PRODUCT REVIEW
Maxxeon WorkStar 2000 Technician’s Floodlight
Last August we talked about the Maxxeon Pocket Floodlight, an item that’s about the size of a penlight but throws a beam that you generally would expect from a full-size flashlight.
Well, his big brother has now come to town in the form of the Maxxeon WorkStar 2000 Technician’s Floodlight, a rechargeable LED work light that’s as much of an overachiever as its smaller sibling.
As the old saying goes, all things are relative and while I refer to this as a “big brother,”it’s still a very compact, easy-to carry unit that just happens to do its job very well.
No More Balancing Acts
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when if you wanted a truly bright portable light without any cords to trip over, you had to buy a multi-cell flashlight…the more cells the better. In some cases, those flashlights were so long that you could balance one end of the handle on your shoulder while pointing the beam with your hand.
Or, how many times did you find yourself away from an electric light source clutching a small flashlight in your armpit as you tried to do some emergency adjustments under the hood so you could make your way back home.
Rather than struggle on in those ways, give some thought to the WorkStar 2000. It’s only 10 inches long, including the head that tilts and rotates, and it will give plenty of light to illuminate your workspace. The Maxxeon folks say the LED light gives off 300 emitter lumens in “high” mode and 75 lumens in “low.” I would translate that as “bright enough” in low mode and “even brighter,” if you should need it, in high. Furthermore, the light beam’s distance to diameter ratio is 1:2, which means that at a distance of one foot from an object, the beam is about two feet wide.
As for positioning the light, it has a squared-off 2x2-inch body and weighs about a pound, so it’s easy to hold. Or, you can stand it up on its flared bottom, lay it on its side (it won’t roll since the body’s squared), hang it by its 3-inch retractable hook use its two strong nickel-plated magnets to attach it to nearby metal or use the tripod socket in its base to secure it to a camera tripod. And once you have the unit where you want it, you can position the head to your best advantage. It tilts 180 degrees and rotates 360 degrees with indents to hold it in the selected position. (See the detailed image on this page.)
Some Product Details
• The on/off push button also controls the brightness level. Push it three times in quick succession and it will switch from one level to the other.
• The WorkStar 2000 comes with a rechargeable pack of six AA Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries and the pack can be replaced.
• The run time per charge is two hours on high and eight hours on low. That eight-hour rating also makes it useful as a home emergency light during a power outage.
•Recharge time is about three hours. It can be charged at home from a wall plug (a charger is included) or in your vehicle with a 12-volt adapter (also included). There’s a small red/green bi-color LED indicator that keeps you informed as to the state of the batteries’ charge condition as follows: slow flashing green means you’re OK;slow flashing red means it’s time to recharge, and a fast flashing red means the batteries are fully discharged and the main LED will shut off automatically to protect the pack.
• The price is $120 plus $10 for shipping and handling.
Some Other Uses
In addition to automotive use and its potential usefulness as an emergency light at home, you also could take the WorkStar 2000 camping and hang it up in your tent by its retractable hook or you could attach it to your belt with the included belt clip and use it to help illuminate your path while walking at night.
Maxxeon also suggests that you can attach the WorkStar 2000 to a tripod as we discussed earlier and then use it as a floodlight while making your YouTube videos.
I don’t expect to be producing any YouTube films in the foreseeable future, but it’s certainly something worth keeping in mind. —Ted Kade
Maxxeon, Inc.—1025 Richmond Road, Suite 1108, Ottawa, ON, Canada K2B 8G8; maxxeon.com;
