The ClipLight is a good LED 'trouble light', with dual-function as a flashlight. It is by far the brightest battery-operated light I've owned in 40 years (and it puts to shame the flashlights we used as Boy Scouts a decade before that). The shape and surface-texture feel 'right', and I am delighted that the batteries can be changed! As for brightness, the light has 28 LED bulbs and runs on four AA batteries (if you are considering one of the cheaper brands, count how many LED bulbs they have). I was pleased that the light came with four alkaline batteries (manufacturers typically give you the cheapest batteries available; it's not rechargeable, and when the alkaline batteries wear out, I'll put in lithium batteries). Another nice touch: three of these batteries were pre-installed, with the forth one was loose in the package ... I had only to install the fourth battery: since there wasn't a completed circuit without the fourth battery, the pre-installed batteries didn't drain! The center push button cycles through three states: off; 'trouble light'; and flashlight (the latter turns on five LED bulbs in the front cap of the light). There are magnets in the base and there's a hook that you can pull up (I need the hook when trying to carry a dish of dog food and a dish of water at the same time). The light's tilt mechanism has four 'click' positions, ranging from straight-ahead to pointing directly upwards; the light can be angled only in these four positions. I must report two problems about the ClipLight. 1. It (at least the one I received from Amazon) comes in plastic bubble-wrap, taped shut. That and the fourth battery are all I received: there was no box; no instructions for use and care; no warranty statement; no information about how to contact the company. 2. The push button is on the same side as the 'trouble light' (should be on the opposite side). Naturally, I push the button with my thumb, as I expect most people would do, but that makes the intense glare of 28 LED bulbs point right into my eyes! The only workaround is to turn the light over and operate the button with your index finger, which is not intuitive. Due to these problems I give the ClipLight four stars, reluctantly since it's far better than my last LED 'trouble light'. I bought this light mainly for doing work on my truck. A friend of mine has an auto mechanic shop; he has a Snap-On Tools LED 'trouble light' that he uses all the time. It's similar to a ClipLight, but it's smaller and I think my friend can tilt the beam in whatever angle he wants. (BTW: it also is made in China, as is the ClipLight. My friend said he paid $60 for it.) I wasn't able to get a Snap-On light (real ones apparently are available only from Snap-On dealers). There reportedly are counterfeit Snap-On LED lights available on the Internet, but I've read they aren't as good as the real ones. Anyway, I am content with my ClipLight so-far, especially after my frustrations with the LED light it is replacing (see below). I used to tell people: the only thing I ever bought from China that I like is my "Power On Board" rechargeable LED 'trouble light'. Sadly, after years of service, that light isn't holding a good charge; I can't see any way to change the batteries except to take screws out and disassemble the whole thing! But I'm not going to do that, because I have a much worse problem about it: I get very annoyed and inconvenienced when I can't get that light to stay in a position to shine directly on my work. (It was never bright enough for critical work at night anyway.) All of these problems seem to be resolved by the ClipLight. I must say, though, I got years of service out of my old LED 'trouble light', in contrast to more than a dozen "Use a few times, then dispose of properly" flashlights from China. I notice that the ClipLight brand is Canadian. Maybe that's why this light seems to be designed and manufactured with somewhat more care and attention-to-detail than I expect from U.S. companies that do their manufacturing in China. (I suspect that many of the U.S. companies just buy Chinese consumer products and put a "U.S.A." brand on them -- maybe that's why most battery-operated drills I see at a building supply look to have the same mechanism, just different outer cases, colors, and brand names.) Flashlight technology, fortunately, has evolved much for the better in recent years. I was very annoyed with "rechargeable" Made-In-China flashlights that failed non-repairably after a short life. LED lights are, in my opinion, the wave of the future in lighting. For a long time, it seemed that all LED consumer products were made in China, but I'm delighted that (thanks to a federal government "Buy American" program) some U.S.-owned companies are manufacturing LEDs here -- not yet any 'trouble lights' or flashlights, but "Stay Tuned." - Louis Barton, Ph.D.
