FOG HORN
March 2018 Twobirds Flying Publication
COAST Lights, Knives and Multi-Tools HX5, HX4 and HP3R Rechargeable
Copyright 2018, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.
COAST Lights, Knives and Multi-Tools -HX5, HX4 and HP3R Rechargeable
2018
COAST Lights, Knives and Multi-Tools HX5, HX4 and HP3R Rechargeable By: Sal Palma
COAST, a Pacific Northwest company, based in Portland Oregon was founded by Henry Brands in 1919. Shortly after moving to Oregon, Henry Brands worked as a sales manager for a large wholesale hardware company, traveling to towns of all sizes throughout the Northwest selling hardware—including cutlery—to local merchants. After seeing firsthand that the fillet knives he was peddling were wholly inadequate for gutting the Pacific Northwest’s 50-pound chinooks, Henry Brands had a better idea. He teamed up with a local metal smith to design and fashion a new fillet knife. This new tool was stiffer, had a thicker blade and featured a metal scoop on the back. Now slicing, cleaning and filleting could be done with one tool. Since then COAST continued making tools for professionals and those who work like professionals. In this review, I’ll introduce three of the company’s lighting products starting with the HX5 handheld flashlight.
COAST’s HX5 is a light weight compact flashlight that comes in at approximately 2.5oz and 4.125 inches with the focusing bezel fully extended. The HX5 features and aluminum housing with O-ring seals at the bezel and battery cap so it is IPX4 rated. IPX4 offers protection from a splash of water in any direction for at least five minutes. This light offers momentary and continuous illumination powered by a single AA battery. The light will run on a lithium or alkaline battery. Rated output with a lithium battery installed is 345 lumens with a run time of 45 minutes and 130 lumens with the alkaline battery with a run time of 3 hours and 45 minutes. It’s important to note that the LED is not regulated so light output will change as the battery drains. The COAST HX5 does not use a reflector to focus the light beam; instead, the light is Copyright 2018, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
COAST Lights, Knives and Multi-Tools -HX5, HX4 and HP3R Rechargeable
focused using a lens. Moving the focusing bezel forward will focus the beam and moving it back will diffuse the beam, an effect that its packaging calls flood.
2018
The HX5 ships with a pocket clip that can also be used to mount the light to your hat “a la” headlamp. Next on the list is COAST’s HP3R Rechargeable penlight. Here, kudos to COAST for including alkaline and rechargeable batteries, USB cable, a.c. charger and d.c. charger. Literally everything that you need ships with the HP3R.
At a distance of approximately 45 feet the spot beam provides excellent illumination but as we move out from the center of the hot spot we actually see dark spots in the peripheral lighting. This is a function of the focusing lens.
Here again, COAST dispenses with a reflector and concentrates the light beam using a Universal Focusing Optic that rotates to the desired beam focus.
Compare the HX5 beam with a comparably priced JET light. When tightly focused, the Jet light has zero peripheral lighting and the hot spot takes on a peculiar rectangular shape.
The HP3R is a dual output and dual power source light which COAST markets as a Flex Charge Dual Power System. The included rechargeable lithium battery powers this sleek 5.8 inch light to 245 lumens, on high, with a run time of 1 hour and 30 minutes, and 26 lumens, on low, with a 6 hour runtime. The alkaline power source powers the HP3R to 86 lumens, on high, with a 2 hour runtime and 10 lumens, on low, with a runtime of 26 hours. The HP3R is the ideal inspection light and COAST must have certainly had the mechanic in
Copyright 2018, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
COAST Lights, Knives and Multi-Tools -HX5, HX4 and HP3R Rechargeable
mind, but it works equally well for inspecting your firearm’s receiver, breech or bore. My only beef with the HP3R is that, unlike the HX5, the pocket clip does not allow the light seat as deeply into the pocket as I would like. Personal preference but certainly not a show stopper by any means.
Last on my list is COAST’s HX4, L.E.D. clip-on light. The HX4 is powered by two AAA batteries and has two modes of operation, white and red light. This light has an articulating head that moves through an estimated 130° arc allowing the wearer to direct light as needed.
2018
However, its 80 lumens of output make for an excellent navigation light. Clip it to your hat, vest or belt; the HX4 generates an abundance of light to help you navigate obstacles. The red light preserves night adapted vision. In conclusion, COAST has done a great job of bringing to market a number of lighting products that outperform similar retail offerings from competing suppliers, but It would be disingenuous to present these lights as professional grade equipment or to compare them to Streamlight, Surefire or even Elzetta. The HX5, HX4 and HP3R are general use lighting products available from Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Target and digital retailers like Amazon. All COAST lights carry a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer. The take away from this review is that COAST lights outperformed its peers by a sizable margin, give them a try.
-SP
The HX4 has a white light output of 80 lumens with a run time of 3 hours and 45 minutes. As with all of the lights reviewed, the HX4 is not regulated so output will change as the battery is drained. It’s also not waterproof rated by the manufacturer. The light can be worn on a MOLLE field or it can also be belt mounted. The clip and articulating head makes it possible for the HX4 to be worn on a hat as well. If I had to describe its proper application it would not be a task light because there’s no way to regulate the output like the HP3R which has a high and low mode of operation. Copyright 2018, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved