Coleman Battery Lock Divide Flashlight Review
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Coleman Battery Lock Divide Flashlight
For many reviews, I take a peek at the company to see about their history and what they’re really all about. Everyone has heard of Coleman as they’ve been an industry leader for years in the outdoor camping world. Coleman was founded in 1900 by William Coffin Coleman who started selling, of all things, a gasoline pressure lamp. Fast forward 115 years, and the ingenuity in outdoor lighting is still at the forefront with the Coleman Battery Lock Flashlight.
First illuminating thoughts on the Coleman Battery Lock Divide Flashlight
The Coleman Battery Lock Divide Flashlights are sturdy, lighter weight (with a heavy duty feel), and have very bright beams of light. The Battery Lock is a great feature because it saves your battery from running out of juice. Most people don’t use flashlights, but for the occasional use or in an emergency. Usually they are tucked away in a drawer, and chances are the batteries have run down. Apparently, when the batteries are in constant contact with the flashlight, there is this effect called ‘ghost drain.’ It’s always at the most inopportune times when a flashlight leaves you in the dark. The Coleman Battery Lock Divide Flashlight aims to prevent that from happening.
The 250+ and 350+ Flashlights
Technical details and specifications
- Twist bezel to easily engage BatteryLock™ system
- Simple, single-button operation
- Strong, lightweight aluminum construction
- 2 modes: high and low
- BatteryLock™ system prevents battery drain to preserve battery life and reduce corrosion
- Allows flashlight batteries to be stored for years (up to their inherent shelf life).
The Coleman Battery Lock Divide 250+
High: 250 Lumens, 3 hours of battery life, 160 Meters
Low: 25 Lumens, 35 Hours of battery life, 40 Meters
The Coleman Battery Lock Divide 350+
High: 350 Lumens, 2 Hours of battery life, 300 Meters
Low: 35 Lumens, 50 Hours of Battery Life, 100 Meters
The Coleman Battery Lock Divide Flashlight size options and lock/unlock diagram
The Coleman Battery Lock Flashlight in action
I received my Coleman Battery Lock Divide flashlight in January. Now, I won’t be hitting the woods and mountains for my camping adventures anytime in the near future. That said I did find a nice mix of things for which my flashlights came in quite handy.
Denver, Colorado really has a pretty nice climate with 300 days of sunshine, and we usually get spared the big time snowstorms that the mountains get. Living on the edge of the plains does provide for some really windy and gusty days at times. On just such an occasion in early January, the wind was howling, and the trees were swaying. My wife and I were trying to relax a bit before going to bed, but there was this incredibly loud banging going on outside. It sounded like a trashcan was being tossed around or something. I had to go investigate because I did not want to be the cause for my neighbors losing sleep over something going on in my yard.
I grabbed the Coleman Battery Lock Divide 250+ flashlight which was laying right next to my computer for review. I turned it on high, and went out the side garage door through my small but dark yard into the alley. Recent snows and subsequent melting had turned the alley into a sheet of ice. My flashlight completely lit up the entire alley. I pointed it at each and every fence gate that lined the alley. It clearly illuminated 5-6 homes in a row, and even the one at the end of the block. It was super powerful, and voila, there was the culprit. A rusty latch on a neighbor’s gate kept it from shutting properly, so it was banging away. With my more than adequate lighting, I traversed the ice sheet (while envisioning one of those epic backward slip and falls) to manually shut the latch and gate. Mission accomplished.
We spend some time at a cabin near Nederland, CO. It’s not like we are completely roughing it, but life does slow down a bit. We usually arrive at night, and bringing the cabin to life always takes a little effort and time. Everyone is anxious to get inside and huddle around the fireplace. I first need to make my way to the breaker box to ensure we would have electricity, water, and that the septic tank is ready to go. The cabin is situated on a hillside, so the going is a bit tricky in the dark and/or snow. I used the Coleman Battery Lock Divide 350+ for this occasion, and accomplished everything in record time without breaking my neck over the rocks and branches.
Lastly, a clear nighttime star gazing hike and “Bear Hunt” at the above mentioned cabin always gets the kids excited. For this endeavor, I brought along both Coleman Battery Lock Flashlights which kept everyone in clear sight and able to traverse the small trail that leads up the hill. With the racket and searchlights going full force we were probably the laughing stock for all the night time animals taking in our torch light parade, but my little girls were quite serious in their search for a bear. Now, bears do exist in these parts as well as mountain lions, elk, moose, foxes, etc. Here’s to hoping our party did make enough noise to scare them all off into the next county. Once we did get to a good star gazing viewing spot, we turned off our flashlights. A beautiful sight without the urban glow as we were looking at what seemed like a million stars. We powered back up for the return trip, and made it safe and sound thanks to our Coleman Battery Lock Divide flashlights.
Final Thoughts
If you want a solid and reliable lighting option, Coleman with its Battery Lock system is the choice for you. The Battery Lock stops the battery Drain for a longer life. It is constructed of a lightweight aluminum, but it feels quite strong with a bright power beam that will really surprise you. Great for around the house, camping, boating, or going on ‘Bear Hunts’.
With a price range of $16.99 – $34.99 depending on the size, you have some great choices for a quality flashlight from Coleman.
For more information on the Battery Lock Divide and other Coleman products visit www.coleman.com or www.amazon.com/coleman.
I worked great, but after several months the batteries ran down and needed to be replaced. No big deal right? Wrong!
It’s not easy to figure out which end of the flashlight to unscrew to put new batteries in. The Coleman website is no help at all. If you Google “how to open a Coleman Battery Lock flashlight” you’ll see that it’s a widespread problem. Requests for help are posted on numerous product review sites that sell the flashlights, most of them unanswered.
On two of the sites where users posted replies they noted that you unscrew the end opposite the light. One of the reviewers noted that he needed to use two pairs of pliars, one to hold the light and one to hold the end cap and that he ended up scratching the hell out of the flashlight and the cap before he could finally get the light to open to put in new batteries. All things considered, not a well-designed product, especially when you consider the cost.
The 250 tech worked well for 4 months and then two parts broke down: (1) the on/off lock switch no longer worked – I had to just leave it On all the time. (2) the rear cap would no longer screw off to replace batteries (the cheap aluminium thread wore out and the cap jammed on. Nothing would remove the cap and when I eventually used Extreme force to screw the cap off the barrel broke.
Just threw mine in the garbage because of the same issue with battery replacement above.
Have had my Coleman battery lock flashlight for 2 years. Have needed to replace batteries for the first time at least the last year and a half. Can not uncrew the end. Guess I wasted my $ too! It sucks!
I found one in the bush… not working, tried to open it… took vise grips and major pliers to get it open… batteries corroded. Fair enough, but what a stupid design. And you would think someone doing active review could do a little less story telling in the review and actual use it through a life cycle – thus testing how to change the batteries… poor product , poor review, helpful comments above
Thanks for your input Drew, and others with solid feedback. Those with a negative experience or failed product are usually more likely to provide their experience. The product failed and that should be noted. For what it’s worth: We usually have about 1-2 months to put a product to the test and give it a review. It would be fantastic if we could see how long one of these products would actually last. I suppose this will have to do. 6 years of solid use in the mountains, car camping, back packing, etc. The flashlights I have still work as intended. I’d say with normal use, this product will continue to shine on. I did have to change batteries once or twice, because those do ultimately have a life span. Different size flashlights have different access points to change batteries **** disclaimer, I did not drop these off of a cliff side, go scuba diving, hammered my tent stakes in with them, or leave them in the bush for an extended time.
I had the exact experience as others whose battery Lock flashlights worked well until the batteries needed to be change. What a disappointment! and what a testimonial against Coleman. For me, this purchase was Coleman’s second and last chance, after a wide beam heavy green flashlight proved impossible to access when the battery needed to be changed for the first time. In the future, I will vote with my wallet. I have a lot of Coleman equipment, but I would not buy another piece under any circumstance. Meanwhile, I suspect that their officials laugh all the way to the bank, and use our money to buy better quality flashlights –just like the sneaky gmo foods manufacturers who probably do not eat anything that they manufacture. Instead, irresponsible merchants use the money of ordinary people to buy better quality equipment and food for their families. We understand the paradigm; so, why do we continue to trust the so-called name brands. From now on, I will buy a six pack of no-name cheapies with simple and sure battery-changing capablilty. There might have been a time when name-brands mattered, but that time is passe’. What really gets me with Coleman is that they make such a big deal about WHEN we purchased the equipment, and whether it is under warranty. Perhaps they should ask how many times we have changed the battery. We are left holding shiny, like-new equipment that might have been in our car until time for the first battery change. On their contact page, we immediately see that Coleman wants to apply strict warranty adherence, and leave us literally in darkness. How’s that for a company that sells emergency lighting? It simply isn’t worth the feeling of being sold worthless emergency equipment. I will not bother to call. I will simply thrown mine away, and forget the company’s name. From all indications, the Battery Lock flashlight has a serious defect, and should have been recalled. It is not so much the monetary value of it that matters, but our reliance on flashlights during emergencies. I am elderly, and I bought the Battery Lock to increase the likelihood that I would not be caught in darkness Coleman should immediately replace defective lighting equipment, if nothing else in these times. Most of us could send some proof of purchase.
Flashlight worked good for a while, now to get it to turn on you have to twist both ends and hit the right spot then it won’t stay on very long if at all, I will never buy another one this is my third one and I’m a slow learner but I have learned my lesson well!