Los Angeles, CA - (FirearmsGuide.com) – At the SHOT Show 2023 this January I saw Coast XP18R at the Coast booth and I immediately liked it. I decide that I will get one and this is the review of my Coast XP18R. With 3650 lumens, the XP18R is the most powerful flashlight in Coast’s XP professional series. I like that power but I also like that it comes with a rechargeable battery and that it can be used with 6 AA alkaline batteries. And yes, I like that Coast just lower the price of the XP18R from $120 to $99 at https://coastportland.com/products/xp18r
I’ve been torturing Coast XP18R for the last 3 weeks in every situation possible and here is my review.
Included in the box with an XP18R flashlight:
ZX965 ZITHION-X Rechargeable Battery
One Meter USB-C Split Charging Cable
Alkaline Battery Cartridge (Alkaline Batteries Not Included)
Size and Body: The Coast XP18R is not a small EDC flashlight. It is 10.3 in / 26.3 cm long and it weighs 19.4 oz / 550 g. The diameter of the head is just below 2.067 inches (52.5mm). The diameter of the body is about 1.496 inches (38mm). This is a large, heavy-duty, workhorse flashlight that will fit nicely in your toolbox but not in your jeans pocket. It is built from top-grade aluminum with an outstanding black finish. In the middle of the body, it has raised rectangular grid pattern that is not too aggressive but will provide excellent grip even in the rain when wet or when you wear heavy winter gloves.
The Coast XP18R is IP54 dust-resistant and weatherproof. The tail cap of the XP18R has a large jut out for a wrist strap which also acts as a roll-away prevention. I don’t need that lanyard loop on my flashlight but it happened to me a million times that my flashlight would roll away while I was working on something so to prevent rolling away with the extension of the tail cap…this is genius if you ask me.
Light Modes: The switch to turn the XP18R on is in the tail cap. Press it once and XP18R will light in mid mode, the second click will start high mode, the third click will lower it to the low mode and then the fourth click will turn it off. That is the sequence that you have to go through every time. Now here are the numbers for the Low, Mid, and High modes:
Beam Distance (High) 676 ft / 206 m
Beam Distance (Low) 144 ft / 44 m
Beam Distance (Medium) 360 ft / 110 m
Beam Distance (Turbo) 1083 ft / 330 m
Light Output (High) 1460 Lumens
Light Output (Low) 65 Lumens
Light Output (Medium) 420 Lumens
Light Output (Turbo) 3650 Lumens
Runtime (High) 6 h 30 min
Runtime (Low) 58 h 30 min
Runtime (Medium) 9 h 30 min
You have two options for how to start XP18R in the Turbo mode of the 3650 lumens. If you already have the XP18R on, then just press the switch for 2 seconds and it will jump from the previous mode into Turbo mode. The second click will turn the XP18R off. If your XP18R is off and you need Turbo mode right away then just press and hold the switch for 1 second and it will turn on in Turbo mode. The second click will turn it off.
The tail cap switch has an LED real-time battery life indicator that monitors the charge of the battery and shines through the rubber cap in different colors depending on the battery level. That is convenient because it tells you immediately the status of your battery whenever you use it. The whole control system is simple to use and it didn’t piss me off a single time and that is important to me. If you have work to do, the last thing you need is to work on your flashlight.
Slide Focus: The XP18R has a focusing optic system that enables you to seamlessly transition between spot and flood beam with the push or pull of your finger. Responsive beam-shape control allows you to operate your light with a single hand and keep the other hand free. Every user can find the best ratio of spot and flood light that he/she likes and then set and lock the beam to stay. Twist the head of the light to the left to lock the beam in place, and twist it back to the right to release the slide mechanism back into motion. This Coast Beam Lock technology, again, is simple and effective and enables every user to customize XP18R to his needs.
Battery and Charging: The XP18R comes with a lithium-ion ZX960 proprietary Coast branded Zithion-X battery. It is rated at 4000 mah at 7.4 volts. That is the approximate capacity equivalent of 2 x 18650 batteries with 4000 mAh at 3.7V. It took me about 3.5 hours to fully charge the ZX960 battery. This new version of the XP18R now has a ZX960 battery that has 2 ports on it. The first one is USB-C charging port. You can plug your cell phone charger through a USB-C cable in it and charge the ZX960 battery that way. Right next to the USB-C port, the ZX960 battery has a battery-life indicator LED that will tell you the status of the battery while charging.
COAST batteries are built with overcharge/discharge protection, ensuring you and your battery are protected. Another port that the ZX960 battery has is a USB port that enables this battery to be your emergency power bank. Plug-in provided charging cable in it and your cell phone on the other end and you can charge it this way.
It is not a bad thing to have a flashlight that can serve as a power bank in case of an emergency. Another way how you can charge the ZX960 battery is to leave it in the body of the flashlight and then unscrew the tail cap until you see USB-C charging port and battery level indicator LED. Then you can plug in your cell phone charger in it and charge the battery through the body of the flashlight. When you are done, unplug the charging cable and screw back the tail cap to protect the charging port and you are done.
If you need them for heavy use, you can buy additional ZX960 batteries and just swap them on the go or you can use 6 AA in the provided alkaline batteries cartridge. The fact that XP18R can be powered by provided 4000 mAh rechargeable Li-Ion battery or by AA alkaline batteries is a great thing that will save your day sooner or later in some situations down the road.
Rechargeable AA Batteries Experiment: I made an experiment. I bought 8 rechargeable IKEA batteries ($9.99 for a pack of 4) HR06 AA 1.2V, 2450mAh each. After loading them into the provided alkaline batteries cartridge and inserting them into the XP18R, unscrew the tail cap and plug the charger in. They were charging nicely and when charged, they powered the XP18R with no problem. Maybe that can be an alternative power source if you have some rechargeable AA batteries available at your home.
Conclusion: The Coast XP18R is a great professional-grade flashlight. It is rechargeable, it has Dual Power technology, it has all the features that you need, it is simple to use and it is built like a tank. If I need, I can charge my cell phone with it. It provides phenomenal 3650 lumens of light when I need it. And it looks great too. This one is a keeper.
To get the Coast XP18R for $20 less than before please go here: https://coastportland.com/products/xp18r