Shadowhawk X800 Flashlight Review
• Comfortable to hold
• Moderate specs for tactical light
• Multiple modes
• Not as compact as some tac lights
• Price. Nearly identical products can be found for far less
The Shadowhawk X800 is an average tactical light with an exorbitant price. You can find virtually identical flashlights for about $10 or less on Amazon or eBay. On its own merits, the X800 is certainly an OK tactical light, but the price seems completely out of line for what could be described as an inexpensive, average product.
Shadowhawk X800
The Shadowhawk X800 Flashlight is a tactical light which has been advertised online throughout 2016. Today we take a closer look with our Shadowhawk X800 review plus additional information.
Note: It appears that this product may have been re-branded as Gladiator Flashlight. You can read more information on that product in this review.
Claims & Features
- The most popular tactical flashlight
- Can be seen 2 miles away
- Strobe feature will “ruin an attacker’s eyesight”
- 800 lumens
- “Tactical grade aluminum”
- Includes lithium ion battery and charger, and an adapter which allows use with three AAA batteries
- Three brightness modes (high, medium, low), plus strobe and SOS modes
Cost & Availability
The order page for the X800 tells you that a 75% discount has been applied to your order. With that in mind, the cost breaks down as follows:
- 1 unit: $56
- 2 units: $97 ($48.50 each)
- 3 units – Buy Two Get One: $117 ($39 each)
- 4 units: $169 ($42.25 each)
- 5 units – Buy 3 Get 2: $145 ($29 each)
The Company
The company “Shadowhawk Flashlights” is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau, although you can see some consumer complaints on the BBB website.
The Corporate Address is listed (both on the BBB site, and the official website) as 7582 Las Vegas Blvd. S #115-405, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Because this website (www.epic.reviews) is also located in the Las Vegas area, we decided to visit this address to see what was there first-hand. You can see from the photo below, that address is actually the location of a UPS Store, with the Shadowhawk “corporate address” merely being box 405 at this store. It is in the parking lot of the Las Vegas South Premium Outlets, between an L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and a Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
This is the corporate location for Shadowhawk Flashlights.
The other address listed on the company website is the “Returns” Address, which is 7875 Highlands Village Place, Suite B102 #401, San Diego, CA 92129. This is also a UPS Store.
Based on what we found at the two company addresses listed on their website, it appears that there is no true physical business location for Shadowhawk Flashlights, at least not one that is given to its customers.
Shadowhawk X800 Commercial
The TV commercial below was posted to the official Shadowhawk YouTube page in January 2016.
Shadowhawk X800 Review
Most consumers became familiar with the Shadowhawk X800 flashlight via ads on social media sites such as Facebook. The light is advertised as a state of the art tactical light with an 800 Lumen bulb and body made from premium grade aluminum. It is touted for its durability and brightness.
The X800 arrives in a case which includes the flashlight, rechargeable battery, charger, and adapter which allows use with three AAA batteries. The case itself is rather flimsy, and not something you’d expect for a product touted for its durability. The brightness when the light is using three AAA batteries is not as powerful as when it is using the lithium battery.
There are two significant factors you should weigh when considering a Shadowhawk X800. The first would be the merits of the product itself, and the second is the price.
Regarding the merits, we would describe the X800 as an average tactical light that includes many of the features you’d expect from similar flashlights, such as a zoom feature, durable construction, and rechargeable battery. The light is bright and performs about as expected. In short, there is nothing really wrong with this light.
It’s just extremely over-priced.
Where this particular product falters is that it has been described by a number of consumers as a $56 knockoff of a $10-$15 light. In fact, there are a number of lights which visually appear to be the exact same model as the X800, with only the brand name on the handle changed. Most of these other incarnations, however, only cost about $8-$15. It could be argued that the guts are superior in the X800, although tests have not revealed a significant advantage over the similar competitors.
You may have run across forums calling the X800 a “scam,” which we don’t feel is an accurate description because customers do get what is advertised, although it is significantly higher priced than nearly identical items. The marketing is actually not much different than the standard As Seen on TV product which over-hypes the benefits and charges more than similar competitors.
This review is written from the perspective of a casual user – the demographic largely targeted in the product’s advertising – but you may be interested in a more technical look at the X800 as seen in the video below.
Similar Products
As noted above, the X800 seems to be virtually identical to a number of far-less expensive tactical lights on the market. It would appear that several lights on the market are simply re-brandings of the same item. In addition to the Ultrafire 878 – which some have claimed is the “original” from which the X800 is based – there are also a number of other similar lights, such as the Mengcore E17, which look identical other than the logo on the handle.
A rep from the company fielded questions in a Reddit forum and claimed that it “is actually not the Ultrafire standard Chinese model, it’s our own manufacturer with better components, bulb, and battery.” Despite that, there are dozens of online reviewers and YouTube videos which compare the X800 to the Ultrafire and other similar flashlights, and the differences are negligible, if any at all.
Another light which can be seen advertising online – and which sports the same design – is the Lumitact G700. That product’s website has identical wording, photos, price, and 75% discount as the Shadowhawk X800 website. Compare the two product websites below. Both are screen shots taken from landing pages advertised on Google.
When you try to purchase the G700, you’ll find that it sends you to a Clickbank cart. Clickbank is a large affiliate network – and thus the G700 appears to be an affiliate-branded version of the X800.
One question we would ask is: If this is not a re-branded light, why is the design exactly the same as so many others on the market, right down to the markings? And why are there affiliate versions such as the G700?
If you’re looking for a superior light for less, take a look at the Convoy S2+, which you can find for $20-$30 and offers superior performance according to our tests.
Epic Conclusion
The Shadowhawk X800 is an average tactical light with an exorbitant price. You can find virtually identical flashlights for about $10 or less on Amazon or eBay. On its own merits, the X800 is certainly an OK tactical light, but the price seems completely out of line for what could be described as an inexpensive, average product.
Our 2-star rating is weighed heavily by the price. Based on its features and the competition, the X800 should cost about $20, not $56 – and certainly not the $224 “list” price. Not factoring in the price, it’s probably about a 3.5 star tactical light.
Have you tried Shadowhawk X800? Please give it a star rating and comment below.
I assumed that they all would work and did not check on the last two for a couple of months. Yes I charged the lithium battery and used three triple A’s as well. There is a thirty day warranty that I missed and now have $60 worth of trash. Please research all potential purchases and save money.