Craftsman C3 19.2V Cordless LED Light (17601) Review

 

One of the most popular categories in tools right now is the “add-on” tool.  What that means is that if you buy a certain battery platform and a tool line to go with it, then you can add on specialty tools and in most cases they won’t cost you a fortune, because you are buying them either as a “bonus” in a kit, or without the battery and charger, because you already have that for the standard tools in your kit like drills, impact drivers, cordless saws, etc.

The Craftsman C3 19.2V Cordless LED Light (17601) is exactly that kind of add-on tool.  I doubt seriously you’d seek this out as your only flashlight, especially when you factor in the cost of the battery and the charger which can run anywhere from $50 - $100 when combined.  But for less than $25, if you already own tools in the Craftsman C3 line, I see this Cordless LED Light as being an asset.

Personally, I like that it’s not shaped like a standard “hold-in-your-hand” flashlight.  Its shape lends to easily sitting on the ground, or on a shelf.  And I’ve had it on the floorboard of my SUV for a while, and it sits flat, so it doesn’t roll around.  One of the best features of the light is the pivoting head… Check out the very cool animated gif that my colleague Brad Staggs put together for this review:

Note: You can create your own animated gif free HERE.

Another feature that I like is the hook at the top.  Makes it easy to hang if you need to, but it tucks out of the way if you don’t need it and don’t want it to get broken.

Here’s what Craftsman has to say about the C3 19.2V Cordless LED Light (Model 17601):

• High Intensity LED with 180 degree rotating head
• They claim that it gets 50,000 hours of life
• Lightweight at less than a pound (without the battery)
• Has a 7X longer run time when compared to the Craftsman 11391 Work Light
• Has a 1 Watt LED bulb
• Comes with the Craftsman One Year Limited Warranty

I read some of the other reviews on the Craftsman / Sears web site and while they were mostly good, some users said they didn’t think the light was bright enough.  It isn’t the brightest work light I’ve ever used, but with the 1 Watt LED bulb, I don’t think it was designed to be.   What I can say is that it has a really long run time with the Craftsman 19.2V Battery.  During testing, I used the Compact XCP 19.2V battery and the light ran continuously for over 14 hours.  A couple of users used theirs in storm situations and said it kept running like a trooper!

The easy to see red switch locks the flashlight in the “on” mode until you press it again to turn it off.  Easy as 1-2-3, and the location of the switch is very convenient to get to.

The Craftsman C3 19.2V Cordless LED Light (17601) can be used with any battery from the 19.2V C3 platform.  At under $25, I think it’s a great light to have in case of emergency.

For More Info: CLICK HERE

To purchase on Amazon.com: CLICK HERE