The Coast HX5 flashlight makes a great every day carry flashlight, and is light enough to carry backpacking. The HX5 is a solid, small size flashlight that feels good in the hand. Coast used their Slide Focus system which allows easy one-handed use of the light. Instead of twisting the end of the flashlight to adjust the beam pattern from wide to narrow, just slide the forward part of the housing from to back and get the job done. I really like this feature. The adjustment is easy to make with one hand and still stays in place well.
Coast‘s Pure Beam Focusing Optics were used to provide wide flood light illumination or a focused bullseye spot beam. When used as a flood light the circle of light is very even throughout. When focused into a spot light, the flashlight throws the light out pretty far for a light of this size. Having used the HX5 to walk around the woods at night, I can say that the flashlight provides plenty of usable light. With the beam adjusted wide, there is plenty of area illuminated to head over for those late night calls of nature, and with the beam focused you can shine the light across a field and try to see what is behind those glowing eyes in the tree line. Coast says that the HX5 has a beam distance of 259 feet.
Coast equipped the HX5 with a removable two-way or reversible clip. This allows you to face the clip toward the LED and attach the light to your belt or pocket, or you can face the clip toward the on/off button and clip the light to the bill of a hat. Until I placed the light on a hat and tried it, this seemed a bit of a stretch. Although the light is noticeable on the bill of a hat, the weight isn‘t too bad at all and the light is pretty much directed just where it is needed. This is a really handy feature for anyone needing light and the use of both hands.
This light is able to operate on a single AA battery or is also compatible with rechargeable NiMH or Lithium 14500 batteries. Coast says that if you use the Lithium 14500 cells, the lumen output almost triples compared to the standard AA battery. With a regular AA cell, you will get 130 lumens from this flashlight and a run time of 3 hours and 45 minutes. The HX5 measures 4 inches long and weighs a smidge under 2.7 ounces (76 grams) on my scale with a standard AA battery installed. The push button on/off switch is at the rear of the light. There is only one light output setting.
The Coast HX5 retails for $25.99. This light has a lot to offer at that price and is well worth the purchase. Head over to the Coast website by clicking here.
– Mark
I‘d like to thank Coast for providing the HX5 for testing and review. We have budgets just like everyone else and being able to pass along information helps us to pay it forward in a way to benefit everyone.