From Icon to Snap-On, Testing Folding Worklights is Hilarious 

Since we get asked a lot, here's the charge meter thing that has held up best for us: amzn.to/3P3UoVw The Winners: amzn.to/43RZuIF www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/pcfold/pro-charge-wireless-rechargeable-folding-850lm-work-light shop.snapon.com/product/Articulating-(Lighting)/600-Lumen-Rechargeable-Battery-Flex-Light-(Red)/ECARG068 Suggest more light types you want to see tested head to head! As always, the creator of this channel is working in product development for Astro Tools which includes lights like these, always best to consider multiple sources when looking at a tool!

The Icon flip light does have a replaceable 18650 battery, the instruction have a step by step with pictures on how to replace the battery. There are two small screws on either side of the aluminum body and two screws on the polymer head remove all 4 screws and you'll have access to the connector holding the 18650 to the PCB.

I got the icon about a month ago and it's been fantastic. I left it on my trucks firewall and forgot about it, the next day I couldn't find it and realized where it was, had low hopes of it still being there but to my surprise after a whole days work of driving (150+ miles) it was still there. It's an awesome light, with great features.

I don't always care about what you are testing...but I can't stop watching. Love the testing methods in this one, good stuff. Keep up the great work.

I think the light placement idea on the Icon is that the larger bar will be used for overhead/flood style lighting by sticking it to a pipe or wall, and the smaller bar for precise task lighting. At least that's how I've used mine so far and it works great. Might be "backwards" from the others but it actually makes more sense in that context.

I have the Icon one and I agree the light is on backwards so I took it apart and flipped the light bar around so it wasn’t stupid.

I'm surprised that icon gave out so easily I've dropped mine 20+ feet off scissor lifts and still going strong

I think the snap on deserved 9/10 on the drop test. It did 'break' from it's stock form while the Matco stayed hard and straight. Nothing really wrong with a bent stick if you know how to use it but it sure didn't start out that way.

I love that Icon light, surprised it died on you that quickly, mine has lasted many drops worse than that. Oh well, love the work!

Appreciate the comprehensive comparisons, as always!

I own the ICON and on Wednesday this week left it out in the rain and experienced it not turning on. HOWEVER I opened it up dried it off charged it up and it works just fine. Also I have definitely dropped it many times and it works just fine. Honestly one of my favorite lights. It fits in a shirt pocket easy it will stick to anything even slightly metallic.

I took my icon apart and flipped the light around the right way. such a good upgrade for 3 minutes of work 👌.

Would be great to see a post-mortem analysis of the failed lights, to see what was the weak point. Was it just a solder joint that failed? How do the other joints look in that case? Did something else shear off because it wasn't supported properly? Etc.

Should’ve had the Astro light on the list. I’m curious how it stacks up against the tool truck lights

I just went into Harbor Freight to warranty an Icon 1/2 split beam torque wrench & it was such a good experience. No questions asked had me go grab a new one & while walking thru the store I spotted this Icon work light. It was on sale for $24 doll hairs & that was without being an ITC member, so I snagged it. It feels super premium in the hand and the magnet is super strong. I was disappointed in the drop test so point taken. I will definitely try n be a bit more careful when using it. I love this channel & I wish all tool manufacturers would watch these videos before hitting the drawing board to engineer anything new because you guys often hit all of the pros & cons of every tool you test. Keep up the good work guys!!!

Wow! Your video topics are always on the tip of my tongue. Right before I buy a tool, your videos on that tool drops. Thanks for all your hard work.

Should have included the Astro 52SL. Awesome light, and they have a wireless, 2 light charger. USB charge cords are a PIA.

Have the icon. Seems to work ok and I haven't dropped it on the ground yet. The only problem i have is the battery life. But at the sale price of $27 I got 3 of them. Just get 1 extended warranty for all.

I’ve had one of those matco lights for years now, I’ve ran it over with trucks and it hasn’t broken, absolutely love it

I never thought anyone would make videos comparable to Project farm. Good job with your continued videos that keep getting better!

I'd like to see you test the Milwaukee folding stick light. I would also like to see the new Milwaukee hard hat headlamp that can detach from its headband tested. Thanks for showing how the Icon performed, I was thinking about buying it but decided to wait for a professional to review it. You guys make shopping so much less stressful, in the old days I hated buying something without knowing if it was any good or not!

Thank you for your tests. You're on one level with project farm

I'm at the point in my life where if it doesn't have USB C charging I don't buy it so it's great to see so many options these days!

I’ve had the Icon for at least 6 months and I love it, its my main toolbox light

Thanks for the review. This made it clear, I'm definitely going with the icon.

Yikes haha, my icon light is going strong after a few months of abuse, but that is the big downfall of HF: quality control. I thought it was better with their newer brands, but that’s a rough showing for sure😅 I’ll be more careful dropping it from now on

RIP Icon lol. I have had the Astro 52sl for two years using it daily in the shop. It does not fold in half, but it's $70-80 with wireless charger and the magnet is actually decent. I have dropped it so many times I don't even worry about it lol. I did have to super glue the magnet back on the bottom due to the thin plastic holding it in finally giving, but that was super easy to do. Great job on the video!

I have the larger snap on folding light, love the fact i can have both side strips on at the same time and usb c charging is great

This is awesome, because of the video, i just purchased a Matco, and love it,

I just bought an ICON light last week and I feel better paying $24.99 on sale since they had none during the sale I got a rain check. yes they still do that. I also felt the same way you guys did on the way they designed the light why would you have the small light on the folding side so you can't focus it on what your working on. Really enjoy the channel thanks for helping so may save money and show the manufactures when they make junk!

Excellent tests!

So far my favorite folding light is the Milwaukee 2128 I believe. I know it’s rated at 550 lumens but curious to see you spiking that light! Great job guys! “Impressive!”

I appreciate the spiking test. I have been known to spike tools when mad lol

Love my icon. Had mine for over 1 year. Multiple drops off the to of 18 wheeler trailers. Still going strong

I'm still a big fan of the Braun's, especially when there on sale. Feel a lot less bad sending a ~$20 light trucking than a $100+ one.

Your channel is really improving! I've been a fan of Project Farm for years, first saw you a year or so ago and was like maybe. This review though really impressed me. Subbed 👍

Almost 300,000 followers!? I remember when you broke 30, it's just been a while since I've checked in. Congrats guys, if anyone deserved it, it was you guys!

Snap-On taking the nokia approach. Eject the battery so you can remain functional.

You guys must have ESP. My first Braun light died a couple months ago after several years of service (and two sons), so I bought their new model. The new one just died on me this morning. So I'm now in search of new, non-HF replacement. Thanks for being so timely!

Excellent testing! Personally I am a die hard headlight guy. But these can be handy for certain needs.

I’ve had two of those Icon lights and the only reason I had to get a second was because I left the first one on a job site. I’ve never had a single issue with the Icon light, it’s my go to light.

Wow. Those lights are tough!! I want a Matco immediately. Although, I owned a Braun last year and I left it underneath my vehicle for several months through carwashes and it still held onto the wheel well area on the body with its magnet. The lights didn’t work anymore because of all of the water and dirt from the time spent there. I should have taken pictures but oh well.

hi TTC, just to shed a tiny bit of light on the charging aspect of things. while discharging 18650s and 21700 and even pouch cells is fairly ok to do at high rates (in the case of these lights like 2C max [@~80lm/W, 2.6Ah, ~4V -> 10,4W -> ~800lm]), and they do tolerate significantly higher discharge rates in the short term (such as with your angle grinder an drill testing), charging them at higher rates than 0.5C is apparently enough to shorten their lifespan quite dramaticaly (this is mainly true to 18650, 21700 can tolerate a bit more). so, as to the charging curents measured, i wouldn't take them so seriously. of course runn and charge time does matter, but we've got to take the overall lifespan of tools into consideration. for many home-players the lifespan is cut off by the battery dying, not by mechanical damage (most times). One more request: im from central europe, and a really popular brand is LIDL's PARKSIDE, and i would be really curious how their tools rank up for your (for europe dificult to reach) american brands.

The Snap-on and Matco ones are definitely designed for mechanic's rage

Love it - I have both Braun and Streamlight; like the Braun design, but dislike its run time. Streamlight was my upgrade but, oddly, I still reach for the Braun more often than not

Another Great Video! Thanks, TTC!

Yes the ICON light is seemingly backwards. With 10 min this can be fixed. Remove the 2mm allen screws (6 of them) and flip the light bar around. There are 2 plastic pins on the inside the light bar mount that need removed to resecure it in the "correct" orientation.

The Matco looks like a decent little light, if they dropped the price to an even $100 I'd jump on it but $135 plus tax is just a little too much imo. Great video as always, thank you for uploading! 👍👍

Awesome stuff, as always.

Spiking the light... every mechanic wants to do it at one point.

I have that icon light. I dropped it on a tub of oil, fully submerged for at least 30 seconds. Wiped it off, let it drip dry, and it never skipped a beat. Not to mention the fall into the tub was over 6ft, bouncing off the floor into the tub. And if you're even slightly handy, you can disassemble it and flip the light bar around too. Highly recommended and very good bang for the buck.

I've had a couple Brauns for years and they've been incredibly useful.

12:07 " The Amazon one's still working." Proceeds to throw it into the bucket of water, where it stops working.

For the ICON, it makes sense that it has the light bar on the outside if you are prone to hood mounting. You would want the largest light to point 'outward' if you slap this on the inside of a car hood while working in the engine bay. Not possible with the other light designs in this lineup, with the exception of one other. Shame it didn't last. Usually any product that is 'cheap' and also 'metal' usually leads to immediate failures.

I bought the streamlight for work and it’s been great. I’ve had It about a year or so now with no problems. Probably sold 5 more to other guys in the plant lol. The slow charging rate I bet helps with battery life though. For rc car batteries the faster you charge them the shorter the lifespan of pack becomes before it no longer holds a charge. For me I usually charge it when I see it starting to die for the rest of my shift then the next time I grab it it’s great. Only really had it die once in the middle of a job when I still needed it. I had the cheaper work pro from Amazon before it and it would die mid job constantly as well as grabbing it out of my box and being dead from leaking charge even while not in use.

Matco looks like a winner in my book 🙂

Thank you. I just bought the Snap On. 👍

On the contrary, I think the Braun is the best one out of all of them. Swappable 18650 is their best selling point. While they're not the most durable, I found that off you can kick it before it falls it won't break 😄 plus for the price you can grab 6 of them vs the strap on offerings. But great test nevertheless

My coworkers really enjoy their Carlyle folding lights, they aren't Napa fans, but seem to really like those lights

Ah I see you activated the Harbor Freight Flashlight Safety Feature, which turns the light off when you drop or even bump it. My Harbor Freight flashlight has the same feature.

Go Snap On and Matco!!!! One thing I have found with most of these type pf lights is after 6 months, they no longer hold a charge and become more of a time waster than helping me save time. I recommend Harbor Freight's hockey puck lights, ICON makes a black one that is decent that takes a C charging cable and then HB makes a smaller version that comes in different colors, both styles are great options.

Got my icon light a while ago and i love it

The Icon is a clone of the Unilite IL-925R I have. It's the exact same design of LED layout, USB C charging port, battery level LEDs, power button, etc.

EXCELLENT TEST !!!!!!!!

great video, i do think for this series maybe the snap on ECPND032. The 300 lumen slim light. Closer in price and similar style folding stick light. I have it and love it, only issue is batter to small

I like the astro line up of lights, definitely look into them

The Braun folding light is great. Folds both ways, good brightness settings and strong magnet. I usually use it on the second setting its so bright. Haven't really dropped it yet though ...

The Braun works great for me. But you have to replace the battery with something decent like a 25R. After that, money! 😂

I have bought 2x of the Icons when they were on sale for $25. 1 for the car and one for home. The base magnet is by far the best one I've seen in a I guess bendable flashlight. Perfect for under the hood or table at home.

I'm a mechanic and I own the Snap On work light and I gotta say, I was nervous to see it tested because these cheaper options are getting really good. Regardless, my little snappy has done me incredibly well, has survived many drops and impacts as well as being coated in brake clean as well as miscellaneous automotive fluids and it's still my go to. Great video!!

Love the videos, Thanks! The best part is this one only cost me $134.95 🤣

You and Project Farm are my go to.

Another excellent video fellas. Well dont n keep em comin

I got the icon few weeks ago, seems to work pretty good. I like it so far

Never having these kinds of lights before I got the I on for $24. I am impressed. Fantastically strong magnet. Bright, nice finish. On sale the Icon on sale seems like a no brainer.

I work off a service truck. So I bought 4 of the old model HF lights for $24 when they were on sale. Since they were not very expensive, I can keep 2 on the charger and use the other 2.

I love my Icon light. It's great for what it is, USB-C for the price was a massive selling point.

Would love to see you guys test the ECPND032 from Snap On in the next round. It has the correct main/secondary light configuration and USB-C charging and is right in the meat of the pricing on the segment. I have had the Stinger Switchblade for a while and despite it's tippy tendencies from small base magnets, its been a rock solid light. I was debating a Strion Switchblade, and ended up with a deal on that little Snappy folder. As a self designated "light snob" my buying a second ECPND032 was one hell of a compliment to my experience with the first one 😂 keep up the good work 👏🏻

With the icon light if you remove the mini Torx screws on the side you can flip the bar around I did it to mine

11:45 "dropped on the floor" you mean thrown at the floor 😂.

Will you guys test the Mac Tools TL420MR? It's the light i use as a diesel mechanic. I love it. 1 click for flood-low (which is plenty bright for 95% of use), 2 clicks for flood-high, 3 clicks for flashlight, and it has a great magnets. It's also pretty durable. It has great battery life, too. After an 8 hour shift, i usually still have 4/4 bars, sometimes 3, of life left. I'd estimate about 5 hours of run time on low, and about 2 on high. I used to use the Snap-On ECARB042, the predecessor to the light you guys just tested, and it had a magnet that actually worked, but not the greatest battery life. Unfortunately, the rubber overmolding started to peel off within the first few months and then the button wears out.

Great info !!

ive got 2 of the brauns and i love them. Grab them on sale for 24.99. The magnets are super strong, they are USB C. And you can swap batteries since they use an 18650. they also pivot all the way in either direction and you can swing the head around the handle too. Ive dropped them from about shoulder height a couple times and they are scuffed but they still work perfectly. Ive never dropped them in a bucket of water or anything but they have gotten rained on. Same thing, still work perfectly. This is one of the times i'm gonna disagree with the test results.

Awesome test for the work lights, if there is a part 2 would love to see the Astro 52SLC folding light on there. That Matco was really impressive ngl

11:43 says it all 😂 and then 14:32 last two standing …..guess they are worth the money!

Great video! I have the astro brand with dual charging station. One of them is always ready. I drop them daily.

I actually modified my icon light to flip it around because it’s exactly how you said, backwards! But for $40, it’s helped me out quite a bit when doing some major bimmer maintenance

My first new snap on tool was an Ecarb042 flashlight in 2018 after college graduation. Used it daily for 4 years until one day I forgot it under the hood of a car. About 6 months later while doing an oil change on that car I found it on the splash guard under the engine and it still had a 75% charge. I now own 2, and bought my mom, dad and brother and uncle ones for Christmas a few years ago. Everyone loves them

Genuinely baffled by that Icon. Been using mine for a few months now, already dropped it down some steel stairs, banged it against handrails, spilled soda on it, and just generally abused the heck out of it. Wondering if there's some QC issues that need to get sorted out...

I too have that Icon light. It has fallen from under car height (6' or so) and still runs like a champ

I might be mistaken but it looks like there's a typo under the Braun "percentage of advertised" entry. To add, I picked up a the Braun 490 lumen one (the newer one that charges with USB type C) and I love it. Haven't abused it much, but used it a lot and I love it - wicked handy for $20 USD on sale.

Interesting. I just got my DeWALT DCL045 folding/expanding worklight and under-hood light two days ago. There’s also a MCL045 from Mac Tools with a secondary auxiliary flashlight that attaches to the folding/expanding main unit. Not the same kind of light but the ability to fold it and stand it up or hang it like a lantern makes it more useful than just an under hood worklight.

I do like the the uv light as a top added light.

That Matco was amazing.

I love those snap on lights, the larger one that you didnt test is my every day go to light in the shop, I liked it so much I bought a second one for home. I also have the light you tested in my truck since its smaller to carrier around

The snap on with the extra batteries is nice I like that it charges slower means the cells will last longer

I think the light layout on the Icon makes more sense actually. When I mag onto a surface for near-field use such as soldering, I don't' want a ridiculous amount of light whereas when I mag onto a wall to illuminate an area such as a room I want to be able to angle the light outwards to throw it as far as possible. And of course that's where I want the maximum light output.

There's a reason why I went and got 3 more Icon stick lights, build tough and all the features I wanted specially the natural light it gives that makes soo much easy on the eyes, super bright eliminating almost all shadows! Can't beat that at $30 a pop...

Been using the led lenser iw5r flex for about a year now, excellent work light highly recommended

Great review. I'd probably go with the matco, except that I lose every nice light I get. I've had pretty decent luck with the braun light, but did have to return 2 before I got a good one. That seems to be common for harbor freight