I’d just call and give them this……….
Costco Item Number is 686885
That way they can tell ya who has it if they don’t. 8)
Keep in mind that it seems to be entire regions where this light is unavailable. Unless, of course, one particular store in a region where it is available happens to be out of stock.
I bought one from my local Costco today for $48.99. It is bright and from my rough estimate around 650 ANSI lumens (using the Duracell that came with it). I did spend some time going through three boxes to find one that has the best white tint. That is definitely an advantage shopping locally, you don’t have to play the tint lottery.
The light feels sturdy in my hand. Anodizing looks good and it has square threads with surprisingly ample lube on the tail cap. Although it does not bother me, there is slow PWM on low mode. I would say it is somewhere around 300Hz.
Piker.
after watching your video comparison with the tk60. kinda making me want one of these now. does this coast throw like the hd 2010? And in flood mode, is it floodier than the skyrayking?
Yes, it throws and floods. Quite well. You can’t truly compare these lights to this one mainly because it’s a zoomable with an aspheric lens which gives it different characteristics including how it projects lumens OTF, but suffice to say it’ll be a bright unique tool in your light repetoire.
I think you’re gonna like it. But if ya don’t like it then take it back. What do ya have to lose? It’s not like you’re ordering it from China. 8)
The main thing I don’t like about LedLenser or Coast flashlights is the plastic lens.
Is it actually an aspheric or is it a TIR lens?
From elousv’s video it looks like a TIR lens, which stands to reason since COAST/LED Lenser uses TIR for most of their zoomies.
Yes, it uses a plastic TIR lens.
that true TIRs can’t zoom, per se?
The HP550 has a substantial raised dome in the center which if you compare it to a TIR with a recessed cavity which then essentially rests on the Led, then can ya really call it a TIR or is it something else? Perhaps a hybrid? I guess that’s why I prolly loosely called it an ‘aspheric’ in this case because if it weren’t moving it would look just like one - excepting the ribbon of concave perimeter. The dome btw is about 1” in diameter and the concave perimeter is about 3/8”. I would guess that it’s maybe about 1/4” raised from the concave surface.
I’m basically not familiar with other current Led Lenser’s out there with TIR so you guys that have those could you describe them?
Btw……here’s a thread with some good shots of TIRs (collimators).
The lenses are a polycarbonate lens. I don’t think it hurts the throw, but again plastic can be scratched where glass can’t unless you do something crazy.
this thing’s sliding head would prolly feel like it weighs a ton. 8)
Polycarbonate is still pretty tough stuff. It will hold up well unless really abused. It can also survive impact better. If that kind of lens had to be ground and polished out of glass, this thing would cost a lot more than $50.
I wonder if they’ve thought of adding a fitted filter cap at the end of high transparency glass for those who want a stronger cover, also they could have colored filters for those who want red and yellow and blue for night.
Does this run on just 3 or 6 AA’s as well? how’s the performance on fewer batts?
design of the battery carrier.
I imagine someone, somewhere, will mod this somehow to take 3 x 26650’s sooner or later. H)
Depends how they're wired. I'll bet you it is wired 3s3p...
I’m guessing it IS wired 3s3p, since 9 AA batteries is just a strange number otherwise. Plus, their HP17 (which uses D batteries, but uses an older, less powerful 615 lumen version of the Cree XM-L) uses three D batteries. So I’m assuming that the HP550 runs on the same voltage. This would suggest that the HP550 could possibly run on, say, 3 AA batteries or 6 AA batteries (with reduced runtime, of course). I’ll have to see if I can do this when I finally get mine (I’m having a friend in Southern California buy me one, and ship it up to me).
Speaking of the HP17, this makes me wonder what Coast is going to do about THAT particular light. It would certainly be nice if they could upgrade it to the same LED as the HP550 for the added runtime, simplicity, and reliability (I’ve not had the best of luck with battery holders - another reason I like D’s). And they might have to, since the HP550 is cheaper (for the time being) and brighter. It also makes me wonder what they’re going to do about the HP21. The HP550 produces almost as much light at a fraction of the cost. They’re REALLY going to have to ‘step it up’ with that one if they hope to sell it for ~$300!
named ‘Cyclone’ heat-sinking system if that indeed is what they’re using inside the 550. Had it on high for a good 15 minutes and it barely gets warm. To dismantle that head I think is gonna be challenging though. So how many more of these am I gonna buy some of you are wondering?
Prolly five, could be seven, or even nine if I really go bonkers. I’m not sure yet. It depends on the beam quality from test-flashing a bunch again. I kinda think they prolly got security keeping close tabs on me after I went through all those boxes 2 x now.