too far away to adjust, if you want to SHINE ON SOMETHING CLOSE TO GROUND, like a pet, lawnmower, motorcycle, bicycle, etc….
Robert
Hats off to Ryobi for building in so much versatility. That’s a way to get noticed versus the big boys. You didn’t emphasize the AC capability, but that something my Dewalt tripod lacks. My only quibble is the tripod leg bottoms don’t seem stout, though that may just be the angle of the photos. As useful as this tripod can be, I could see it being heavily used and weak plastic breaking.
Stuart
It does look like they’re resting on an edge, but I don’t see that as a potential failure point.
Spread and flex could be concerns, but the legs look to have reinforced ribbing. You can see this in the image of the extension cord being plugged into the power base.
Julian Tracy
I had the Dewalt 20v which is a fail for two reasons: stupid heavy and bulky and the head doesn’t rotate, so you literally had to move the legs around to reposition the light direction. I currently have the M12 rocket tower light which is an amazing compact design, ingenious folding legs, but man I wish it went a couple feet higher than the 66” or so that is it’s highest position.
Tool_Hound
I believe the head does NOT rotate on this one, either.
Mark+S
Stuart I think I had the exact same response as you. I first saw just the picture and title and thought “meh.”.
Then I read on and said “holy crap thats cool!”.
I am invested in literally 9 different battery tool lines, and this may be one of the coolest hybrid tools yet. (I have to name them all off now….Ryobi 18, 40, USB; Dewalt 20; M12, M18; Flex 24; Craftsman V20; Kobalt 24.)
I can’t think of any of these lines’ tools that come close to this tower light. It really is a pretty intense and dare I say genius idea to bring to the table.
I own the both Packout M12 and M18 “cube” lights, the M12 tower light, and quite a few other smaller lights amongst these brands….the new Ryobi Tri light may top my list of favorites! Very excited to put it to use and applaud them ahead of time for a savvy product.
Can’t wait to get my hands on one.
Cullen
The features of this tool just kept going and going. This is a great example of versatility in tool design.
The feature that most catches my eye is the “tri-power”. There are a lot of tools which benefit from AC power for overnight runtime, or maybe you want to get extra use out of those 40V batteries.
I am also curious what happens when you plug the tri-power adapter > Ryobi 18v “Generator” > AC cable back into the tri-power adapter. Obviously you’d need other batteries connected to the generator to be an actual source of power, and this will just waste energy in the various step downs/ups, but it would be a good stress test of the electrical safety built into each step.
Jody
Ryobi has above average non standard tools that get lumped into homeowner / diy crowd because of brand perception and get ignored too often.
Their current tripod, air cannon, bi fold light, floor dryer, debris sweeper, and cordless nailers have all been fantastic. The availability to use power cord on things like the tripod light and fan are a buge bonus.
This tripod stand looks fantastic, pleasantly surprised.
Tim+E.
Oh boy, wish that debris sweeper was still available because I’d use the heck out of it cleaning up pebbles that are right on that too big for the blower borderline. Have two of the floor dryers though and they’re fantastic for spring/fall cleaning and washing the carpets and scrubbing the floors, much better than just putting a fan on the floor and pointing it slightly down, they spread out and get a good size area dry quickly. Also wish they still had the string lights with the 3 light heads, have one of those and it lives in our storage unit at the moment, but would definitely get 3-4 more for trailers, the shed, etc. Kind of surprised that one was discontinued to be honest, I feel like it gelled well with their “outdoor lifestyle” focus recently, hang them on a fence or stretched across a patio and you have nice non-blinding light around unlike if you tried to use a “single source” like a tripod light for the same amount of area.
Joe H
RYOBI is killing it lately. Easily the best platform to get into for a diyer or homeowner. They punch well above their weight.
Saulac
Taking advantage of the battery interface to use as attachment is smart and we should see more of them. It is not the first I seen though. I have seen extension pole to use with trimmer chain saw and the like for Dewalt tools and battery. You insert the extension pole between a chain saw and a battery and you would have a pole saw. I am not sure how the trigger supposed to work.
Scott F
Innovative and versatile, and the price tag is still very reasonable for all of what you are getting. Multiple battery systems/AC, very tall, AND the lights on the head move independently?!? Love Ryobi, they deserve every ounce of market share they have.
I wonder to what extent Milwaukee and Ryobi’s excellence is correlated with TTI ownership.
Julian Tracy
Don’t forget these tools can be easily used with Dewalt, etc batteries with a simple $16 battery adapter from Amazon. You should probably keep an eye on the battery level when doing so, but I’ve had no issues using my Dewalt batteries for Milwaukee nail guns, makita batteries with Bosch tools, etc. Ryobi also makes an excellent small/med led light that’s plug or batteries and has a simple bullet proof design
dale clark
I use my newer Metabo HPT batteries on my older Ryobi Tools via adaptor. Works great, the 36 volt Metabo batteries last twice as long as the Ryobi. I’m going to pick this up over the Metabo HPT light due to removing light, ac capability and attaching my Ryobi Fans.
MichaelT
This seems almost too good to be true at this price point. My more expensive M18 tripod light’s coiled cord from the pole to the head is failing; the insulation has split along its length. Having only a mechanical interface between the light head and pole seems like a good plan.
Jason M
The 40v option is cool, hope to see more of that
jambon
Sticking the 18v chainsaw i have on it to make the worlds worst corded pole saw
Stuart
They specifically say it could/should only be used with compatible lifestyle and recreational products.
jambon
That’s just them lying so people don’t achieve greatness. I don’t see how it would not power any 18v tool you can put on there and I’ve already seen a guy using the ratchet on it.
Stuart
If by “they don’t want people to achieve greatness,” you mean they don’t want people to nominate themselves for Darwin Awards or have to submit grievous injury insurance claims, then yes.
Jay
I hope I can put my pole saw to add 7ft to it and run it of 40v for more power.
Stuart
Please don’t try that.
David Z
That’s ridiculous. The tripod is there to hold the saw up while you walk towards it with a log.
James
Made me laugh. Thank you for that.
Leo B.
Very cool product! That long used battery interface can be a downside sometimes, but for products like this, it’s a total win. In comparison, I have this light and like it- (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-2200-Lumen-Tripod-K40437/325210051)
Built in battery is pretty much the only downside. Very versatile light, and it’s a fantastic value. I like it a lot!
Alexk
After reading this post yesterday, I started thinking of which tools might work on the stand. Some YouTube channel had clamped a hand planer, belt sander and jigsaw on a something he built.
It seems like a terrible and dangerous idea to use the stand for those uses. A tripod works well when downward pressure is pushing evenly down. Any side force will push it over.
As far as attaching a pole saw or anything else, maybe I’m wrong, but I think that would multiply the force on the connection, which isn’t built for side force when pressing against a branch.
I think there will be many injuries and destroyed stands because this just calls out to stick a tool at the end and without seeing Stuart’s strong response, maybe I would have tried before thinking it thru.
Stuart
Just because one could do something, that doesn’t mean they should.
You guys can try whatever you want in the safety – or unsafety – of you own workshops, but I’m going to shut down even the hint of encouragement for hazardous practices. This is long-standing policy.
David Z
Honestly, I thought it was obvious that any sort of cutting tool mounted on a tripod would be unwise and dangerous.
Mike
Clint at Tool Review on YouTube reviewed this and says the head doesn’t rotate horizontally (vertically it goes from slightly downward to straight up). But while the head might not rotate, it’s possible that the extension tube might rotate. There’s probably serious limitation by the power cable running up the inside. Still, this seems like an awesome tool to have.
Nathan
I’ve often felt that if I were to make a near perfect Japanese tool company, I would use Makita’s ergonomics, technology, and build quality, use Hikoki’s capable multivolt battery system (building the bluetooth into every tool instead of the batteries), and channel Ryobi’s design boldness and cadence.
There are lots of good things to say about Ryobi:
– They’re willing to make tools that make whose built-in versatility/modularity is a standard selling point, and not premium upcharge.
– They try not to break backwards compatibility just to resell you the same things
– Yet they still see the necessity of higher voltage for OPE tools/large tools
– The quality is increasing as manufacturing capabilities continues to advance/become cheaper
Color is terrible though. If they sold it in black and it was branded under Toughbuilt people would be falling over themselves to embrace the brand, instead of making fun of them.
Joe H
I hate dark colored tools personally because I know I might drop them in the dark and not see them when I’m tired and just want to quickly pack up and go to bed. I spray paint or partially spray paint all my dark tools a bright color.
David Z
I always thought the green, and maybe Dewalt yellow, were the best. Clear, easy to see, and even helps to determine where the handles are for picking them up.
JoeH
Menard’s Masterforce pine green color is the worst color to put on power tools and garden tools. Drop a dark green tool in some tall grass in the dark. Have fun finding that. I paint my black impact sockets orange because they love to fall on the ground and roll under stuff. I don’t get people wanting their hunting knives a camo pattern because you can drop that in front of your feet and not be able to see it in the leaves.
DC
I have the 1st gen Milwaukee M18 tripod light since it was released years ago and to this very day is not impressed. The light is dim at the brightest level and not useful to me. I have a bunch of Astro pneumatic lights with the magnet at the end but most cars I work on have tons of plastic but nothing my Panavise and a small sheet metal can’t solve.
Mazz Bear
It’s two hundered dollars. Two. Hundred. Dollars. For a light on a pole.
Stuart
Don’t ever look at Pelican then.
https://www.amazon.com/Pelican-9440-Remote-Lighting-System/dp/B013VM1XPO?tag=toolguyd-20
Over $1000 for their 09440 area light.
Jan
They should have integrated a charger into this so when a is plugged in it charges the batteries and the tool. DeWalt had a radio that did this a long while back and I could never figure out why more tool adjacent stuff did not have chargers built in even if it was a slow charger.
MM
Agreed. In my opinion every tool that can run off AC or a battery should be able to operate as a charger, even if it’s just a basic slow one. There’s already 99% of the required parts in the tool. It would be a trivial expense to add the charging feature–probably not even a dollar’s worth of electronics.
Nate
If the 40v-to-18v converter part came off the bottom, so you could use it to run any of the 18v lights off a 40v battery in a lunchbox-sized package and leave the tower behind, that’d be sweet, but alas, I suspect that’d make people try it on drills and stuff that need way more instantaneous power than the converter can handle.
Adrian
“Is the worklight package lacking in any way? Can you think of features that should have been added?”
I’d want to know what the IP ratings are for water and dust. Or if it’s not water and dust resistant, than that would be a lacking feature.
it’s_jake
i, for one, am looking forward to breaking out my extendo angle grinder. maybe with one of those woodcarving chainsaw discs for a little something extra.
this is a joke, just in case
Jared
The… creative uses people commenting on this post have posited makes me wonder if that’s the reason we haven’t seen something like this before.