Customer Reviews

Makita ML180 18-Volt Pivoting Head Flashlight

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an electrician, I use a flashlight almost everyday in and out of attics and crawl spaces,also for fishing wires. My boss had Makita cordless tools on the job so I figured for the sake of charging and interchanging batteries my cordless tool purchase should be Makita. I own the 18 volt combo pack:drill,reciprocating saw,circular saw,charger and The Flashlight. As with the other Makita flashlights on the truck,(both 14.4 volt)I found a problem with the design.The electrical contacts eventually(not long after my purchase) loosen up to the point of needing constant manipulation by way of moving the bulb portion (top half) of the flashlight.I wonder,.. what's the point of having an adjustable light, if you have to constantly keep moving the thing around to get the light to stay lit?
When it does work, I will say it's plenty bright, lasts long, fits well in your hand and stands well on it's own.
I don't recommend the flashlight (18v or 14.4v) to anyone frequently needing this tool on the job.

I have owned this flashlight for over a year now. I also own a Maglight and various other flashlights. I have used this flashlight for various home repair projects as well as general use around the home. I have taken it on an overnight camping trip. I also used it several times on a constuction site.
For what it is, it is a great flashlight. This is a great general use flashlight, it appears to be pretty tough. I have not broken it yet, however, I am fairly kind to it. It is not going to take anywhere near the abuse that a maglite is going to. It uses the same batteries as the other makita tools we have.
I recently used the new Black Makita battery on it. It lasted over 6 hours of continous use at a job site. I was very impressed with it.
It even comes with a spare bulb in it that you can access by unscrewing the head piece.
The level of brightness compares with a standard 6 battery Maglight. It may be even a little brighter than the standard 6 battery Maglight.
In general it is not the kind of flashlight most people are going to take camping or hiking, however as a working flashlight for construction, home repair, and general use, it is great!

A few years ago I purchased a NiMH drill at Home Depot; it came in a large case with extra storage areas that were not identified. I finally took the case to our Makita service center and asked what was supposed to fit in the case; they suggested a flashlight and gave me a part number. I ordered the flashlight from Amazon (suprised that a kitchen cutlery shop would carry such a product) and had the flashlight in just 4 days for $30 less than the service center could order it for. The light is bright and sits on a battery in a very stable position; you can use the included strap if that helps to get light where you need it. Makes the drill more versatile in that I can now use it in dark areas and I don't feel stupid carrying that huge case that was mostly empty! The flashlight is large but it's intensity makes up for the size and the head pivots to aim where the light is needed -very useful! Why this lamp was not included when I first bought the drill is a mystery to me.

This flashlight has come in very handy mainly because it fits in my Makita 6349DWDE drill case with the battery taken out, so I have a light wherever I take my drill. I wondered whether it would fit in a spot that looked like it was made for a flashlight before purchasing it and just took a chance, the extra handle had to be taken out but I don't need that as much as I need a light. Its bright enough to view details under cabinets, or in a crawl space, can stay upright(on a level surface) and lasts long enough to get a small task done on one charge. I haven't had any issues but I don't use it every day

Great flashlight...but the new flashlights with the longer life batteries are cheaper on Amazon now. Unless you already have the pod style batteries I would suggest you look at the newer model. I mean, this thing is not that robustly constructed, but it definitely works and works well as long as you don't abuse it too much.