The new Coast Slayer Ultra LED flashlight looks to be a newly launched Home Depot exclusive, or at least I couldn’t find it at any other online retailer.
It’s a boxy-shaped rechargeable flashlight that can deliver up to 2000 lumens.
I wouldn’t describe this as a “flat” EDC-style flashlight, given its size, but it’s at least narrower than others of similar length. The length is 5.5 inches.
The Coast Slayer Ultra features a “dual optic system” can where you switch between flood light, spot light, or combined illumination, and also a display that shows you the current brightness setting along with a runtime countdown.
It also has a magnet for convenient hands-free mounting. In this image you can see the side switch for selecting between different optics and beam shape.
Here are the power and runtime specs from Home Depot’s website for spot plus flood illumination mode:
- High: 1000 lumens, 1 h 45 mins
- Medium: 270 lumens, 4 h 30 mins
- Low: 110 lumens, 11 h 30 mins
- Moon glow: 10 lumens, 50 h
The turbo setting delivers 2000 lumens (at spot and flood) for up to 40 seconds.
It has a built-in “Zithion” rechargeable battery – whatever zithion means – that recharges via USB-C.
Price: $40
What are your thoughts about Home Depot’s Coast SLAYER ULTRA? flashlight
Discussion
It seemed a little gimmicky to me, and so I put it right back in the display. The runtime countdown clock caught my attention, but I think traditional charge indicators are more practical. I like other brands have several small LED indicators that toggle off as battery charge capacity is depleted.
We’re seeing more and more flashlights with built-in batteries, and most are smaller and narrower sizes that aren’t possible with cylindric Li-ion batteries. At 5.5″, this isn’t a small flashlight. It’s about as long as a smartphone, and as thick as several phones stacked together.
I imagine it feels like you’re carrying a flashlight in your pocket. No belt holster? And because it’s an unusual shape, it might not fit 3rd party pouches or holsters.
Does it have a pocket clip? I didn’t see mention of this on the packaging, and it’s not shown in any of Coast’s product images.
Coast says the flashlight delivers “professional grade output.” Okay, so what’s the color temperature? Color accuracy specs? What does “professional grade output” actually mean?
This looks to be a Home Depot holiday season exclusive launch, which gives me pause.
Coast has a Slayer flashlight on Amazon at nearly double the price. It’s not as bright and lacks a lot of the Slayer Ultra’s features, such as the digital display.
Why is Home Depot’s Coast Slayer Ultra flashlight half the price of the Coast Slayer, and does that make it a flashlight to rush to buy, or to avoid?
Home Depot’s product page for the flashlight shows a couple of dozen reviews so far.
However, a lot of them are just blank ratings by “HomeDepotCustomer,” which seemed strange.
I left the store empty-handed and feeling that this was a “maybe.” It has some appeal, but also seemed like more of a “gift” item designed to appeal to “wow, Uncle John is gonna love this as a holiday gift” types of shoppers.
What do you think about it?
Lastly, if a brand is going to name their flashlight something like “SLAYER ULTRA,” maybe spruce up the design and packaging a bit to match.
