Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light
Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light (PCL691B)
When you take on a big job in your home, in your yard, or in your workshop, it is a requirement that you also have a big light to illuminate the area. I have accumulated many lights–both big and small—over the past couple of years. With Ryobi’s recent release of their Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light, I now have a new favorite work light!
Specifications
- 3,800 lumens of light output on high power
- Detachable 360-degree LED light
- Four individually adjustable light panels
- 135-degree pivoting head atop the tripod
- Four brightness modes—high, medium, low, and single panel
- Up to 7-foot-tall tripod
- Collapsible legs and handles for easy storage and transportation
- Detachable light head has 2-by capable handle & folding hanging hook
- Powered by 18V ONE+ batteries, 40V batteries, or an extension cord
- The tripod can be paired with other compatible lighting, audio, and fans
- Ryobi 3-year manufacturer’s warranty
- Battery & charger sold separately
- Available for $199.00 at The Home Depot
- Can purchase the 18V ONE+ 360 LED Light separately for $99.00
An Award Winner!
The Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light was a 2024 Pro Tool Innovation Awards winner for portable work lights. In their online article, Pro Tool Innovations Awards stated, “Ryobi steps up its game with the PCL691 Tripod Tower Light by letting you run the system off either 18V batteries, 40V batteries, or an extension cord. This gives everyone tons of options for lighting up their workshop, jobsite, or garage.” Ryobi certainly deserved the accolades for this impressive work light.
Versatility From Top To Bottom
When I think of the Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light, the first word that comes to mind is “versatility”. Ryobi has designed a work light that screams innovation and flexibility. The light’s large head, the moveable panels, the 4 brightness levels, the extendable tripod stand, the multiple hanging options, and the 3 power sources all provide the user with so much versatility.
Two Purchasing Options
The PCL691B unit that I reviewed arrived complete with both the tripod stand and the LED Light. However, you can purchase just the Ryobi 18V ONE+ 360º LED Light (PCL632B) for $99.00. It’s great having 2 options for purchase so you can decide what you really need. I am a big fan of the complete package since the tripod stand really increases its usefulness.
Several Hanging Options
When you detach the Ryobi 360-degree LED Light from the tripod stand, you have several other available placement options. With a Ryobi ONE+ 18V battery inserted into the base of the light, you can safely place it down on any flat surface. If you wanted to place the LED Light overhead instead, there is a built-in hanging hook that is recessed in the handle. This j-hook allows you to hang it from anything that could sustain its weight.
Finally, the interior of the handle itself can securely attach itself to any 2-by piece of wood in your home or shed—this is a great option for unfinished interior spaces.
Four Independent Powerful Light Panels
The Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light provides a massive 3,800 lumens when it’s on its highest mode, which makes it the brightest light Ryobi has manufactured to date. The first time I turn on the light for anyone that has never seen it, the brightness actually takes them by surprise—it’s truly a “WOW” moment. The lumens produced are actually so bright, you need to exercise caution and not stare directly at it, especially when turning it off using the power button attached to the handle
Ryobi incorporated many LEDs into their Hybrid TriPower Tripod Light. The front and rear panels each have 18 LEDs. The two side panels each have 36 LEDs. When all 108 separate LEDs are on together, the light produced is so incredibly intense, darkness doesn’t stand a chance!
Ryobi added more versatility to their Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light by adding 4 different power modes. Each press of the power button selects a power mode, starting at high and ending at the single panel mode. On high power, all 4 panels are illuminated simultaneously. At medium power, all 4 panels again illuminate, but the output decreases from 3,800 lumens to 2,300 lumens. On low power, all 4 panels are again illuminated and the output is 1,300 lumens. All 3 power modes provide more than enough lumens to work in most environments, especially smaller, enclosed ones. And when you want to save power, you can choose the single panel mode, which only illuminates the front facing panel. That single panel alone utilizes 18 LEDs to push out 800 brilliant lumens.
In addition to adding 108 LEDs to the 4 light panels, the engineers at Ryobi also added a ton of functionality to the 4 light panels by making them all movable. With more than 110-degrees of movability, each panel can pivot from facing down towards the floor to pointing up to the ceiling of a room. These fully positional panels allow the user to truly achieve 360-degrees of illumination when the panels are parallel to the tripod pole; or you tilt them up 90-degrees to cast your light upward by making the panels parallel to the ground. Four independent, positional light panels coupled with 4 powerful brightness settings, makes this Tripod Light so incredibly useful.
Terrific Tripod From Top To Bottom
The tripod that comes with the Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light is well-designed and so handy. Other than the metal center pole, the entire tripod is made of durable plastic and it is only 12 pounds in weight with the light attached. At its tallest point, the tripod and light extend to a very impressive 7-feet tall in height. When fully collapsed, the tripod and light stand 49 inches in height. With this durable tripod, you can reach great heights and also still reduce it to a size that is easily transportable.
Attachment Area For The Light
At the top of the tripod is the attachment location for the removable LED Light. The attachment area greatly resembles an 18V ONE+ battery and the light slides onto it effortlessly. To remove the LED Light, you can easily pull the locking lever to the left. Another engineering bonus Ryobi incorporated into the attachment area is the ability to pivot the head 135-degrees. While facing the fastening knob, you loosen the knob and pivot the head to the left. Each move results in a satisfying “clicking sound”. Once you are happy with the angle you have achieved, you can tighten the knob to secure it. I really appreciated how the light head could be directed straight down at the ground from an elevated height—it was like having your own street light.
Customizable Height
The tripod provides you lots of room to customize how high you want your light to be–anywhere from 4 feet to 7 feet in height. The top pole section extends up to 20 inches in height and the middle pole section adds an additional 18 inches in height. The bottom pole section is a fixed 16 inches in height. The locking clamps for the top and middle pole sections are easy to loosen and tighten again once you have found your desired height. Even with the poles fully extended, I still felt comfortable that the tripod was secure and the light wouldn’t tip over.
Stable Legs
The tripod has 3 very sturdy plastic legs. Each leg is 2-feet in length and they are bright yellow, which makes them very easy to see on the jobsite. What I really appreciated about the tripod’s legs was the Ryobi engineers included a carrying handle on each leg. There is no need to maneuver yourself or the tripod to pick it up by a handle because there is a handle on each leg—this is a great design! Each handle was large enough for even a gloved hand to grab it securely.
The tripod legs have to be fully extended for the unit to stand securely because the center pole’s power footprint extends so low, it practically touches the ground when the legs are locked in place. If you have all of the legs pulled in, the footprint’s base provides a flat surface for the unit to stand up, though I would only do this temporarily to prevent it from toppling over.
Power Base
At the very bottom of the tripod are the 3 options for powering your light. Versatility was the name of the game when Ryobi made this a “TriPower” device. At the base you can find locations to insert a Ryobi 40V battery, a Ryobi 18V ONE+ battery, or a traditional extension cord. I have always appreciated the hybrid tools that Ryobi manufactured, but having 3 different power options is truly a trifecta.
At the top of the power base is the location where you can insert your 40V battery. The TriPower Tripod LED Light accepted my 2Ah, 4Ah, and 6Ah 40V batteries with ease, and it was also easy to remove them.
Below the 40V receptacle is the location to insert an 18V ONE+ battery. Again, it effortlessly accepted the 2Ah, 4Ah, and 6Ah batteries that I had at home.
When you insert a battery, the battery’s power level button faces upward, which is a nice design since it lets you quickly see how much charge is left without having to remove the battery. These small design considerations can make a big difference in a user’s experience, especially when you’re in the middle of a project and need to know if you should grab a spare battery.
While the convenience of battery power makes the Ryobi TriPower Tripod LED Light so desirable, the ability to also plug it into an electrical outlet really elevated its value for me. You will need to provide your own single-plug extension cord and the female end of the extension cord plugs into the power base immediately above where an 18V ONE+ battery would be inserted. For time-consuming larger projects, nothing beats 24/7 access to electrical power.
An added bonus on top of the power base is the bubble level that Ryobi included to ensure you have a stable placement.
Battery Life
True versatility and portability are achieved through the use of Ryobi batteries to power this unit. Any Ryobi tool enthusiast will appreciate being able to use either an 18V ONE+ battery or a 40V battery from their supply.
I used several different 18V ONE+ batteries in case any single battery had a diminished capacity. Here are the results I found for each kind of battery:
- Ryobi 18V ONE+ 2Ah battery – averaged 1 hour of battery life on high
- Ryobi 18V ONE+ 4Ah battery – averaged 2.5 hours of battery life on high
- Ryobi 18V ONE+ 6Ah battery – averaged 3 hours of battery life on high
These 18V ONE+ battery tests yielded very similar results to those claimed by Ryobi online. Obviously, if you are looking for extended battery life, reducing the power to Medium, Low, or Single Panel would make a big difference.
I was very impressed by the performance of Ryobi’s 40V battery. The 40V 6Ah battery that I used had very little prior usage, so its capacity was close to its original state. The results that I achieved after multiple tests with the same battery were as follows:
- Ryobi 40V 6Ah battery – averaged 6.5 hours on high
- Ryobi 40V 6Ah battery – averaged 11.25 hours on medium
- Ryobi 40V 6Ah battery – averaged 20 hours on low
I did find with both the 18V ONE+ battery and the 40V battery, the light would blink 3 times to indicate the battery was low. Normally, this would be a very helpful alert, but at the same time, the battery lasted for 25-60 minutes more even after that warning. That length of time was more than I was accustomed to after working with several other Ryobi lights.
Multiuse Tripod
Ryobi designed their 7-foot tripod to be used by more than just their detachable 360-degree LED Light. With the tripod’s 18V ONE+ tool mount atop the tripod, you can easily interchange multiple other Ryobi ONE+ lifestyle and recreation products. Ryobi allows you to pair the tripod with an extensive list of other compatible products, which currently includes 27 lighting products, 9 audio products, and 5 air movement products.
Designing the 18V ONE+ tool mount atop the tripod to accommodate multiple devices again points to the tremendous versatility that this package offers. I was able to use it with many other Ryobi tools that I had previously reviewed, including the Ryobi Compact Bluetooth Radio, the Ryobi Hybrid Panel Light, the Ryobi Flexible LED Clamp Light, and the Ryobi Bluetooth Speaker. For those tools that had a rear placement for the 18V ONE+ battery, I did have to use the pivoting head in order to properly orient the light or speaker to face me. I think the tool mount atop the tripod increases the utility of the tripod.
So Many Possibilities!!
Home owners can purchase the Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light (PCL691B) for so many uses. I plan to use it when I paint our bedroom because its brilliant light completely fills the space. This light and tripod were helpful when we needed to add oil and washer fluid to our cars this winter in our dark driveway. When it had stopped snowing, the tripod’s plastic legs were placed atop our patio while I shoveled it off. Later this spring, I can imagine elevating the light to its maximum height and using it as additional light when we barbecue and entertain outside. With so many power, brightness, and placement options, the opportunities to use the Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light are almost limitless.
Final Thoughts
I appreciate everything about the Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light because I can use the 18V ONE+ 360 LED Light separately when that’s all I need in a more confined space, or I can attach it to the tripod to increase its coverage and overall usefulness. When versatility and convenience are what you need, the Ryobi Hybrid TriPower Tripod LED Light is your go-to lighting solution.
