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
Britt1
I bought one 3 weeks ago and it works great.only bad thing is no case but clip is strong.holds a good charge if you dont use turbo a lot.i work 12 hour nights in maintenance and i am very pleased with it.good strong magnet in end makes it even nicer.
Jack
Coast is actually a very good flashlight brand. They have a different lines. Youre only familiar with their lowest tier budget flashlights it seems. There are better brands than coast but I can tell how your comment read that you dont realize how good some coast lights are. Ive owned some coast inspection lights and some headlamps that were bulletproof and had absolute premium beam patterns. Super nice.
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…..
Nathan
I do like my Coast headlamps. I looked at that one it’s interesting but I think I’d much rather have the o light Arcfeld.
Zithion usually indicates removable rechargeable li battery in coast products. I have 2 and so far they have been great. Charge in the light or remove it to charge. Works great.
Lee
Needs a lockout off switch. It’s too easy for a light kicking around in a tool bag or backpack to be accidentally powered on and run down. Its battery. This Coast has that nice slider switch, but it needs one more position to Lock the light off
Corey
I’ve had 3 different coast flashlights over the last 15 years. Used them as my “premium” lights at work and home. None of them outlasted a cheap $9.99 light from any brick and mortar store. They eat batteries very quickly. My last one had an option for a rechargeable battery that was sold separately and cost more than the light. On top of that light would only work with that proprietary rechargeable battery. Luckily the light quit working after falling through the engine compartment and hitting the driveway a couple times before I purchased the battery. Which is the other issue with coast lights. They’re much more fragile than durable. Got the new Olight ArkPro on sale a couple months ago not expecting much improvement other than not rolling away because of the rectangle shape. It makes every cost light I’ve ever had seem like a free HF flashlight. Super brite flood and spot, won’t roll away, strong magnet holds it in any position and a steel 2 way 2 size clip. Didn’t think I had a need for the uv and laser until I got it. How wrong I was. I carry and use the thing every day and I’ve only had to charge it once in 2 months. Hands down the best flashlight I’ve ever had and the only one I need now!!
Rick
For what it’s worth, “zithion” doesn’t mean anything.
It’s just an invented word that’s intended to give consumers the impression that advanced technology is involved in creating the battery, which may or may not be true. And “Zithion-x” is the brand name of a battery sold by Coast. I assume it was dreamed up by a marketing team.
Intel pulled the same nonsense with their “pentium” processors. Yet I still clearly remember that meaningless word more than twenty years later, so maybe they knew what they were doing.
TMedina
Initial impressions – not bad. Not particularly great, but not bad.
Comes with a pretty beefy pocket clip.
Turbo is accessed by holding down the start button – with no way to lock it out, you could end up with a very warm surprise.
S
I saw this light during my home depot Christmas browsing tucked away in one of the aisle displays.
Coast has always been a curious brand to me. Similar to mag light. They pioneered adjustable optic led flashlights long before much of the rest the market.
But that said, I’ve just never been able to get behind their near-Streamlight pricing without the tested ruggedness. Many of their lights just seem brittle to me, where they seem to expect the brand name to carry the price justification.
The big turnoff for me is the non locking button, and a turbo mode that only lasts 40 seconds. If I want light, I want to be the one to decide when it’s enough. But it also means brands need to design lights within the thermal limits of the materials used.
$40 buys a one of a lot of different brands of wedge flashlights in the market currently. And many offer alternate lighting options or more naturally-design button options this doesn’t.
I just don’t see an immediate appeal to this particular light at that price point for the features offered. It’s too expensive to be a gut reaction purchase, too niche to be a stocking stuffer for most flashlight people, and too large for the hardcore pocket wedge light users.
David
I’ve personally not had good luck with Coast lights. Two different models purchased over the years both had short lifespans due to weak components.
I did try again recently with a 1500lm waterproof G65R with dual power options: rechargeable and AAA. ($18 at HD) When I opened the package there was no AAA battery holder included. This omission was noted on the HD description page and they gave an email address to request the adapter. Coast did respond quickly and I had the AAA adapter thingy in about a week. Good response to a gaff, but let’s see if the light holds up.
Andrew
Stuart, You should have purchased the coast slayer light for $40 the home depot. I’ve read amazing reviews on that light. However did not want to spend $80 (in the past). At $40 that seems like a fair price. I plan to purchase one. I think you should have purchased it and tried it out. I suspect you would changed your mind about the usefulness of this light.
Stuart
I found it interesting, but it didn’t appeal to me. I figured I could always go back to the store or buy it online.
I like pocket lights, which can sit on my desk, workbench, or be carried in a pocket or bag, or cabinet lights that I grab when needed. This was kind of an awkward size in between – too large for pocket-carry, too small and too nuanced for a household light anyone can use.
Jack
You suspect he would of changed his mind about the light? This claim is based on amazon reviews? Lmao dude have you held one in your hand because Stuart has. Geez.
Andrew
Hello Jack and Stuart, Good points. I have wanted one of these for awhile, back when they were $100 on the coast website. Now that they are $40 at Home depot, I will give it a try.
MtnRanch
I’ve sent too many otherwise perfectly good flashlights to the landfill just because the battery went south. I’m done buying these disposable flashlights from any vendor. Not a fan of proprietary batteries like some Olight flashlights use either.
ElectroAtletico
$30? Yeah, I’d buy it.
$40? Nope.
Adam
Way too many light options this year at HD. Multiple from Coast, Nebo, and then of course tons of copied designs from Husky 😂
I did end up walking out with the a Coast 2000 lumen headlamp, though originally was going to buy the Nebo because it can be clipped to a hat brim, and was bright for its size.
Erik
My dad bought one and its junk. I have it hooked up to an external battery, boost converter and 4506 charging mod to get it to work. It turns on or the display does but no light. If you plug it in to charge it will light up. You can not get into the body without serious work. So i jimmied up a monsterous solution to save the landfill another victim. Dont waste your money. Buy an Olight. Just saying.
Ben
The latest trend in flashlights seems to be of the flat variety such as this. Many manufacturers are now adopting it but I think Nitecore probably started the trend. So far they have been one of the few manufacturers to include an OLED display like this Coast has done.
I have dozens of flashlights and am a YouTube reviewer…but don’t own any from this brand. I have many Nightcore lights however and this is obviously way cheaper than anything that Nitecore has in this form factor.
I would probably pass on this one mainly because I’m a flashlight snob, but I’m sure as a stocking stuffer it would be well received.