Gear Review: Coast HP14 Flashlight

You are out in the woods, either hiking the trails or camping amongst the creatures of nature.  Peace.  The outdoorsmen’s heaven.  There are several items that are always a ‘must carry’.  You know, a good knife, a comfortable pack, even a light weight tent and sleeping bag for those overnight trips.  But one item that I am an absolute sucker for and carry with me no matter what the situation is a good flashlight.

I have several lights and they each serve their own purpose.  A good headlamp for instance is hard to beat.  Also, a mini light that you can use as a lantern or a close quarters light source is nice.  But for the trail, the field, or general use, a bright wide beam light is a necessity.

The Coast HP14 light fits the bill perfectly.  It has multiple capabilities ranging from overall brightness to width of beam.  Let’s break down some of features.

First, the HP14 has two modes of brightness.  One click of the power button gets 339 lumens of light.  Click twice more and the light goes out, then comes back on with a low power of 56 lumens.  Why have the multiple powered beams?  Good question.  The quick answer is power consumption.  That is not the main reason though.  When you shine the light on high beam during the night hours you will realize just how powerful the HP14 light is.  The low setting makes you a lot less inconspicuous and makes for an ideal light for close quarters as well.  On high power the light will throw a beam the length of nearly two football fields.  Low beam brightens up an area of about 40 yards.

Second, the HP14 has an easy to use focus system.  Simply slide the lens forward with one finger for a focused spotlight with a dimmer halo beam around it.  Use the same finger on the beveled lens ring pulling it toward you and the beam expands to a large floodlight style light.  No dark rings in the beam either.  Rotate the lens bezel to lock the focus in place to keep the beam the way you want it.  This can be done single handed also.

Third, since this light is made with a LED, battery power is a tremendous asset.  The HP14 only requires 4 AA batteries for operation.  Yes, that is AA batteries, not C or D cells.  Talking about cost savings!  Want to save more money on batteries?  On high power the light will function for nearly 5 hours.  Low power gets you an amazing 20 hours of use.

The aluminum casing is water and impact resistant and carries a lifetime warranty.  It is just over 8 inches in length, has a nice feel to the hand weighing just under one pound with batteries, and again, is operable with one hand.

With the Coast HP14, you will be able to light up the night and not worry about getting lost whether hitting the trails in America’s State Parks or tracking the wild game you just connected with before dark.