New Coast Lights...

I notice that Coast had some new lights at the Shot Show this year and they are finally starting to use more normal battery configurations(AA,AAA) These look as attractive as the other lights they have and the cost seems very good also. Does anyone have any first hand experience with these new lights yet?...The MicroTac torch shows to use a single AAA battery and the TurboTac shows to use a single AA.I can not find much more information on these but they look promising.Scroll down a few lights on the page linked here and let me know some opinions of these new lights.I always have liked the look of Coast lights but their use of button cells always turned me off a little....maybe these will be a decent light finally....there is also a new light by coast that shows to be a Luxeon powered by a single AA cell.It is a smooth stainless prototype and claims 65 lumens.Now this would be very cool if it is what they say it is...
Coast Lights

Have all of them except the last two prototypes (duh ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif ), and they are just like the other LedLenser lights, just with different batteries and a step-up converter. No water resistence whatsoever, and a bit large in relation to the battery.

The AA version has a lens that produces the famous "moon beam" similar to the Inova X1.



bernhard

It appears I may have got excited for nothing...I am not really a fan of that moon beam but I guess it has its uses. I notice that the claim of 65 lumens,on one of these lights, on a single AA sounds amazing however there is another light that has made the same claim(Proton) I now am wondering if this claim is due to an extreme spot like beam with no spill.I remember reading that this will give higher readings and the appearence of great light in a small package.

The proton uses a new Nichia Jupiter LED of premium bin it is said, and might live up to their claim, at least partialy.
Those torches use Nichia 5mm LEDs (at least the ones I own) and cerainly don't produce 60lm. Maybe the version they will be offering is something entirely different though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
bernhard

That moon beam reminds me of the song that was used for a commercial, http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/

I fooled with the whole assortment of those lights at lowes and settled on the v2 6 chip. I agree, the strange configurations of stubby tripple a series cell or N cells made me think my decision over. I rather have a long thin light than a short stubby one.

Reading the review - check out the last line...

"The rear switches power on with a very light touch, and they can't be locked off to prevent them from getting bumped on and draining your battery power. Mike Hill of Coast reports that the included nylon belt pouches will be redesigned to incorporate an internal plastic cup at the base, so that when the light is slid down into the pouch, the rear switch will be protected from accidental activation. So as long as you keep your mini-light in a pouch rather than in a pocket or pack, and as long as you always place the light rear-end down, you might still have a battery when you need it. Suggesting this is a Mickey Mouse solution really insults the mouse." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

The light I was most curious about is the one labeled as simply "David" for some reason. Funny name for a light but it is very slick looking with that smooth stainless finish.I did some searching and found a few more pics and I think this light uses an optic and their 1.25 watt chip luxeon. This light is said to have 65 lumens and only a single AA for power. I have really always liked the Coast look however these claims are amazing. Now maybe these newer lights will perform as nice as they look.

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Stainless said:
Reading the review - check out the last line...

"The rear switches power on with a very light touch, and they can't be locked off to prevent them from getting bumped on and draining your battery power. Mike Hill of Coast reports that the included nylon belt pouches will be redesigned to incorporate an internal plastic cup at the base, so that when the light is slid down into the pouch, the rear switch will be protected from accidental activation. So as long as you keep your mini-light in a pouch rather than in a pocket or pack, and as long as you always place the light rear-end down, you might still have a battery when you need it. Suggesting this is a Mickey Mouse solution really insults the mouse." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

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Those things aren't that sensitive, as anyone with a 3G iPod knows. My only concern with that would be reliability.