A few weeks back I received this Blacklight Clamplight to review. As I’ve never owned a quality clamping light before (I have owned poorly made ones) I said “sure” and have begun to really like it!
Though I still prefer a quality headlamp for survival situations such as a bug out, these clamp lights are nice for around the house work. Moreover, as a result of technology you get a LOT more for your money these days. 🙂
The clamplight specs:
- IPX7 water resistance rated – protected against water immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter
- Hand held, clamps, stands & floats
- 190 lumen hi/lo & strobe
- Rubberized coating
- Head pivots 360 degrees
I do want to mention that although the Amazon description says it’s 190 lumens the box says 170 lumens. That’s not a big deal to me just a clarification to point out.
Here’s a bit more about the light from Amazon:
Waterproof flashlight – Blackfire’s new concept puts to shame all other flashlights sitting in your toolbox. CLAMPLIGHT clamps virtually anywhere and stays out of the way. Shaped like a traditional flashlight for easy portability or to fit in a belt or pocket. It converts from a clamp light to a stand-up light by simply pressing the clamp and sliding the lock feature. Non-skid feet swivel down for stability. The GOOD DESIGN™ Award is a further acknowledgement of the company position as “the innovation leader in the flashlight category”.
My thoughts:
I can say I like this clamplight a lot. It’s about the same size as the Coast flashlight I reviewed a while back, though, a bit wider and lighter weight. Because it floats (yes, I did try it for about 30 minutes in my kitchen sink) the light is ever so slightly top-heavy (towards the head) but it’s not a big deal when holding as a normal flashlight and you won’t even notice after about three seconds.
Anyway, in my opinion, the true test of a clamplight is what it can clamp to and I’m happy to report that it clamped to about everything I tried, from a ladder to my coffee table, doors and even a 2×4 in the workshop. That’s nice.
The one gripe I had is that the light can be made to hold the clamps open so that it can stand upright which turned out to be significantly difficult to do the first few times I tried. Personally, I don’t really care if a clamp light can stand upright… it’s supposed to clamp. FYI, after a few more tries it got easier.
What I really liked about the light is the fact that the head swivels 360 degrees around and also pivots back on itself well past 90 degrees. With this combination you can get the light to shine almost anywhere you need it from a single clamped position.
It does seem to me that the swivel/pivot is easy enough to move without serious effort yet strong enough to stay in place. Granted, I didn’t try clamping it to a jackhammer to test that it stays put but for around the house, it’s perfectly fine.
The unit does use 3 AAA batteries which is nice for recharging capabilities.
As for light output, it’s plenty good for seeing what you’re doing even in complete darkness and actually shines quite a distance. The light comes with three brightness settings: high, low, and strobe. Personally, I have no need for a strobe setting, especially on a clamplight. The high and low settings were distinguishable enough so as to be obviously different… a pet peeve of mine when they’re not noticeably different. 😉
Overall, this Blacklight Clamplight is a good light for the money at less than $24 shipped. It functions as expected, clamps to darn near anything, swivels and pivots great, has a bright LED light, and is even waterproof.
If you’re looking for a quality clamp light, this is a good one to get. You can learn more about Blackfire as a company here and more of their lights.
Leave a Reply