Coast Mini Tac (AAA) Review For submission to the review forum.
I got this light a little over a month ago to replace my Maglite Solitaire as my EDC light. It cost me $10.81, and I think it was a very good deal. I decided to write this review because I couldn't find any reviews or much other about it information online.
Overview
The Coast Mini Tac is a single LED flashlight that runs off an alkaline AAA battery. This version appears to be replacing the older Mini Tac that ran on four button cell batteries. Both versions share the same part number TT7830CP.
The light was nicely packaged in a retail bubble pack which allows one to test the light before buying it. An ingenious feature is the reflector which bounces the light into the tester's eyes to demonstrate the light's brightness. This helps the tester partially blind himself without even taking the light out of the package :huh:. The pictured battery was included with the flashlight.
Structure
The flashlight is a bit larger than my old Solitaire as you can see from the comparison photo. It is longer, heavier, and larger in diameter, but still small enough to be carried conveniently. I have also included a photo with a AAA for additional size reference.
The light appears to be made from anodized aluminum and feels solid. I doubt that type III anodizing was used because the light scratches fairly easily. The threads on the head and tail cap are not anodized, but they do have O-rings. There is no reference to waterproofing on the package, and I have not tested this aspect because the switch and head do not look sealed. The light does not have anti-roll features, nor can it tail stand. However the body is knurled, and the tail cap has a hole that could be used to attach a lanyard.
The light is activated by the clicky switch on the tail cap. I really like this feature because it allows me to flash the light rapidly like a strobe. Though this annoys some people, I enjoy it
. I was concerned that the clicky would cause the light to come on in my pocket and waste the battery. However, the spring on the switch is strong enough to resist light bumps and the switch needs to be pushed fairly far to click so I do not think this is a big problem.
The LED is recessed in the head surrounded by the cylindrically shaped reflector. This is noted as a Reflector Tube System on the packaging. My biggest gripe about this light is the lack of a lens to cover the front. Without a lens on the front, dirt and junk collects in the head and gets rather disgusting.
Performance
The first two beam shots are from the Mini Tac. The light was powered with an alkaline battery for the shot on the left and a L92 lithium for the shot on the right. I have also included additional beam shots for comparison. The one on the left is from my Mini Mag 2xAA LED (flood pattern), and the one on the right is from my Maglite Solitaire (focused). The exposure is unchanged for the Mini Mag shot but a little higher for the Solitaire shot.
As you can see, the lithium and alkaline batteries yielded almost identical results. The Mini Mag is much brighter than the Mini Tac, but the Coast light blows away the Solitaire. I used the same white balance setting for all four pictures, so the colors should be relatively correct, but none of the tints appear as pronounced to the eye as the pictures indicate.
The package advertises 7.5 max lumens, a claim which seems accurate to me. The light is certainly bright enough for close range work, and the smooth flood beam pattern is also suited for this role. While the beam is smooth, it is not quite as smooth as the beam shots depict. I think the pictures are out of focus.
The 18 max hours battery life claim seems misleading. I haven't measured the run time, but I have run down the included battery, and I don't think it lasted more than a few hours until the light switched into a much dimmer mode. After the light went into low mode I replaced the battery so while I can't say that it wouldn't have lasted 18 hour it certainly wouldn't have retained its' original brightness. This is probably no big surprise to you all, but is was somewhat disappointing to me.
Summary
I would recommend this light. It is well made, bright for the price and size, and suitable for every day carrying.
As a side note, I made a pocket clip for this light. That project could be its' own thread but I will post some pictures below.
Thanks for reading! I hope this information is useful to someone out there.
I got this light a little over a month ago to replace my Maglite Solitaire as my EDC light. It cost me $10.81, and I think it was a very good deal. I decided to write this review because I couldn't find any reviews or much other about it information online.
Overview
The Coast Mini Tac is a single LED flashlight that runs off an alkaline AAA battery. This version appears to be replacing the older Mini Tac that ran on four button cell batteries. Both versions share the same part number TT7830CP.
The light was nicely packaged in a retail bubble pack which allows one to test the light before buying it. An ingenious feature is the reflector which bounces the light into the tester's eyes to demonstrate the light's brightness. This helps the tester partially blind himself without even taking the light out of the package :huh:. The pictured battery was included with the flashlight.
Structure
The flashlight is a bit larger than my old Solitaire as you can see from the comparison photo. It is longer, heavier, and larger in diameter, but still small enough to be carried conveniently. I have also included a photo with a AAA for additional size reference.
The light appears to be made from anodized aluminum and feels solid. I doubt that type III anodizing was used because the light scratches fairly easily. The threads on the head and tail cap are not anodized, but they do have O-rings. There is no reference to waterproofing on the package, and I have not tested this aspect because the switch and head do not look sealed. The light does not have anti-roll features, nor can it tail stand. However the body is knurled, and the tail cap has a hole that could be used to attach a lanyard.
The light is activated by the clicky switch on the tail cap. I really like this feature because it allows me to flash the light rapidly like a strobe. Though this annoys some people, I enjoy it
. I was concerned that the clicky would cause the light to come on in my pocket and waste the battery. However, the spring on the switch is strong enough to resist light bumps and the switch needs to be pushed fairly far to click so I do not think this is a big problem. The LED is recessed in the head surrounded by the cylindrically shaped reflector. This is noted as a Reflector Tube System on the packaging. My biggest gripe about this light is the lack of a lens to cover the front. Without a lens on the front, dirt and junk collects in the head and gets rather disgusting.
Performance
The first two beam shots are from the Mini Tac. The light was powered with an alkaline battery for the shot on the left and a L92 lithium for the shot on the right. I have also included additional beam shots for comparison. The one on the left is from my Mini Mag 2xAA LED (flood pattern), and the one on the right is from my Maglite Solitaire (focused). The exposure is unchanged for the Mini Mag shot but a little higher for the Solitaire shot.
As you can see, the lithium and alkaline batteries yielded almost identical results. The Mini Mag is much brighter than the Mini Tac, but the Coast light blows away the Solitaire. I used the same white balance setting for all four pictures, so the colors should be relatively correct, but none of the tints appear as pronounced to the eye as the pictures indicate.
The package advertises 7.5 max lumens, a claim which seems accurate to me. The light is certainly bright enough for close range work, and the smooth flood beam pattern is also suited for this role. While the beam is smooth, it is not quite as smooth as the beam shots depict. I think the pictures are out of focus.
The 18 max hours battery life claim seems misleading. I haven't measured the run time, but I have run down the included battery, and I don't think it lasted more than a few hours until the light switched into a much dimmer mode. After the light went into low mode I replaced the battery so while I can't say that it wouldn't have lasted 18 hour it certainly wouldn't have retained its' original brightness. This is probably no big surprise to you all, but is was somewhat disappointing to me.
Summary
I would recommend this light. It is well made, bright for the price and size, and suitable for every day carrying.
As a side note, I made a pocket clip for this light. That project could be its' own thread but I will post some pictures below.
Thanks for reading! I hope this information is useful to someone out there.
