Customer reviews from coastportland.com
Coast - HX5 130 lm Black LED Flashlight AA Battery
Average customer rating
4.6
(289 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 289 reviews
5 Stars
236
4 Stars
24
3 Stars
12
2 Stars
4
1 Star
13
93%of customers recommend this product.
(
254 out of
272)
Customer Reviews for Coast - HX5 130 lm Black LED Flashlight AA Battery
Posted by: John T
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
The best EDC light...the price to size to brightness ratio can't be beat. The HX5 has been my edc light for 2 to 3 years now. I I usually have a 14500 3.7v battery in it for 345 lumens, for 45min, but the ability to run with a regular AA for 3hr and 45min is great too. Its just a great size. I keep it clipped to my jeans k pocket and it never gets in the way. There's many more expensive lights out there that are usually bigger or wider etc, and are often 3 to 4 times as expensive, and would probably be to uncomfortable to wear everyday. I just haven't found a comparable light that is as small, bright, reliable. built as well, or priced even close to this. 5 stars without a doubt. Buy one!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting coastportland.com
Customer Rating
5
All You Need To Know
on May 28, 2021
Posted by: Zunar
from West Chester, OH
Gender:Male
Full Disclosure: Coast provided me this HX5 in order for me to test it out. But, everything I will talk about here is my own opinion and I'm not going to hold back any punches.
Coast Portland was not given copy approval nor any editorial input in this review. That means, they're reading this review for the first time along side you.
These are the topics I will cover. Skip to whatever corresponding number in order to read about that specific topic and find what you are looking for.
1) What I Don't Like
2) Why I'd Buy This Light
3) Build Quality
4) Weather Rating
5) Weight
6) Brightness and Runtimes For Each Battery Type
7) Focusing Mechanism
8) Operation and Modes
9) Charging Port
10) Charging and Battery
11) Charge Time/Battery Satistics
12) Battery Level Indicator
13) Belt Clip
13) Holdster
14) What's Included
15) Accessories/Compatible Products
16) HX5 vs. HX5R
17) Final Thoughts
The individual topics begin here:
NOTE: The HX5 is the newer version of the HP1. They are virtually identical
1) What I Don't Like:
• I dislike the button. I've been spoiled with the low travel high positive tactile buttons of the XP11r and XP18r. This light has gone with a generic, stiff, mushy, clicky style button that takes much more force to actuate. I definetly prefer the button on the XP11r
• I dislike the use of a Micro-USB port to charge the optional rechargeable battery instead of a newer USB-C port
• I wish there were more than one mode
2) Why I'd Buy This Light
• This light is a single AA battery light. So, it runs off of commonly available batteries. It can also run on several different kinds of batteries
• It can get up to an impressive 345 lumens when running on a 14500 lithium-ion battery
• It comes with a really nice pocket clip
• It comes equipped with Coast's Pure Beam optic
3) Build Quality:
• The light feels very premium. With coarse knurling. It feels solid
• It is entirly made of high strength anodized aluminum
• The tail cap unscrews in order to remove the battery and has a tiny hole in it for a wrist strap
• The button is a high travel, stiff, mushy, high positive tactile button with a rubber cap over it
4) Weather Rating:
• Rated IP54 dust resistant and weather proof
5) Weight:
• 2.7 oz (76 grams). That's about the weight of 13 United States Quarters
6) Brightness and Runtimes For Each Battery Type:
• The light has one brightness mode
• Alkiline: 130 lumens (Runtime: 3 hours 45 minutes)
• NIMH | 2400 mah: 125 lumens (Runtime: 1 hour 15 minutes)
• 14500 | 800 mah: 345 lumens (Runtime: 45 minutes)
7) Focusing Mechanism:
• This light has Coast's Pure Beam focusing optic which gives you the choice of a perfectly smooth flood beam with no hotspot, or a Bulls-Eye beam consisting of a narrow hotspot with some spill surrounding it
• To adjust the beam, you simply slide the head forwards or backwards
• You cannot lock the beam
8) Opperation and Modes:
• The operation of the light is controlled by one button on the tail cap
• There is only one mode
• There is a momentary on mode
9) Charging Port:
• No charging port built into the light itself. Instead, there is a Micro-USB charging port built into the optional ZX210 battery
10) Battery and Charging:
• The light runs on either an AA alkiline battery, a NIMH AA battery, or a 14500 (Ex: Coast ZX210) lithium-ion battery
• The Coast ZX210 (sold separetly) has a built-in Micro- USB charging port and a charging indicator on the top of the battery
• A solid red light indicates charging and a solid green light indicates the battery is fully charged
• It can run on any 14500 battery
11) Charge Time/Battery Satistics:
• There is a significant difference in charge time when using a dedicated charger compared to the built-in Micro-USB port. The battery was tested from completely dead
Rated Capacity: 650 mah
Tested Capacity: 724 mah
Tested Capacity: 724 mah
Dedicated Charger (Nitecore SC4):
Charge Speed: 515 mah
Time: 1 hour 39 minutes
Charge Speed: 515 mah
Time: 1 hour 39 minutes
Micro-USB Cable:
Charge Speed: 297 mah
Time: 2 hours 44 minutes
Charge Speed: 297 mah
Time: 2 hours 44 minutes
12) Battery Level Indicator:
• There isn't one
13) What's Included:
• Coast HX5
• 1x AA Alkiline battery
• Two way belt clip
14) Acessories/Compatible Products:
• ZX210 lithium-ion battery
• S20 Sheath
15) HX5 vs. HX5R
• The HX5R is NOT just a rechargeable version of the HX5. Although very similarly named, the lights are completely different kinds of lights
• The HX5 is an AA battery light, while the HX5R is a CR123 battery light
• The HX5R is much larger
• The power buttons and their locations are different. The HX5R is a side button light
• The HX5R has 2 modes and a strobe mode. The HX5 has only one mode
• The HX5R can charge the battery when it is inside the light
• They have the same rated brightness at 345 lumens. Although, to me, the HX5R looks a bit brighter
16) Final Thoughts:
I absolutely love this light. It is really compact and is very non-intrusive on a belt. I love how you can attach it to a cap and how flexible the battery options are. Personally, I wouldn't even bother with using it with alkiline batteries as the performance jump and cost savings when switching to the lithium-ion battery are so high. I highly recommend buying the the optional lithium battery. As small as it is, Coast still equipped it with their Pure Beam Optic with a perfectly even flood beam. For a tiny up close flashlight, that is a very convenient feature as the beam isn't harsh on your eyes like a hot spot would be. I do wish there was more than one mode, and I wish the optional rechargeable battery had USB-C instead of Micro-USB.
If you are looking for the tiniest light, that packs an even harder punch yet is even smaller, I'd reccomend getting the XP6r. It's a bit more expensive, but you just can't beat it. I call it the pinnacle of tiny lights
Regardless, the HX5 is a high quality versatile flashlight that I think is fairly priced.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting coastportland.com
Posted by: Lucky Luke
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
As a professional truck driver who work on night shift. I use this little flashlight every night and it's amazingly powerful for its small size. It clip on my belt so it's always available when needed.
I did have an intermittent issue with it and after sending an email to Coast I received a brand new one free of charge within 5 days. It's by far the best customer support I ever had.
I highly recommend this product. it is powerful and thought enough for a professional use. I dropped it in mud, water and concrete floor and it is still work fine.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting coastportland.com
Customer Rating
5
Great light A+
on January 18, 2023
Posted by: Kenny
from Tucson Arizona
Gender:Male
A friend of mine had one of these lights and let me use it, liked it so much I got my own, that was five years ago!! Just a few weeks ago (after dozens of times of hitting the ground or into water and every day use 2+ hours daily) the light stopped working, decided to try my luck with the warranty and sent them an email, hour’s later the let me know a new light was on its way to me. Received it few days early and am very much thankful and very much Recommend
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting coastportland.com
Customer Rating
4
Great little flashlight. One major downside
on May 10, 2025
Posted by: KevinB
from Windsor ON
Gender:Male
This is a great little Flashlight. There is just one major downside i would love to see addressed and that is the single brightness mode. I actually bought a rechargeable 3.6v 14500 size lithium ion battery with a built-in micro USB port at the same time from the same hardware store i purchased this flashlight from because i knew it was compatible. It is significantly brighter with the 14500 lithium cell and that's what i like about this light is it's so small and light yet extremely bright if you do decide to run it on a 14500 battery cell. Unfortunately the same reason why it's so good is also the downside as when you are using a 14500 cell there is no option for a lower lumen mode but only the single mode which is an impressive 410 lumens with the 14500 battery. It would've been really nice to see a lower 100 lumen mode too. This is the biggest downside for me about this flashlight. If you really do want to have a lower output from it you xan always use a normal alkaline battery or 1.2v NiMH cell as this Flashlight is dual power and more or less compatible with any AA sized battery with a voltage range of 1.2-3.7v which i find really useful.
The zoom mechanism is also super smooth. I was quite surprised by how good it feels. I have the HX6R and XP6R both of which are very similar in size and brightness to this HX5 and also have the adjustable focus feature but this HX5 definitely has the smoothest and best feeling zoom/focusing mechanism out of the 3.
Overall it's a great little light and unlike the HX6R and XP6R (HX5R and HX6R are the same exact light by the way so if i reference either of the 2 just know that they are exactly the same) the HX5 does have more widely available battery options to choose from as opposed to the property Zithion Z555 16500 cell on the HX6R/HX5R and less standard 16340 or CT123 size battery on the XP6R. Although those are slightly brighter overall in terms of maximum lumen output and have more modes this one is by far the most flexible when it comes to your power options. The HX6R can also run on a standard AA battery but i noticed that the light output is rather weak on it and nowhere near the 180 lumens you get out of this HX5 with the same AA battery so the HX5 is definitely a lot more efficient when it comes to running it on a standard AA or NiMH battery whereas the HX6R only performs it's best when it's used with it's property Zithion Z555 16500 battery which isn't the case with the HX5 as you can just swap in any commonly available 14500 lithium ion cell and have a significantly brighter flashlight without the worry of a property battery.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting coastportland.com
Posted by: Andreas
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
Great size, easy to change batteries, high light output! A miracle of technology! I use this flashlight every day and love it!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting coastportland.com
Posted by: Anonymous
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
Very high quality and outstanding customer service in the unlikely event you have a problem with it. I love the fact it only requires 1 AA battery, battery life is outstanding.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting coastportland.com
Posted by: Huncho
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
Great flashlight. Perfect compact design as well. The only thing I noticed is after a week of wearing it clipped on my jeans in the extra pocket the black paint around the light adjuster had faded just a tad. Not much though. Other than that I love everything I’ve ever gotten from this company including this light.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting coastportland.com