DeWalt 10/3 Lighted CGM Extension Cord (100 ft)

Why I reached for this cord

I don’t usually spend much time thinking about extension cords—until they slow down a tool or create a safety question. I grabbed this DeWalt 10/3 cord for a long run to a table saw and dust extractor on a remodel where the nearest dedicated circuit was an inconvenient 100 feet away. The goal was simple: keep voltage drop in check and add some safety feedback without overcomplicating the setup. After several weeks on concrete, gravel, and cold mornings, I came away impressed with how this cord balances performance, visibility, and jobsite durability.

Build and safety features that actually matter

The highlights are at both ends. The plug has an amber LED that tells you power is present, and the female end has a green LED that indicates ground continuity. That quick visual check is surprisingly useful. I’ve used the amber LED to confirm a tripped breaker upstream without unpacking a tester, and the green LED saved me time on a portable generator setup with a floating neutral (more on that in a moment). The LEDs don’t replace an outlet tester for diagnosing miswires, but they do provide a fast sanity check.

DeWalt uses nickel-coated blades and pins, which resist oxidation and heat better than plain brass. After running heaters and saws for hours, the connector ends stayed cool and showed no discoloration. The oversized strain reliefs are also notable; I’ve had too many cords where the plug shell separates from the jacket after a few yanks. Here, the molding is stout and inspires confidence.

It’s UL listed and cUL approved, and the jacket is SJTW PVC—outdoor-rated and specified down to -40 °F. In practice, I had no trouble at 10–20 °F dawn starts. The bright yellow jacket is highly visible and helps with trip-hazard awareness in busy areas.

Performance and voltage drop

The reason to carry a 10/3 cord instead of a more common 12/3 or 14/3 is voltage drop. Over 100 feet, smaller conductors can starve motor-driven tools and make heaters underperform. With 10 AWG copper (three conductors, multi-strand, annealed), this cord kept everything running with fewer complaints.

To put rough numbers to it: 10 AWG copper is about 1.0 ohm per 1000 feet. Over a 100-foot run, the round-trip length is 200 feet, or roughly 0.2 ohms. At a full 15 amps, that’s about a 3-volt drop—around 2–3%. A 12/3 cord over the same distance would be closer to 4–5 volts, and 14/3 nearer to 7–8 volts. On site, that meant my 15A circular saw didn’t bog as easily at startup, and a 1500W heater felt closer to full output than it does on thinner cords. The cord itself only ever got mildly warm under sustained load.

It’s worth emphasizing the rating: 15 A, 125 V, 1875 W. Despite having 10 AWG conductors, the ends are standard 15-amp, three-prong connectors. If you need to run a tool with a 20A plug (NEMA 5-20), this is not the cord for that. The heavy gauge here is all about reducing loss on long runs while staying compatible with common 15A outlets.

Cold-weather behavior and handling

The SJTW jacket is one of the better cold-weather PVC compounds I’ve used. It remained flexible on freezing mornings and didn’t develop the coiling “memory” that some cords take on in the cold. It’s still a 23-pound, 10-gauge, 100-foot cord—there’s no getting around the mass—but I could flake it into a figure-eight and deploy it without fighting kinks. I recommend the over-under technique for coiling and either a reel or a 5-gallon bucket for storage. If you routinely work in sub-zero conditions, you’ll appreciate that the jacket doesn’t turn into a rigid spring.

Durability on the job

I dragged this cord across slab, gravel, and rough framing. The jacket shows scuffs but no cuts or flat spots. The molded ends haven’t loosened, and the nickel-coated blades wipe clean with a rag after use. The female connector’s LED window remains clear enough to see in daylight, and the green indicator is bright without being blinding in dim light.

As for moisture, SJTW is weather-resistant and intended for outdoor use, but I avoid submerging connectors or using any cord in standing water. Pair it with a GFCI-protected outlet or an in-line GFCI when working in damp conditions. The continuous ground monitoring is a great feature, but it’s not a substitute for GFCI protection.

The LED indicators in real use

The amber power LED is straightforward: if it’s lit, you have power at the plug. The green ground LED on the female end is more nuanced. It indicates you have a continuous equipment ground back to the source, which is exactly what you want on a jobsite with multiple temporary connections. On a bonded household circuit, it works as expected. On an inverter generator with a floating neutral or an unbonded setup, the green LED may not illuminate even though the generator is powering your tools—because, technically, there isn’t a bonded ground reference. That behavior is a feature, not a bug, and it prompted me to set up bonding properly and use GFCI protection before proceeding.

Ergonomics, storage, and visibility

Pros:
- High visibility yellow jacket
- Clear LED indicators that are easy to check at a glance
- Large strain reliefs for a solid handhold when disconnecting

Trade-offs:
- Weight and bulk (23 lb) make it best suited to reels or dedicated storage
- A single outlet at the female end (by design)—you’ll need a proper distribution box if you’re feeding multiple tools

I also appreciate the individual conductor construction: each is made up of 65 strands of 30 AWG copper. That fine stranding contributes to flexibility and helps the cord lie flat rather than coiling back on itself.

What it’s not

• It’s not a 20A cord. Even with 10 AWG conductors, the connectors are 15A. Don’t try to run a 20A tool with a 5-20 plug; it won’t fit and shouldn’t.
• It’s not a GFCI. Use GFCI protection where required or in any damp environment.
• It’s not a power strip. Avoid daisy-chaining adapters and multi-taps at the end; use a proper, listed distribution solution if you need multiple drops.

Who will appreciate it

• Remodelers and carpenters who need to keep table saws, miter saws, and vacuums happy at the far end of a property.
• Service techs and event crews who value quick visual checks for power and ground continuity during setup.
• Anyone working in cold conditions who is tired of wrestling stiff cords.

If you only ever need 25–50 feet and run light loads, a 12/3 cord may be more cost-effective and easier to handle. For long runs under heavier loads, the benefits of 10/3 show up immediately.

Recommendation

I recommend this DeWalt cord for pros and serious DIYers who regularly run 100-foot stretches and want fewer headaches with voltage drop, better visibility into circuit status, and a jacket that stays workable in the cold. The 10 AWG conductors keep tools closer to full performance, the LED indicators add simple but meaningful safety feedback, and the build quality—from nickel-coated contacts to robust strain reliefs—feels built for real job sites. The weight and bulk are the only real downsides, and they’re an acceptable trade-off for the electrical performance and durability you get. Pair it with GFCI protection as needed, store it on a reel, and it’s the kind of cord you buy once and keep in the truck for years.