Lowe’s launched another new Kobalt LED flashlight, and it comes with a charging holster for longer on-the-go runtime.
Called the “Kobalt Handheld Holster Pro 2500L,” the new flashlight delivers up to 2500 lumens of brightness on high, with 1.5 hours of runtime. At low, it outputs 250 lumens for up to 6 hours. There’s also a medium 1000 lumen mode.
What’s unique about this flashlight is that it comes with a charging holster that can be worn on your belt.
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Lowe’s advertises the new Kobalt flashlight as being “your ultimate lighting solution for various demanding tasks.” They also say it is “perfect for search and rescue, outdoor adventures, and professional applications.”
It features IPX4 water resistance and 1 meter impact resistance.
The flashlight body is made from “aircraft aluminum” and has a focusing beam.
Charging is done via USB-C connection.
The kit comes with the charging holster, flashlight, 2x proprietary 21700 batteries with 4Ah charge capacity, and a USB-C charging cable.
Price: $44.98
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Discussion
I had to consult the online user manual to understand the battery situation.
You take one of the batteries, and load it into the flashlight. You then take the other battery and lock it into the charging holster.
When you’re on the go, pins in the charging holster contact conducting rings in the flashlight, and recharge its battery. You can also recharge the batteries via USB-C.
Instead of swapping batteries – as one would with disposable AA batteries or CR123A Lithium cells – the holster charges your flashlight when it’s docked and not in use.
The flashlight has a 4Ah battery. We don’t know the charging rate via the holster, but the label next to the USB-C port says it recharges at 5V at a rate of 1.5A. Ignoring energy losses and all that, a 1.5A input should recharge a 4Ah battery in at least approximately 2.67 hours.
With the flashlight said to run for up to 1.5 hours at high, 2 hours at medium, or 6 hours at the lowest setting, are there going to be heavy usage days where you have a partially charged holster but depleted flashlight?
On-the-go battery charging works well when you have a high capacity power source recharging smaller batteries, such as with wireless earbuds or small EDC flashlights. Does it make sense here?
AP
Looks decent enough but seems gimmicky. You can get a good quality flashlight that doesn’t cost as much and has better run time.
Joe H
I’d rather the holster just has the spot for the extra battery or even another battery. It could be more streamlined that way. Also isn’t there energy loss when using the spare cell to charge the other light as opposed to just popping in the spare battery? As long as it’s a digitally regulated flashlight, then you should be able to use up a lot of the charge of the battery while maintaining brightness levels to near depletion. Where as a non-regulated flashlight you would want to keep the charge topped off to maintain brightness levels. Is this light digitally regulated?
D3t
Lowe’s is trying a little too hard on these flashlights lately.
Brad Justinen
What are “proprietary 21700 batteries”? Does this not work with standard 21700s?
Stuart
Look close at the batteries; it doesn’t look like they’ll fit flashlights that take standard 21700 batteries.
Nathan
Or you know carry the spare bat? Seems bulky on the belt.
MM
My thoughts exactly. I’d much rather carry a spare battery, or a spare flashlight.
Wayne R.
The light also outputs juice? And both batteries can be charged with a single input?
I’ve been in roles where this thing might have been appealing. But in those roles, a few lights would be more useful, like a small lanyard light &/or a head light and a larger belt light. And maybe a belt pouch with spare cells, too. Simpler solutions would likely be most reliable in the long haul.
These days, LED lighting provides a zillion solutions. To each their own, for sure.
BTW, the belts we used on those jobs were frequently SCUBA weight belts (without the weights). They’re cheap, with quick release buckles, and quite long – so they could be used in summer or wrapped around thick winter clothing as well. And a set of suspenders was a good accessory too.
s
sure looks painful to have on a belt and sit down, all that flat sharp-cornered plastic.
looks like another christmas gimmick
Jerry
IMO , if they would have the flashlight designed so you could do a quick battery change (even in the dark), carry a spare battery in the holster, and sell it for $10 less, I would be more likely to buy it. The charging in the holster sounds like a nice feature, but I’d be too afraid that dirt, grease, or other gunk would get on the contacts and cause it not to work. Also, if the batteries are proprietary, I’d like to see a USB port on them to charge them directly.
Bawmbah
I know phone marketing has trained us to chase small at all cost, but just add a couple inches to the flashlight and put the battery in there. This is just silly nonsense.
MFC
I like the idea, but it seems like the wrong application. I can’t think where, or how this would be the best use. I would prefer this setup with a really well thought out charger for my truck that could detect when my truck is off and completely shut the charger off so that there wasn’t any parasitic draw. Then you can pop the flashlight off and onto the charger to get juiced, and then be ready to go again without having to fumble with a charging plug and going back and forth with different charging dongles/cables.
Johnez
I honestly like the spirit behind the idea, but it’s just not that useful. Even using my light all day long for a 10-12 hour shift in industrial maintenance I wouldn’t run out of juice. My helmet light was a different story…
Matt
It’s a gimmick. Just Carry a spare battery.
Ron
I like the tail-end switch and also the fact that you don’t have to remove the battery to charge it. The actual flashlight seems fine, but not a fan of that belt charging system. Looks awkward and uncomfortable.
nigeldh
1. Needs a standard 21700 battery.
2. The charger needs a USB-C output so one could charge other devices.
3. Bulky to carry on your hip. More of something that you have in a tool bag/box to charge the light between uses.
Personally I prefer headlamps and neck lamps. USB rechargeable for the ones I use often. I especially like the headlamps with a dual rechargeable pack or 3 AAA batteries option. For a flashlight I prefer the larger ones – I want more light throw since I am often using them to illuminate at distance, like looking for wires in trees on 2am “branches down” fire/rescue calls.
Brad
Truth be told, the best feature and the ONLY reason I bought this and ALMOST love it, is the high speed strobe, think shotgun mounted EXCEPT for the blue ‘M’ button MUST be held down for the strobe function to work. ALSO, THE 21700 BATTERIES, WE GOTTA TALK. The 2200 lumen headlamp where I was first exposed to their style of having both contacts on one end seemed harmless enough, cool they have the regulators so they can’t overcharge and explode, BIG PLUS there. After barely a month of that headlamp really impressing my with its flood and ease on the focus of my eyes, yet also able to tear downrange through a couple of hundred yards, the battery life was surprisingly decent. UNTIL ONE DAY, within 30 days, for whatever reason, NO CRANK NO START, fully charged battery. Upon having the headlamp plugged in, then I was able to get it to power back on. After a few days with this thing, I’ve narrowed it down to their 21700 cells being sporadic at best, but when they work, they do it GREAT! So can we have some consistency please? Better o-ring quality and placement and less bulky plastic compartments please. Simplify it and just blister pack it with a spare battery to be kool like we know you kan be, Konsistency please, kustomer for life potentially, every one of us…
Jared
No one likes this idea? That’s the impression I get from the comments, which seems a bit surprising.
I don’t need holster-charging either, but I might have expected that would benefit someone. Maybe, if not on your belt, then in a vehicle where your flashlight could be charging whether or not the base was receiving power from the vehicle?
In my truck the main 12v port is always on, but in my SUV it’s only on when the vehicle is running or the key is in the accessory position. With a base like this you wouldn’t need to worry about it – the car would charge the base when it was running and the base would always be charging the flashlight when it was connected.
CMF
Lowes has come out with a few flashlights lately. I think none of them are aimed at flashlight aficionados, or even people that read about tools everyday, such as TG.
I think these are for Joe/Jane anybody shopping at Lowes, sees one of these and figures it could be practical for the kitchen drawer, in the car, or looking for the dog that got out at night.
This model particularly is a little less common use like I mentioned above, but still intended for someone who is not interested in reading flashlight monthly, but thinks it is cool, and wants a new flashlight to replace the old alkaline, flashlight with low level amber incandescent light…but at the same time wants something more than the 10 LED flashlights which include the batteries, for $9.99.