FOG HORN
April 2019 Twobirds Flying Publications
COAST TX14R Rechargeable
Copyright 2019, Towbirds Flying Publications. All Rights Reserved.
COAST TX14R Rechargeable COAST TX14R Rechargeable By: Sal Palma
COAST Products Inc. is a Portland, OR. based manufacturer of knives, multi-tools and LED flashlights. At Shot Show 2019, the company introduced the TX14R, a high performance tactical flashlight for law enforcement and military use. A long time ago, I developed a dislike for using “feature rich” accolades because quite frankly many of the features captured in that hackneyed expression have zero utility, but there are exceptions and COAST’s TX14R is one of those. The TX14R is a handheld flash light with an overall length of approximately 7.5 inches and a tube diameter of 1.18 inches. The light features an O-ring sealed aluminum body specifically designed to easily fit through your typical duty belt baton ring. The company incorporates an antiroll bezel that is very effective in keeping the flashlight from rolling off of a desktop or other surface.
2019
COAST uses a beam focusing system they market as a Long Range Focusing Optic. Most tactical flashlights use highly polished parabolic reflectors to focus the beam and their beam widths are fixed. COAST’s approach is like using a magnifying glass in sunlight. Moving the magnifying glass up or down will tightly focuses the sun’s light or diffuses it. The net effect is that the user can alter the beam width by moving the TX14R bezel back and forth to achieve the desired beam focus, the tighter the beam width, the less light dispersal over a given distance. In my testing I was able to estimate the TX14R’s beam width at approximately 12° with the bezel fully extended. COAST calls this position the X-Range Spot Beam. In this position, the company claims a beam range of 2240 feet (683 meters) but keep in mind that this is in darkness. The TX14R is powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery.
The light ships with two lithium ion battery packs and an alkaline (4) AAA battery pack. The flashlight can be charged via a micro USB port. Twisting and pulling up on the tailcap exposes the charging port and LED charging indicators.
Copyright 2019, Towbirds Flying Publications. All Rights Reserved.
COAST TX14R Rechargeable
2019
The tailcap can also be removed and its lithium power pack removed for recharging externally.
Like all dual power lights, your best performance comes from a lithium power source; however, in emergency situations, you can fallback on its (4) AAA alkaline batteries. The TX14R is a high performance illumination tool. It has three modes of operation, high, low and strobe. On high, it projects a 900 lumen narrow beam to 400 meters. On low it throws a 165 lumen narrow beam to 180 meters. With lithium batteries installed, the TX14R will deliver a run time of 5.25 hours on high and a full 8 hours on low. This is great performance.
COAST wants its customers to be adequately powered so they provide 2 rechargeable lithium ion batteries that will also charge your smart device.
Mode selection requires quick presses of the activation button. The first press gets you in high, the second and you’re in strobe and the third quick press puts you in low. The TX14 does not have a memory, so you cannot program a specific operating sequence. Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved
COAST TX14R Rechargeable
Having had an opportunity to use and carry the COAST TX14 for a while, I feel comfortable describing this light as feature rich, but none of its features are fluff, they actually deliver considerable utility. A dual power source is valuable particularly during an emergency. Two rechargeable lithium ion battery packs is a valuable feature. Batteries that can double as a power source for smart devices is extremely valuable. Three modes of operation that includes a rhythmic repeatable strobe is useful. The adjustable beam focus could also be useful to many users, but I personally prefer a fixed parabolic reflector.
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Manufacturer Specifications
BEAM OPTICS : LONG RANGE FOCUSING LIGHT OUTPUT (HIGH): 900 LUMENS LIGHT OUTPUT (LOW): 165 LUMENS BEAM DISTANCE (HIGH): 1381 FT / 421 M BEAM DISTANCE (LOW): 600 FT / 183 M RUNTIME (HIGH): 4H 15MIN RUNTIME (LOW): 8H LENGTH: 7.625 IN / 19.4 CM WEIGHT: 8.8 OZ / 250 G BATTERY DESCRIPTION: LI-ION OR 4 X AAA MSRP: $160
In conclusion, COAST’s TX14R is an outstanding feature rich handheld light. Its construction, ease of operation and numerous features make this light an ideal EDC light, addition to your bug out bag or an LE illumination tool. Its 900 lumens will light up the darkest corners and at an MSRP of $160, the TX14R delivers excellent value without breaking the budget.
-SP
Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved