Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
expiredTaco_Doomsday posted Aug 10, 2026 10:40 AM
Milwaukee M12 12-Volt 400 Lumens Lithium-Ion Cordless LED Lantern/Trouble Light with USB Charging (Tool-Only) $45.28 @HomeDepot
$45
$80
43% off
Home Depot
Home Depot| Sold by | Sale Price |
|---|---|
| $79.99 |
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2 Comments
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They did a great job on these! Brightest setting is very bright, rotates easily into task mode (180˚ lighting instead of 360˚), and the dimmest setting is plenty bright for walking around a big room.
It's REALLY dim at 400 lumen. It takes expensive M12 batteries, which are NOT included. These batteries take a special non-USBC charger, which is NOT included. (It's 2026. Even WALMART'S HyperTough 12v line uses USB-C to charge their tools).
And typically these tool batteries are earmarked in most people's use cases for specialized tools -- not for run-of-the-mill devices like a flashlight. These batteries run well over $20/amp hour (pre-tariff pricing had them at $10/ah when on sale, and that was a game of luck).
And the lantern is NOT for outdoor use -- absolutely ZERO weather resistance whatsoever.
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So what's a good alternative?
Home Depot's Defiant 1000 Lumen Alkaline Dimmable Weatherproof LED Lantern.
It's $25 (been on sale @ $10 several times). It's 1000 lumens. Multiple brightness levels. White AND red light modes. Waterproof (in so as much it's designed to float!). And it takes standard off-the-shelf AA batteries (including Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries). And you can put 3x or 6x AA batteries in it.
The cheapest M12 battery that's currently available at Home Depot is $69 for a M12 2.0ah. Let me put it like this....at $2.80/eneloop ($45 for 16), you can buy a LOT of them for just one ENTRY-LEVEL M12 (around 24 of them!).
I own both. The M12 lantern stays on the shelf, and the Defiants are battleaxes that get used and abused. They've sat for HOURS in the falling snow as we worked on a power generator. Same with rainstorms. Eneloop batteries are extremely common (or more so, we've MADE them very common here -- zero alkalines in this house). And we have a USB-C charger for these batteries (which take all sorts, including 18650s), reusing existing cables and power bricks. And it's cheaper...both upfront pricetag and long-term TCO.
At least both lanterns don't use that weird Andruil button interface (for the unaware, it's where an engineer was told to out 100+ functions into a SINGLE button....resulting in literally a flowchart that needs both sides of an 8.5x11 sheet of paper). It's a flashlight, it should be simpler to use than a nuclear power plant.
The only time I'd see the M12 lantern being useful is if you have an extreme plethora of M12 batteries and a mandate to NOT use anything else for standardization (such as with a contracting business). But if you're in that situation, why the paltry M12 platform? You'd be using M18 or Dewalt's 20v-60v products.
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