Is Milwaukee Lying as Much as Harbor Freight Braun About Lumens? 

See which lights and other tools have made the cut on our Amazon Storefront: www.amazon.com/shop/torquetestchannel

I'd love to see headlamps tested. As an electrician I use one every day and as a side note I do appreciate the high CRI lights as the blue lights are hard on the eyes.

The lower efficiency of the Milwaukee is due to the choice of LED emitters. Warmer color temperature and/or high CRI emitters will ALWAYS be less efficient and have a lower output than a cool white version of the same emitter. White LEDs are actually using a blue emitter covered in a phosphor layer that absorbs the blue light and re-emits it as longer wavelengths to give you a broader spectrum of light. Changing the wavelength of the light is an imperfect process that adds some inefficiency, so cool white emitters that let through more of the original blue light unchanged are able to be more efficient and output more total lumens. The phosphor layer is the reason the surface of white LEDs always look yellow or orange when turned off; that yellow phosphor is actually producing a range of wavelengths from green to red that without the blue light just looks yellow instead of white. To me the lower output is always worth the tradeoff to get neutral or warm white, and especially high CRI light, but it's something for people to keep in mind.

I left the braun out in constant rain for two days straight and upright, the battery compartment was completely filled with water. It still worked with the water. Still works year and a half later.

Another great video! Btw, I find many work lights are too bright and discharge too quickly, trying to make magical lumen numbers for sales. I often need to shine them next to where i’m working, if pointed directly onto the work area it white washes the area in our dark shop. 300-400 lumens is plenty usually. We usually aren’t trying to light up the moon from earth. :)

I bought 2 of the HF Braun several years ago when they first showed up at Harbor Freight. One of them just craped out last week. Harbor Freight had them on the Labor Day sale for $19.99 and I bought two more. For what I use them for and the price I think they are my best choice. I don't plan on dropping them from 5 foot so I should be OK.

I Just bought the Braun from harbour freight for $19.95 for the labor day sale not two hours ago. Its a cool $20 light. I love the channel, keep up the good work!

You can’t imagine how excited I get when I see you guys post new videos! Love the channel👍🏻👍🏻

Stream light is a BEAST. I dropped my Streamlight Pro-Tac 2LX down a 14 story elevator shaft. Only damage was a slightly bent tip and a cracked/broken lense. It still turned off and on and WORKED just fine after I dug it out of the Elevator pit. I still replaced it since the lense broke, but I keep it in my truck as a spare/emergency light.

I've had a HF Braun light for a year now and it works for my uses, especially given the price. I have never had an issue with bending the light causing it to go out. Must've gotten lucky there. I didn't know it had a removable battery. That will come in handy.

You are like Project Farm no2. love the light tests and hope you branch out to more equipment in the future.

Every time I've had problems with my Braun light switch, the bottom battery cap hasn't been screwed in tightly enough.

I love that you’re testing lights. As they are cheaper than impact wrenches, I’m able to buy a better and brighter one more frequently than a power tool. Please keep up the light testing. Thank you

Great Review. Im a home gamer and I use the Braun with an upgraded battery, Panasonic NCR 18650 3400mAh for about $6.00 from a real battery supplier. Only use real brand batteries such as LG, Samsung, Panasonic. Avoid anything with a huge mah rating or battery names with "fire" in them

The reason the Streamlight charges so slowly is because they want you to buy the $60 fast charger dock.

One of the advantages that I discovered with my Braun is that the battery access cap can be turned about one rotation counterclockwise for transportation. I found that the switch can be turned on with the slightest bump in my tool bag! Loosening the cap eliminates this anomaly. For the price when on sale they fit my budget. I use more than one so I don’t need to reposition them when moving from underneath or side to side, I just switch it off. My biggest problem is trying to remember where I stuck all the damn lights!

Love the test sphere! Good work!

I’d really like to see pocket lights. Maybe the Streamlight stylus pro usb we all have, Streamlight mini, maybe a led mini maglite, some coast lights? Looking forward- and I’m sure between your 50k subs 👏🏻, we could even get them all lent to the channel for lumen testing, and length battery lasts, etc. Keep em comin! Great stuff!!

Great video! I recently subbed to your channel and got in the rabbit hole of all the videos. I recently saw your first video where you test that snapon work light. What I’d love to see is a “competition” video between that light and its Mac competitor as well as the highly rated Maxxeon cyclops (you can get on Amazon). Anyways, Thanks for all your informative work!

Haha! I would absolutely recommend the Braun, especially if you can buy them for $19.99. It performs as advertised, and IF you ever destroy one through drops, you can just pick up another and still be under most of the other lights. I can buy 3-4 of them for the price of some of the other options. What’s not to like? With HB no question warranty, if you have that button issue, u just exchange for another. If your unit doesn’t have that problem of the bat, it really won’t down the line. I just buy these in bunches when they’re on sale, and keep extras lying around.

These types of lights are becomming standard equipment for anybody working on pretty much anything. It is great that you are doing some testing so I can cut down on the number of lousy ones I buy before getting a good one.

This is a really great video and product comparison. I have 2 of the braun lights and love them. I agree that rotating them causes the cap to unscrew but heck, easy to retighten. Excellent light and lifespan

FIRST LED LIGHT VIDEO I HAVE WATCHED FROM TTC CHANNEL AND I THINK THE EPISODE WAS FANTASTIC , MILWAUKEE WAS THE CLEAR ALL AROUND WINNING THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME !!!!!!!!!!

Great video! This channel is awesome! Keep it up fellas!

As always useful info. Thanks and happy labor day

If you crack the Braun open, beef up some solder joints with extra solder and secure a couple of wires with hot snot, it gets into a whole other level of durability. Those steps will also solve the finicky “power button” issue. The problem is that the case ground wire breaks inside and loses contact if you jostle it. With a battery upgrade and that repair, I’ll reach for the Braun over my Astro’s and others every time. The size, flexibility, and lower light output is much more useful in my opinion. There is a such thing as too much light when doing automotive type work and for me the Braun is just right. I will say that it is not easy to open the Brauns up. I have to put the lights in a 6” heavy duty shop vise and turn the tubes with a 16” pipe wrench. The threadlocker they use on those things is no joke when paired with aluminum threads. A propane torch made no difference on them... I am biased though. I own many lights, but 8 of them are the Braun stick light. I didn’t pay more than $20 for any of them though. I bought one from HF for $2. The charging cord didn’t work so they marked it up as a defective light. I thought I was going to have to do my usual repair, but it charged right up on my Nitecore charging station. :D

Yooooooo, I was waiting for another one of these

Astro is still unbeatable as an everyday, do everything light in my mind. I use M12 or M18 Milwaukee lights for big areas/general lighting as that's the battery system I'm already in.

Loving what you guys do.i use the portable rectangle rechargable cat lights with the prop arm on the back. I strap it to bikes for headlights, hang it from screws over tables for a lantern,put it under boat dashes,put under trucks for late night oil changes.seems to be the go to light in my family for quick brite lite that last 2 hrs on high.seems like the cat is the OG but they are everywhere now.would love to see something on them.

Illuminating results keep up the great work

I let my wife's Honda Odyssey down on my switch blade when I changed the oil and it was holding up the van a little jacked it back up pulled it out no damage at all and they have a lifetime warranty great product. Great video 👍

The big rage at my shop is the neck lights. I was the first to give it a try and now almost everybody has one. We found them more useful on our heads though.

Something I ran across not too long ago that really impressed me was the EPower 360 work light. The thing is blindingly bright and it lasted through a 5 hour job. I think it was around 40 bucks a Costco. The magnetic swivel lights are super handy. Kind of wish I bought a couple more for presents.

Hi, just found your channel... I am hooked. Too bad you didn't include the husky or kobalt rechargeable light in your test.

Love these vids!

Just got that Braun for $19.99, labor day sale. I have the long yellow Braun, and dropped it about 10 times so far and it still works. I recommend that one; has a flash light and pullout lightbar.

I use a head torch a lot in my garage, would be interesting to see what run times and lumen out of other brands are. Great video btw, I enjoy watching them, well thought out and informative with a little light hearted humor every now and then. Shame DP doesn't make a torch to go deep and really light up your white ball... 😄 haha great episode btw.

I've had the Braun light for a while now and love it. I've always used better batteries in it and always charge them on an external charger.

Funny just yesterday I was messing around with my Braun light. I dropped it few times and it quit working. I tore it apart(they use a thread locker to keep it together) to find a tiny connector inside had come unplugged. Thing has been laying around for over a year. Would never buy another. Great video keep it up guys!

Grammar police says “fewer lumens” not “less lumens”. Great video and test. Keep up great work. These are helpful.

looks like i’ll be picking up some of astros foldable, wirelessly rechargable lights because it looks like they don’t slouch on them, thanks!

that HF Bauer light can be fixed by either tightening the bottom more like it says on the packaging, or bu stretching the battery contact spring if that's not working. I have a few and they are all flawless.

Are you ever going to do another more updated version of this video again? I saw that HF Icon has one now and a couple others not in this video and I'd love to see how they stack up.

Hello again Torque Test Channel Thank you for another Great Video. As I am researching for my tool purchase. And rechargeable lights are high on the list. Almost as high is finding out out who has the strongest magnets for universal joint sockets and Extensions. Such as the Gearwrench 81235 and the Sunex 8855, both of which look very similar like they came from the same manufacturer? But I couldn't find out which one is stronger magnetic wise. Magnetic sockets I can't use due the supply only having six point sockets to offer. Sorry as a Aircraft Mechanic my needs are different from the automotive Mechanic. I need twelve point sockets and SAE/STANDARD. In Aviation we have not changed to the metric hardware as of yet. Otherwise, I enjoyed the Video, again thank you.

I'm retired now and picked up a pair of Chiwanese wand "worklights" for $8.99 on Ebay. They have Bright (maybe 300lm), dim (maybe 100lm), single LED tip light (maybe 150lm), red strip (maybe 75lm), and flashing red strip (maybe 150lm). I'm QUITE satisfied with them for the price. I don't have a runtime on any mode yet, but they're internally rechargeable. Oh, there is a magnet on the end and a hook, for working on your Tesla aluminum frunk lid, I'm sure. // You have great tests for all these lights, dude. Thanks for all of them.

I have a harbor freight Braun cordless rechargeable light and it works great. It's bright and has a magnetic swivel base. I have noticed it does hold a charge as long as it did when I 1st got it. It still gets the job done. I can't complain to much about it. Mine is the yellow and black flat octagon shape one, It was about 30$ also.

i've never had any issues with the braun, i've had one for 3 years and a second for 2 years, and use them all the time. i drop them all the time and use them to film youtube videos, great product!!!

What a great thorough review. Thanks for doing it.

Nice to see some lights being tested. Been using the HF light for a while at home and work. It's been decent. I put it on the charger at lunch to top it off. Hasn't left me In the dark yet. May upgrade the 18650 cell.will have to be careful not to drop it. When I do I know which ones to look Into next.

Quality review, well done.

The streamlight charging makes sense to me. It's a bigger battery so it's always going to take longer, and it's not like you'd have 2-4 hours of free time during working hours anyway. Sure it could be faster, but faster charging wears the cells faster too. It's a big enough battery to last the day of work and you charge it over night.

The Braun is on sale TODAY for just $19.99. I have two and the only problem I've had is the rubber receptacle cover on one broke off. As for the switch you placed its very strong magnet on a thick piece of steel then turned the flashlight counterclockwise which looked like it unscrewed the cap a bit which is why it started working again after you tightened the cap.

The Braun light at HF is generally a good light and can be bought on sale (though maybe not these days) on the cheap. My major peeve with it is short battery life, you really need 2 of them if you plan on using them for extended periods.

I have the Braun light. Have same problem with the switch, but it does still work. Magnet is strong. Was working under my truck and had it stuck to the frame. But I forgot to remove it when down. A couple of weeks later I am looking for it and remember the last time I used it was under the truck. Slide under truck, and it was still there even after driving it several times.

Why not just spend ~$45 and get an Astro. You get what you pay for and the difference is well worth a few bucks. But I enjoyed your testing and video. Now, the cheapskates can make an informed decision, and those of us wise enough to be a little picky are justified in that persnicketiness.

Excellent reviews boys. I use the quantum rechargeable flashlight (standard) for mechanic use in the shop. It's been a tank.

Of might make a request, what is the best USB quick charger. We use them for light as seen on this episode but we use them for a lot of other tools: tpms, a small lab scope, inspection camera etc.

Nice tests as usual. Had you guys considered testing weapon mount lights? I personally have the Streamlight TLR-1 HL and the Olight PL-PRO lights, and as much of a Streamlight fan as I am I do feel the Olight is brighter. I would consider donating either one or both for testing if you are interested. Quite a bit of light output from such a small package of either one regardless.

I am a Chevrolet technician and own the Streamlight. I am thoroughly impressed with it and even though it does take a while to charge I usually just put it on charge overnight and rarely ever kill it because of its lengthy runtime. It pairs nicely with the regular stinger light as well as my milwaukee hoodlight because of its ability to emit both typical LED bluish color and the milwaukee truview color. Highly recommend if you already have a streamlight and can utilize the dock to make the price of the stinger make a little more sense. That astro light is definitely a contender but it lacks the multi color of LED lights and the blacklight that makes the stinger such a great option.

Thank you for this test.

Perfect timing of this video as I now have a 26650 battery from a vape that stopped looking yesterday and I have been flash light shopping to find it a new home.

I have 6 of those HF Braun lights and none of them have light switch issues. That sucks yours does. I get them on sale for 19.99 during their Holliday sales. Like this past labor day for instance. Nice video!

I don't have an Astro light yet, but one day I will. I'm currently using the cheap knock-off (one of which is a Dr. Prepare!) until they die and then I'll invest in the good stuff. The real sad point for me is the Stinger Switchblade. I was interested in it and it's not a bad light, I guess, but there are some problems you guys pointed out that break that deal for me. Great video, great tests!

thank you, keep doing light tests

Orhomelife stick light has been great for under 30 for 2 through Amazon. Very pleased with the brightness and after 2 months of use it is getting a little wobbly after a couple drops.

Great Review. But I don’t think anything can compete with the Astro 52SL with the wireless charging. Might not be the brightest but being able to just set the light on the charger is so convenient

I love my strion switchblade. I have the piggy back charger with an extra SL battery that I can swap the battery in and out of with it and keep trucking. And I can confirm the strion batteries are a Samsung 26J cell in them 😉

This channel deserves at least 100K subscribers.......spread the word

Lol my boy said wow this is bright!!!

I have the HF light. Every time I think that the switch crapped out it has been that the battery cap has come loose. The magnet is stronger than the threads, so if you twist it while picking it up it backs the cap off. I have the one with interchangeable heads but love the light bar most.

Yess! I was hoping this would come out!

I have a few of the steelman lights and you can get a magnet/hook attachment and a newer model has a magnet on the end .

Nice video. Would love to see a PWM flicker test too. I (and some other people) are very susceptible to PWM flickering - not only does it make me sick, but it also makes it hard to concentrate on what I'm doing.

I use the Milwaukee rover stick light rechargeable version. It’s a great little light and carries good in the pocket and doesn’t roll away. Bad thing is I thought I had a bad battery toward the end of its warranty so I had the battery replaced. It still had issues so I ended up having to replace the light.

Do a video on that knipex cutix razor u used.😅👉🏼👈🏼

Good stuff! I bought an Astro when I saw Eric O. using his. Works great.

4:13 - It has a discharge/charge protection circuit. You can stack a nickel or two to fill the extra space... Though I don't know if the light itself has onboard protection so you don't fry your 18650.

I've had a few Braun lights and all have been amazing. Plenty bright and the magnet is very strong

My opinion, the Walmart Hyper Tough work great for the price. The pen light has 3 different lights, 4 modes with folding and rechargeable. $14 with a magnet base. I love mine and when I accidentally left one under a truck because the boss was in a hurry to get the truck out, and they were gone before I could get if off the bumper. I didn't care so much about the $14 verses $100+. And I actually paid $8 originally, but still the $14 is great. The larger $30 works all day for me, bright enough, 3 modes, heavy magnets, and rechargeable. For the price I'm extremely happy. And nearly all Super Walmarts or main Walmarts carry these and offer extended warranties for like $2.

I have the Braun light and it works quite well for general purposes. It does break when dropped but I have broken the business end off several times and glued it back with epoxy and reinforced with dental floss... it is by no means a tank... the pin in the center is plastic and is the weak point but I drilled out one side and shot a screw through the pivot and so far it has been working well. I will mention that if you replace the battery make sure you use a PROTECTED button top 18650 unless you like angry pixies dancing in your hacienda or shop overnight. Also even though it is not very rugged, I do like the fact that not only does the head flex BOTH directions you can also rotate the head so that the power button is on either side which is neat.

I have a Braun had this light for a couple of years now, for our use it is an excellent light. The light is not used everyday we mostly use this light during power outages for some reason that is a couple times a year. when we travel i throw the light into the car. The light you choose should be based on what your needs are. as always my opinion only Thank you for sharing

I would like to see tool truck brands added to the list, specifically the Snap-on ECARD062. I own both the Streamlight and this Snap-on. I recommend the Streamlight over the Snap-on. I also own the smaller Milwaukee 550lm Red Lithium flood light that I like a lot.

Would the Kill-a-watt adapter help record charging data? It has a regular plug face so you don't need a cable with USB interface

I second the other headlight suggestion! Please do a review and test of them! Probably the most used light in my arsenal and btw my favorite is a Walmart brand hyper tough “yellow and black” model rechargeable, and before I get crap for it being Walmart brand I’ve used it literally probably every single day since Christmas 2019 and it still is as bright and good as the day I bought it.. anyway please do a video on them I’m super excited u did this video considering I’ve been looking for a stick light with good magnet and don’t exactly have a ton of money to try a bunch of different ones so I’m thinking the Astro is the one I’m gunna get. I thought looking at the harbor freight one in store the magnet seemed pretty crappy but I guess it was cuz the plastic was interfering more than I’d figure it would since u said it’s 11 lb. thanks sorry for rambling on I love watching your channel! The Astro comes with a 18650 and 26850?

You should test the ArmyTek flash lights. I got one of the headlamps 2 years ago for work. After replacing the battery that came with it with a Streamlight 18650 it has been great.

Please add the Bosch FL12 work light, we have replaced all out work and shop lights with these guys and they are amazing in the shop.

I bought the Harbor Freight light and it crapped out on me too After a few months of light use. I still had the receipt, so I thought I'd just swap it. When I took it back they pointed out that it only had a 90 day warranty .

The only issue I ever hear off with the Braun light is that you need to properly tighten the cap before use as that is what causes the button issue. If that is sorted they are usually fine from what I hear.

Noticed the pwm though. Are you able to do some comparison on that?

*Streamlight is the best quality light. It’s issued to firemen, police, military for a reason* I have 10+ streamlight products that never failed.

I have two Astro 650 lights and have been extremely happy with their performance and durability. One of the things I've learned about Astro Tools, from this channel and a few others, is that they deliver what they promise in the specs of their tools and LED lights. Let's face it for a tool company or any company for that matter to sell their products at reasonable prices and deliver on the specifications they advertise is rare today. Astro is going to continue getting my business in the future.

I had a Braun light for all of about a week. Dropped it once from probably about 4 feet-ish and it the hinge broke, and light stopped working. I guess if you drop it at just the right angle, it can be pretty fragile, in my experience. Went with Astro after.

Perfect timing! I just bought the Braun.

i almost bought the steelman because in another video of yours you mentioned it being a great product. i loved seeing how it went above its lumen rating, but seeing the lumens over the battery life make it pretty bad. its $15 on amazon right now and might still be worth it but that constant drop is just lame. i hope you continue testing. id love to find a good budget one that holds more lumen over the battery life

Would be interesting to see what happens if you got a good quality 18650 used across the ones that can use it.

Do the headlight version next please. So many Chinese versions on Amazon with outlandish claims makes it hard to find the right one.

Worklights and inspection lights are 2 different lights to me. My inspection light is a StreamLight Strion. It is on my person all day at work. My go-to work light is a StreamLight Knucklehead. The knucklehead is not the brightest light but it doesn't have to be for what it's used for. The knucklead is the ONLY worklight I have used that will survive a shop environment. I even ran one over with an F250 and it still works.

I have seen several mentions of this light switch issue for the Braun. I have one. Turns out that on mine at least this is a result of the battery cap not being tight enough. You need to really crank on it and then it does not go off. Also, the battery they include is longer than your typical 18650 so it barely fits in my charger and that probably contributes to the cap issue. But when I did test the battery out it actually delivered more than the stated capacity.

wow this was great, I have 2 of the rover lights and had no idea they were that durable. thank you guys well done

Can you do the tap/bang test on lights too!!!!!!! I have a recurring issue with every single light bar style light where if it gets bumped/tapped or if you are banging on something on the car with it attached it will turn off. Again this is an issue with ALL the brands I've used, not just one in particular. Everything from my cheapo to the $150+ rechargeable lights