8,000-Lumen COAST XP40R Evaluate | GearJunkie Examined

I pushed the button, and my eyes squinted into the all of a sudden very shiny night time. Good grief, I believed. This Coast XP40R is one shockingly shiny flashlight.

My buddy was unimpressed — that’s, till we in contrast beams. I shut down the XP40R and let him mild up a strong headlamp with round 1,000 lumens. It didn’t maintain a candle to the sunshine cannon in my proper hand.

In brief: The Coast XP40R is likely one of the model’s strongest flashlights, brief solely of its massive brother, the XP80R. Whereas removed from probably the most highly effective flashlight in the marketplace, its modest dimension and cheap value make it a really compelling selection for many who want main lumens with a mid-length throw. Nevertheless it has a number of shortcomings, together with a pair that could be deal-breakers for many who want genuinely long-throw lights and sturdiness. Examine the worth at COAST.

COAST XP40R Evaluate

Proper to the purpose, the XP40R is a relatively area of interest flashlight. It’s massive, weighing over 2 kilos and measuring greater than 12 inches lengthy.

It’s tremendous shiny with a turbo mode able to blasting 8,000 lumens — for about 45 seconds. Nevertheless it doesn’t have a really lengthy throw, particularly given its whopping energy. In testing, I instantly began to contemplate how of us would use it and got here up with a handful of use instances.

First, it will be wonderful at job websites or on safety particulars, the place the person must mild up a big space rapidly and briefly. It does this job effectively, turning night time into day in a proximity of about 75 yards.

The opposite good use could be in blood trailing throughout searching. The medium-power 1,100-lumen setting can burn for 7 hours. That’s a fantastic energy setting for blood trailing, particularly when coupled with the whopping turbo energy for temporary seems farther forward.

However I’m getting forward of myself just a little.

The COAST XP40R is a $90 mild. Nothing else comes near this brightness for the worth. So, if you happen to simply want a light-weight cannon able to numerous energy for a brief period of time, this one will do it for a lot lower than different fashions. Nevertheless it comes with fairly just a few caveats.

COAST XP40R: A Brilliant Gentle, Restricted Throw

That is my largest gripe with the XP40R: At 8,000 lumens, it solely has a variety of 754 ft (230 m). That could be a shockingly brief throw for a lot energy. For context, my present favourite flashlight, the Fenix PD36R Professional, manages a beam distance of 1,247 ft (380 m) with simply 2,800 lumens. And it’s small and continues to be very helpful at shut vary.

The XP40R has a zooming perform, which is cool (though some may argue pointless). Nevertheless it merely doesn’t zoom sufficient. Even at full zoom, the beam is about 20 ft large at 20 yards. Given the sheer energy of this mild, it actually wants a greater throw and vary effectively past 400 m.

However boy, the sunshine is shiny. At shut vary, and particularly with the sunshine zoomed large open, it lights up an enormous space. It gives wonderful space lighting. I simply want it might attain out farther.

Button, Readout, and Charging

The person interface of the XP80R is straightforward and simple to make use of. One button turns it on and adjusts the facility. Push to activate, and it lights up at medium energy. Press once more to excessive, press once more to low, after which another time for moon (lowest) energy. Press another time for off, or press and maintain for turbo mode.

In every mode, it would learn out the facility mode and time remaining on a display screen. It’s intuitive and simple to grasp.

To zoom the pinnacle, first ensure that it’s unlocked. That requires a twist. Then, push it ahead for a slender beam and pull again for a large beam.

Drawbacks

However herein lies a major design flaw. Once you pull the sunshine head again to have interaction the large beam, it compresses air into the physique of the sunshine. That air must go someplace, so it pops the rubber cowl off the charging port to permit the air to flee.

I believe this might enable air and mud to get into the interior workings of the sunshine. It’s simple sufficient to push the rubber cowl again on, however that is simply a type of bizarre design oversights that must be mounted within the subsequent iteration.

Talking of charging ports, the rubber cowl encloses two USB-C ports, one marked “in” and the opposite “out.” That’s as a result of the sunshine can double as a battery charger. Cool, I suppose. To me, that is one complication that doesn’t actually must be there. It would come in useful throughout an emergency — if you happen to occur to have a cellphone twine.

However realistically, simply plan for cellphone charging. I don’t need to drain my flashlight to cost my cellphone.

So I’m impartial on that performance. It doesn’t harm the sunshine, however I personally would simply plan to plug into my truck or a battery pack, and hold my mild charged and prepared for motion.

Conclusion: Who Ought to Purchase?

So, must you purchase the XP40R (or the massive brother, 15,000-lumen XP80R for $130)? If you would like a super-bright proximity mild, it’s a fantastic deal. It has just a few flaws however will certainly provide you with a very good, shiny, workable mild for shut vary.

If, however, you need extra vary (and fewer room for malfunctions), I’d look elsewhere. My suspicion and hope is that COAST will handle the issues on this mannequin — significantly the compressed air-rubber cap explosion — with a second model quickly.