Flashlight, headlamp or work light?

If the job needs two hands, you need a headlamp or a work light.

A handheld flashlight is the right shape when you are moving, looking for something, or want to point light at a distance. It is the wrong shape the moment a job needs both hands, which is most repairs.

A headlamp puts light exactly where you are looking and costs you nothing in hands. It is the single most underrated tool for working under a sink, in an attic or under a car. The drawback is that everything you look at is lit flatly from your eyeline, so shallow detail and texture disappear.

A work light stays put and floods an area, which is what you want for anything lasting more than a few minutes. A magnetic base or a hook is the feature that decides whether you actually use it. Side-on light from a work light also shows up surface detail that a headlamp flattens out.

Most people are best served by two: a small flashlight that lives somewhere fixed, and a headlamp or magnetic work light for jobs.

Part of the Stalwart guides. See all guides.