When it comes to working in an area where you need light depending on a battery for light when it's not necessary is not worth it. On the side of a trail, or during a power outage is one thing, but when your laying over an engine looking down or laying under looking up contorted either way it's nice to just see what your doing get the job done and not have your batteries fail halfway through or at the homestretch of enduring a pita job. I'd sooner use the Hellen Keller method. It's nice to plug in and save the battery units for quick jobs or inspections. Just my two cents... I've thrown plenty of those little bastard pocket lights against to say save your 5 bucks. They are garbage and using several of them sounds absurd especially when they need to be inches from what your working on. Do yourself a favor and invest in something that you can drop, Chuck and know you can rely on. Your sanity and knuckles will appreciate your investment.
Cheers
So says the individual with the terribly lit picture as an avatar...
You're not meant to use the pocket lights exclusively. They are just nice when a powerful work lamp is blinding you because it's too large to fit where it's needed, and preventing you from seeing certain parts.
People have been shoving and wedging work lamps in between all manner of crap in engine bays to avoid the issue for
decades, and rarely figure out that simply adding another light source or two eliminates the problem.
They do work fine for quick jobs in the driveway, though; where a corded, dedicated work lamp would be more of a hassle than it's worth. They're perfect for simple maintenance, and nice to have around the house and in the glove box.
The damned batteries last a very long time. They aren't cutting off all the time as you seem to suggest. The same goes for nicer rechargeable work lamps. They last a long time, and some expensive units allow swapping batteries, the use of a cord when required, or simply charge quickly enough to not be a problem.
If all else fails, just buy more than one rechargeable lamp, or keep a corded unit as a backup.
Corded lamps are great, but the convenience of more modern options now that they've matured into reliable light sources cannot be understated. The fact that a few bucks can get you something that will help out in many situations is icing on the cake.
The little lights I pointed out aren't exactly a significant investment; and as for quality, I've had several for many years with no issues whatsoever. If
I can't screw the damned things up, you're
seriously doing something wrong.
Cheers,
Kennith