“DeWALT, Guaranteed Tough”, that’s been DeWALT’s motto for years, and I would agree. DeWALT tools are tough, but they are also well-engineered, which for me is just as important. When DeWALT puts out a product it is almost always designed better than the competition and does what you need it to do a little better than expected. Is this DeWALT Cordless Hood Light an exception, or does it also outperform the competition?
DeWALT Cordless Hood Light Overview
When you’re working under the hood you really need good lighting. Lighting that is bright and gets where you need to work. There is not much we didn’t like about this hood light. It is bright (with two brightness settings), attaches securely (with options), and the length is adjustable. It can be used as a free-standing light, and it’s cordless. You really couldn’t ask for much more.
DeWALT Cordless Hood Light Features
The DeWALT Cordless Hood Light (Model DCL045B) will fit most SUV, truck, and car hoods. It is 51″ long and can be extended to 74″. When folded in half it can be stowed away at 26″ long. It weighs just at 6 lbs., bare tool.
It works with DeWALT’s Li-Ion battery platforms: 12V, 20V, and/or FlexVolt. According to DeWALT, when using a 20V Max battery, it will run five hours on High (1,700 lumens) and 10 hours on Low (800 lumens).
There are two 11″ light bars. The entire hood light provides up to 1,700 lumens when fully illuminated on High.
All controls are easily accessible at the battery end of the light bar.
This light offers more flexibility than any other hood light we’ve tried. You can use it on High or Low. You can have it fully illuminated or only use it in a left or right single-arm mode.
The anti-marring, padded hooks also rotate 360°. This offers great flexibility to securely hook this light to most cars, trucks, and SUVs. Folded in half and with the padded hooks rotated outward, this light can also be used freestanding. This would definitely come in handy if you needed to work around the outside of your vehicle, like changing a tire or doing some brake work.
DeWALT Cordless Hood Light Performance
The DeWALT Cordless Hood Light is brighter than almost every other similar bar hood light on the market. We were able to easily and securely hook it in a variety of positions to a variety of vehicles. You can also use it as a free-standing light. So as with other DeWALT tools we’ve used, this light does everything we could want from a hood light and has a few extra features we didn’t expect (like all of the different light settings).
DeWALT Cordless Hood Light Value
It is brighter, lighter, and offers more options than just about any other similar hood light on the market. This is also one of the few hood light bars that fold in half; to be used as a free-standing light and for easier storage. And I really appreciate the battery platform flexibility; that it works almost every DeWALT Li-Ion battery platform you might have – that’s value. So I think $179 (bare tool) on Amazon is a great price.
DeWALT Cordless Hood Light Wrap Up
This DeWALT Cordless Hood Light performed in typical DeWALT fashion: tough, well-engineered, and above my expectations. And I probably haven’t put enough emphasis on how great it is to work with a CORDLESS hood light. No tripping over cords or having cords draped over my work area. If you already have DeWALT cordless tools, this is a great light and one you might want to add to your garage. And if you are not a DeWALT tool owner, but you need a high-performance, flexible, quality hood light bar this light is worth considering.
