# Coast Polysteel 250 questions



## LEDrock (Jan 17, 2019)

I was at Walmart yesterday looking at the flashlights they have and was fascinated by a particular one. It's called the Coast Polysteel 250. It also included the name "IPX8". I didn't buy it, but decided to look at reviews online about it to see if it's as good as it looked. But that's where things have gotten confusing. The specs say it puts out 320 lumens, has 3 levels, runs on 3AAA batteries, and can run up to 34 hours at the 30 lumen level. It was in a package that allows a customer to try it out, and I found that it has a forward clicky switch.

When I Google Coast Polysteel 250, I've come across descriptions of a light that looks like the one I saw, but used 4AAA batteries instead of 3. One of them called it the Polysteel 250, but had an SKU# of Polysteel-200. That's at LaPoliceGear, which claims it has a 250 lumen output instead of 320. 

Amazon has what they call the Polysteel 200 and it claims 320 lumens. It seems to have the specs closest to what I saw at Walmart, but the Walmart one was labeled as the Polysteel 250. I also checked Coast's own website and they don't even list the Polysteel 250 in their product lineup: https://coastportland.com/flashlights/ 

Can someone please direct me to a good review of the Polysteel 250? Better yet, does anyone here actually _own_ one? It's currently about $15 at Walmart. Here's a link to it on their site, and it claims 320 lumens even though the package in the photo shows 330, but the package in the store I went to showed 320. https://www.walmart.com/ip/COAST-32...ing-LED-Flashlight-with-Twist-Focus/143527160 (You have to scroll down slightly after clicking the link)

All these differences in specs make me wonder about whether any of it is true, or if the company (Coast) pays much attention to what they're doing.


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## LEDrock (Jan 19, 2019)

Anyone?


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## archimedes (Jan 19, 2019)

Coast is not a real popular brand on CPF, so it might take more than a day or two for a response to such a specific question :shrug:

I'll move your thread over to "Budget" where it will have more visibility to those knowledgeable in this segment of the market.


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## LightObsession (Jan 19, 2019)

I have the Polysteel that takes 4 AA batteries. Nice bulls-eye spot beam and very uniform flood. I've not used the Polysteel 250.


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## LEDrock (Jan 23, 2019)

archimedes said:


> Coast is not a real popular brand on CPF, so it might take more than a day or two for a response to such a specific question :shrug:
> 
> I'll move your thread over to "Budget" where it will have more visibility to those knowledgeable in this segment of the market.



I've seen lots of talk about different lights made by Coast. Is it at least a good brand? They seem to have quite a few different models.


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## xxo (Jan 23, 2019)

Some people like them. My only experience with Coast is with a couple of their 3 AAA headlamps which to me where not all that impressive and a bit over priced unless you got a deal on them. Too many Coast lights are 3 AAA, which I don't like (1 AA will give you about the same capacity as 3 AAA's and a single AA will need a driver of some sort instead of direct drive which many 3 AAA lights use). 

Of the current walmart lights, look for the combo packs of Mag ML25's which are on clearance from black friday, also ML50 3C cells and a 2 AAA LED mini Mag/gerber US1 knife combo set. Great lights at great prices! If anyone is interested I could post the UPC's so you can search for them on brickseek to see if your local WM has any left.


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## LightObsession (Jan 23, 2019)

xxo said:


> Some people like them. My only experience with Coast is with a couple of their 3 AAA headlamps which to me where not all that impressive and a bit over priced unless you got a deal on them. Too many Coast lights are 3 AAA, which I don't like (1 AA will give you about the same capacity as 3 AAA's and a single AA will need a driver of some sort instead of direct drive which many 3 AAA lights use).
> 
> Of the current walmart lights, look for the combo packs of Mag ML25's which are on clearance from black friday, also ML50 3C cells and a 2 AAA LED mini Mag/gerber US1 knife combo set. Great lights at great prices! If anyone is interested I could post the UPC's so you can search for them on brickseek to see if your local WM has any left.



For me, the Coast Polysteel lights have a much wider and uniform flood than the current Mags and I also prefer the spot mode of the Coast Polysteels over the Mags. 

My Coast 3 AAA headlamp with adjustable focus is an extremely handy light. 

I do prefer the side switch location on my 2C Mag ML50L over the tail switch of the Polysteel, but the UI on both is pretty good - both have three output modes.


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## Hooked on Fenix (Feb 6, 2019)

I wouldn't waste money on a coast light. They are usually overpriced for what they are (some costco deals excluded). Costco has a three pack of similarly designed Duracell lights that are 500 lumens each with a couple 100 lumen low settings (one spot beam, one flood) for $20, $15 if you catch them on sale like I did. You can pay $15-$20 for one coast light or you can get a three pack of lights twice as bright for the same price. The only thing the coast lights have is the lower low, which may or may not be a deal breaker for you. The duracells have 100 lumen lows rated at 7 hours and a 500 lumen high for 2 hours.


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## kalel332 (Feb 6, 2019)

LEDrock said:


> I was at Walmart yesterday looking at the flashlights they have and was fascinated by a particular one. It's called the Coast Polysteel 250. It also included the name "IPX8". I didn't buy it, but decided to look at reviews online about it to see if it's as good as it looked. But that's where things have gotten confusing. The specs say it puts out 320 lumens, has 3 levels, runs on 3AAA batteries, and can run up to 34 hours at the 30 lumen level. It was in a package that allows a customer to try it out, and I found that it has a forward clicky switch.
> 
> When I Google Coast Polysteel 250, I've come across descriptions of a light that looks like the one I saw, but used 4AAA batteries instead of 3. One of them called it the Polysteel 250, but had an SKU# of Polysteel-200. That's at LaPoliceGear, which claims it has a 250 lumen output instead of 320.
> 
> ...


https://youtu.be/Zrsw3cA5HLA


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## LightObsession (Feb 6, 2019)

Hooked on Fenix said:


> I wouldn't waste money on a coast light. They are usually overpriced for what they are (some costco deals excluded). Costco has a three pack of similarly designed Duracell lights that are 500 lumens each with a couple 100 lumen low settings (one spot beam, one flood) for $20, $15 if you catch them on sale like I did. You can pay $15-$20 for one coast light or you can get a three pack of lights twice as bright for the same price. The only thing the coast lights have is the lower low, which may or may not be a deal breaker for you. The duracells have 100 lumen lows rated at 7 hours and a 500 lumen high for 2 hours.



Have you tried the Coast Polysteels vs the Duracells? Are the beams on the Duracells in Flood and Spot any where near as good as the Coasts? I find the Coasts to have quite nice Flood and Spot beams.

I have not tried the Duracells that you mention and don't have access to Costco.


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## Hooked on Fenix (Feb 7, 2019)

LightObsession said:


> Have you tried the Coast Polysteels vs the Duracells? Are the beams on the Duracells in Flood and Spot any where near as good as the Coasts? I find the Coasts to have quite nice Flood and Spot beams.
> 
> I have not tried the Duracells that you mention and don't have access to Costco.



Don't have the coast polysteels to compare and not going to waste money on them to do so. Duracells have an even circle of light on flood setting and spot beam has a wide spot with a dimmer even circle of light around it. The high setting combines the beams well. I don't buy coast lights anymore. In my experience, their waterproofing stinks, they aren't regulated, they use pwm for dimming, they mostly use 3 AAA batteries like dollar store lights, and I can find way better lights from Nitecore, Olight, Klarus, Fenix,etc. for a similar price.


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## LightObsession (Feb 8, 2019)

Hooked on Fenix said:


> Don't have the coast polysteels to compare and not going to waste money on them to do so. Duracells have an even circle of light on flood setting and spot beam has a wide spot with a dimmer even circle of light around it. The high setting combines the beams well. I don't buy coast lights anymore. In my experience, their waterproofing stinks, they aren't regulated, they use pwm for dimming, they mostly use 3 AAA batteries like dollar store lights, and I can find way better lights from Nitecore, Olight, Klarus, Fenix,etc. for a similar price.



Okay. I accept that you don't like Coast lights.

The PolySteels, BTW are IPX8 waterproof, which is better than many of their other adjustable focus lights.

Some Coast lights use 3 AAA batteries, but most don't. I typically don't buy lights that us 3 AAA batteries.

My Iphone camera does show PWM on medium and low with the PolySteel 400R and 600, but I can't see it in use. 

I happen to be quite satisfied with the beam patterns of their PureBeam focus lights, but some find issues with them. I guess that's why there are many choices for lights out there.

The PolySteels, HX5 and some of their other lights do have forward clicky tail switches, which appeals so many people, as well.


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## swtws6 (Feb 19, 2019)

My suggestion is to stay away from 3 aaa battery configuration lights, as others have stated, regardless of brand. Go for a 2 aa or some other configuration of aa if your looking to stay with that style battery and not lithium ion. I have a couple coast pen lights, a single and double aaa both stainless steel and the build quality is pretty nice id say, but these are their upper tier lights....


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