The new Coast Slayer Ultra LED flashlight looks to be a newly launched Home Depot exclusive, or at least I couldn’t find it at any other online retailer.
It’s a boxy-shaped rechargeable flashlight that can deliver up to 2000 lumens.
I wouldn’t describe this as a “flat” EDC-style flashlight, given its size, but it’s at least narrower than others of similar length. The length is 5.5 inches.
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The Coast Slayer Ultra features a “dual optic system” can where you switch between flood light, spot light, or combined illumination, and also a display that shows you the current brightness setting along with a runtime countdown.
It also has a magnet for convenient hands-free mounting. In this image you can see the side switch for selecting between different optics and beam shape.
Here are the power and runtime specs from Home Depot’s website for spot plus flood illumination mode:
- High: 1000 lumens, 1 h 45 mins
- Medium: 270 lumens, 4 h 30 mins
- Low: 110 lumens, 11 h 30 mins
- Moon glow: 10 lumens, 50 h
The turbo setting delivers 2000 lumens (at spot and flood) for up to 40 seconds.
It has a built-in “Zithion” rechargeable battery – whatever zithion means – that recharges via USB-C.
Price: $40
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What are your thoughts about Home Depot’s Coast SLAYER ULTRA? flashlight
Discussion
It seemed a little gimmicky to me, and so I put it right back in the display. The runtime countdown clock caught my attention, but I think traditional charge indicators are more practical. I like other brands have several small LED indicators that toggle off as battery charge capacity is depleted.
We’re seeing more and more flashlights with built-in batteries, and most are smaller and narrower sizes that aren’t possible with cylindric Li-ion batteries. At 5.5″, this isn’t a small flashlight. It’s about as long as a smartphone, and as thick as several phones stacked together.
I imagine it feels like you’re carrying a flashlight in your pocket. No belt holster? And because it’s an unusual shape, it might not fit 3rd party pouches or holsters.
Does it have a pocket clip? I didn’t see mention of this on the packaging, and it’s not shown in any of Coast’s product images.
Coast says the flashlight delivers “professional grade output.” Okay, so what’s the color temperature? Color accuracy specs? What does “professional grade output” actually mean?
This looks to be a Home Depot holiday season exclusive launch, which gives me pause.
Coast has a Slayer flashlight on Amazon at nearly double the price. It’s not as bright and lacks a lot of the Slayer Ultra’s features, such as the digital display.
Why is Home Depot’s Coast Slayer Ultra flashlight half the price of the Coast Slayer, and does that make it a flashlight to rush to buy, or to avoid?
Home Depot’s product page for the flashlight shows a couple of dozen reviews so far.
However, a lot of them are just blank ratings by “HomeDepotCustomer,” which seemed strange.
I left the store empty-handed and feeling that this was a “maybe.” It has some appeal, but also seemed like more of a “gift” item designed to appeal to “wow, Uncle John is gonna love this as a holiday gift” types of shoppers.
What do you think about it?
Lastly, if a brand is going to name their flashlight something like “SLAYER ULTRA,” maybe spruce up the design and packaging a bit to match.
MKY
Stuart –
Shouldn’t the medium setting have a higher lumen rating than the low setting?
Stuart
Thanks – *fixed* (forgot the zero)
Alexk
I haven’t spent over $30 for a flashlight, yet. Coast is a brand that I’ve bought a couple of Christmas times in two packs. At $10-20, they were adequate lights for the price and a good stocking stuffer. At $40, I’d look for a better brand.
Are there any models of a better brand that offers similar features for the same price? Not that I’d need 2,000 lumens for a handheld flashlight. That many lumens is good for a tower light or clamp on for my uses.
Pat
I used to think the same about lumens, but I helped out some electricians during a power shut down and decided I needed a light as bright as they had. Ive found it more useful than I expected it to be. And who knows some day I might need to signal batman…
Matt F
It’s a different form factor and a bump up in price, but the $79 Zebralight SC54 is excellent. I have several Zebralights, they’re incredibly well built and the LED in this model (Nichia 519A) is one of the best on the market. https://www.zebralight.com/SC54c-N-Neutral-White-High-CRI-AA-Flashlight_p_258.html
Wayne R.
I’ve got more than enough lights around. They’re of two types, 1) ubiquitous small devices in drawers, vehicle consoles, various travel bags & backpacks, and 2) task-oriented lights, like headlights and a super-useful Milwaukee 2128-20.
None of these purchases were high-power “throwers”.
Even when walking with the dog in dark winter nights, I don’t need something even moderate, power-wise.
I get the appeal of the throwers in the Tim Allen-grunting monkey brain part of me, but…there are other aspects of lights that are a lot more important to me.
TMedina
Meh. I’ll probably buy one to play with.
I stand by my intense dislike of built-in battery systems, but at work where I have easy access to more flashlights with replaceable batteries, it isn’t so much of a deal killer.
“Professional grade output” is just like “tactical” – a buzzword to hype the marketing with no quantifiable standard.
The switch between throw and flood can be helpful, and if a rectangular object rolls away, you likely have bigger problems.
Unless otherwise stated, I expect it to be a cool tint and if the 110 lumens at 11-odd holds true, it’ll the functional equivalent of my Milwaukee which can go months before I need to swap batteries.
Jp
I’m a big Coast fan. I have many of their products, including knives. This one seems gimmicky. I onky have one other Coast solution with a permanent battery…meh. I don’t like permanent batteries but the price was good. Never liked boxy lights either. Olight and nitecore also have such offerings. If it’s like their usual products, the build quality will good. I have had quality issues with one entire line of their products though…..