Makita DML812 Sets a New Benchmark for Jobsite Spotlight Design

There are a whole host of lighting options that are genuinely helpful on the jobsite. The Makita DML812 is an 18V LXT cordless floodlight and spotlight combination that might serve as the most versatile light you own.

Pros

600-lumen spot beam reaches out 700 yards
1000-lumen flood beam replaces the need for a separate work light
Neutral color temperature
4 modes: spot, flood, spot/flood, and strobe
Covers a wide range of light needs in a handheld package
Up to 8.5 hours of runtime on a 5Ah battery

Cons

No output level adjustments if you need less light
2 hands required for mode changes

Recommendation

There’s a lot to love about the Makita DML812 LED flashlight and spotlight from its physical design to its versatility. It’s a great option when you’re working in tight quarters and equally effective at longer-range illumination. In addition to professional uses, it’s also a nice light to have for your overnight outdoor adventures.

Buy it if you’re on Makita’s 18V LXT battery platform – you’ll be surprised how often it comes in handy. Pass if you never, ever need additional light.

Makita DML812 Modes and Output

Makita includes four modes on this light: spot, flood, spot/flood, and strobe. There’s a single power on/off switch and a separate mode button. Press mode repeatedly to cycle through the three standard beam modes and hold it down to kick it into strobe.

The on/off switch is in a natural position where you’d normally find a trigger on other power tools. The mode button is above the battery and large enough to work with gloves on. The only minor complaint I have with its position is that you need two hands to change modes.

The light color is pretty close to neutral, perhaps turning just a touch to the blue side of the spectrum. Makita doesn’t specifically list a color temperature, though.

Spot

Spot gets you 600 lumens in a nice, tight beam that stretches its throw to 700 yards from its single 9-watt LED chip. There’s still a reasonable amount of side spill, though. It gives you the ability to really light up a specific area and still see some of the peripherals around it. Among other things, it’s a good bet when you need to diagnose or inspect from ground level before calling in a lift for a closer look.

Flood

Flood delivers 1000 lumens with a super-wide throw of about 150º using sixteen 1-watt chips. The beam here is quite a bit softer and while it works well for close-up safety lighting as you walk around, we really like it as a work light. It’s pretty effective in that capacity out to about 8 feet. Its lack of a defined hot spot lets you use it in closer quarters without creating a squint-inducing reflection.

Spot/Flood

Spot/flood combines both beams with a total output of 1250 lumens. We like this as the primary flashlight mode. Its combination of a long, tight throw and a wide beam lets us see a lot of what’s around us as we move across an unlit area.

Strobe

Strobe mode has the same output and combination beam as spot/flood. With the strobe function, the light produces a consistent on/off repetition rather than a cycling pattern of different speeds that we’ve seen on some lights. It’s an effective signal device in a variety of scenarios.

Approximate Runtimes with a 5.0Ah Battery

Spot: 8.5 hours
Flood: 6.5 hours
Spot/Flood: 5.0 hours
Strobe: 7.0 hours

Design and Features

Size and Weight

The general design of the Makita DML12 is excellent. We really like the handle design that has the same contours as Makita’s drills and drivers. It creates a comfortable grip and a neutral balance point when you pair it with a 5.0Ah battery. With that battery, the light weighs 3.4 pounds.

When you use a 2.0Ah pack, it’s a bit more weight forward and drops to 2.8 pounds.

With a 5.0Ah battery onboard, the light is 12.3 inches tall and 4.1 inches front-to-back. It’s a very manageable size, especially considering how much light you get out of it.

Additional Features

The head positively stops into 4 different positions, spanning 90º of rotation. The only downside we’ve run into is in spot mode when we’re trying to light up an object above the ground. You might not have the exact angle you want when you set it down and need to reposition the entire light instead of just adjust the head angle.

Makita DML812 18V LXT Cordless LED Flashlight and Spotlight

There’s a metal hang hook that pivots out of the way when you’re not using it. It’s effective hanging from material that’s 3/4-inch or thinner, hooks, and some screws.

If you want to hang it from joists, pipe, conduit, or other materials, you can wrap the strap around a wide range of materials and cinch it down to match the thickness.

The strap also has a plastic hook on it. It’s helpful to keep the light from going anywhere, but it’s able to swing 360º, so it’s not terribly effective at keeping the light on your target when it’s freely hanging.

The design team put a lot of rubber overmold around the light in key areas. The entire lens is surrounded and it extends back to cover the corners. There’s even some protecting the outside edges of the frame and the handle overmold extends down to catch the base area. Overall, it has a really solid layer of protection against drops and collisions.

The light doesn’t have a defined IP rating that we could find.

Pricing

The Makita DML812 LED flashlight and spotlight is available as a bare tool for $99.99. That’s right in line with what we see from the light’s closest competition and a fair price for what you get.

The Bottom Line