One of Milwaukee’s major lighting upgrades comes to the Rocket series. The Milwaukee 2136 M18 Rocket Tower Light Charger replaces the 2135 and has plenty of improvements.
Pros
- Twice the output (6000 lumens)
- Big efficiency gains
- Lights collapse into area lighting shroud
- 2.1A USB charging port and phone holder
- AC or battery power
- Built-in M18 charger
- Improved carry bag
- No price increase ($399 bare, $599 kit with 8.0Ah High Output battery)
Cons
- No significant drawbacks
10-Second Summary
The output and efficiency improvements are impressive for the Milwaukee M18 Rocket Tower Light Charger. Perhaps even more impressive is that you get them without any increase in cost.Milwaukee M18 Rocket Tower Light Charger Design Upgrades
One of the first things we noticed is that the LEDs tuck into an area lighting shroud. This lets you provide 360° of light without extending the neck or even kicking out the legs.
Setup still takes about 5 seconds and the three banks of LEDs pivot independently to let you customize exactly where you want to direct the light.
We also noted a longer carry rail. It gives the handle two rails to slide along and the release shifts to either side where you’re less likely to hit it when you carry the light. More importantly, it gives you more positions to grip and balance out the weight whether you’re using a 5.0Ah battery or a 12.0Ah High Output.
The AC input and charging function are still there, but the upgraded model adds a new 2.1A USB charging port to help you keep your devices charged up. There’s even a handy spot to set for your phone on.
The Milwaukee M18 Rocket Tower Light Charger keeps its IP54 rating along with the same collapsed and extended measurements while slightly beefing up the weight to 21 pounds.
Milwaukee wraps it all up with a new storage bag design that’s easier to carry and easier get the light in and out of.
Milwaukee M18 Rocket Tower Light Charger Output and Runtime
Now let’s dig into the output itself—because this is impressive. The upgraded Milwaukee 2136 puts out 6,000 lumens of light. As you might guess, it uses TrueView LEDs—but the big deal here is that it DOUBLES the output produced by the 2135!
The runtime numbers do drop some, but we need to consider them in context. Low on the new model is 1700 lumens and it runs for up to 10 hours at that level. That’s exactly what the Medium output was on the 2135 and it ran for an hour and a half less using the same battery.
What about High—how much runtime does 6,000 lumens cost you compared to 3,000? Only half an hour. The original 2135 ran for 4 hours on High while the more efficient technology of the 2136 nets you 3 and a half hours with twice the output.
| 2135 (original) | 2136 (new) | |
| Low | 900 lumens (17 hrs) | 1700 lumens (10 hrs) |
| Medium | 1700 lumens (8.5 hrs) | 3200 lumens (5 hrs) |
| High | 3000 lumens (4 hrs) | 6000 lumens (3.5 hrs) |
Milwaukee M18 Rocket Tower Light Charger Pricing
All those upgrades are great, but there’s still the question of how much more the new light costs compared to the first generation. How does “no change” resonate with you? The Milwaukee M18 Rocket Tower Light Charger maintains its $399 price point bare and runs $599 for the 8.0Ah High Output kit. Serious upgrades for no additional cost? That’s pretty cool.
The Bottom Line
The output and efficiency improvements are impressive for the Milwaukee M18 Rocket Tower Light Charger. Perhaps even more impressive is that you get them without any increase in cost.
Discover more information on Milwaukee’s website.
