Milwaukee's Underhood Light Is Great, But Smart Money Buys This Harbor Freight Brand

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Very few people would turn up their noses at a set of Milwaukee tools for working on a project car. Likewise, there's nothing inherently wrong with the Milwaukee M12 Underhood Light, especially for those who enjoy a workspace that resembles a Milwaukee trade-show booth. However, for anyone on a budget, or not sponsored by Milwaukee Tool, there's a more affordable option at Harbor Freight. Not only is Harbor Freight's $89.99 Braun 2000 Lumen Foldable Underhood Light less expensive than the $219 Milwaukee Underhood Cordless Light, it's brighter, folds for storage, comes with batteries, and uses an included USB-A to USB-C cable to charge.

One of the biggest drawbacks to the Milwaukee underhood light is the need to purchase a Milwaukee M12 battery separately, unless you're already a member of the Milwaukee M12 club. Milwaukee reports its underhood light runs up to 8 hours on the low, 600-lumen setting or 4 hours on high (1350 lumens) using the M12 RedLithium XC4.0 Battery Pack. Those 4-amp-hour M12 batteries sell for $89.00 each at Home Depot, and still don't include an M12 battery charger. You could buy three 2,000-lumen Braun underhood lights from Harbor Freight for what it would cost for a usable Milwaukee underhood light and battery, and still have money left over for lunch.

You'll find two underhood lights priced at $89.99 among the Harbor Freight lighting solutions designed to brighten your work area. The one from Braun and another from Icon. However, the Icon 2100 Lumen Underhood Light is an Icon tool you should steer clear of based on user reviews.

The Braun underhood light emits 2,000 lumens on its highest setting, and includes low and strobe settings with undisclosed outputs. The design incorporates padded underhood hooks that span up to 75 inches and a foldable frame that compresses to under 28 inches for storage. Harbor Freight reports its Braun 2000 Lumen Foldable Underhood Light comes with an integrated 7,200 mAh lithium-ion battery, with a battery gauge, that powers the light for up to 11 hours on low or 3 hours on high. In a review posted to Braun's product page, Mike, a Harbor Freight customer, says the light lasted for 6 hours after receiving a full charge. 

Harbor Freight specs say it takes as little as 5 hours to charge the battery. If desired, the light can be used while charging with the included USB charging cord. Or buy two Braun Underhood Lights and keep one on the charger while using the other for less than the cost of the Milwaukee. The Braun Underhood Light has a 4.5-star rating with 89% of customers recommending it to others. Some of the negative reviews mention short battery life, but the majority of reviews that include comments about the battery indicate it provides around four to six hours of use. One insightful 3-star rating from "Messy Garage," a Harbor Freight customer, notes that they dislike having to cycle through settings every time, especially the strobe function, to use the light.

We researched whether or not choosing the Braun underhood light over the Milwaukee was really the "smart money" choice by seeking out reviews posted by professionals on YouTube, as well as user reviews posted to Reddit and on Harbor Freight's product page. Using that information, as well as specifications published online and in the user manual, we concluded that the Braun 2000 Lumen Underhood Light (model 70114) is a solid, budget-friendly option.