COAST EAL35R Voice-Controlled Lantern Review

Once I’m cozy, wrapped up in my sleeping bag like a chubby Chipotle burrito, there aren’t many forces on heaven or earth that will compel me to leave my safe little cocoon. One is the call of nature — but even then, I will go to great lengths to forestall getting up, in hopes I can fall back asleep and wait for the callback.

But shutting off my reading light is one task I simply cannot skirt. Inevitably, as my eyes begin to droop and the siren call of sleep pulls me in, I have to disrupt my nest to kill the lights. Even if it’s just to press a button on my headlamp, a little nighttime chill is sure to scoot in the moment I reach up to flip it off.

I can’t promise that’s precisely the use case COAST envisioned when it brought over its “SpeakEasy” voice control tech from headlamps into the EAL35R lantern. Launched this fall, the EAL35R (ironically, a mouthful) piqued my (and other editors’) interest as perhaps a more useful application of voice-control than would a headlamp, which is always close at hand.

In short: Now that voice-controlled lanterns exist, I’m reluctant to go back to analog buttons alone. COAST’s EAL35R offers a perk that adds minimal cost but significant value — once you become accustomed to it. Beyond novelty, voice control is great for turning off the lights when you’re tucked away and ready for bed. However, despite its ease and reliability, there’s still one glaring area for improvement.

See the top products we’ve tested in our roundup of the Best Camp Lanterns.

COAST EAL35R Voice-Control Lantern Review

Before diving into the meat of the review, I want to note that COAST’s voice-control tech debuted last year in the RL35R headlamp, which we reviewed. For the most part, the controls in the EAL35R lantern mirror the functionality found in the headlamp.

However, as editor Sean McCoy noted in that review, voice control in a headlamp — while cool — was a bit of a head scratcher. Headlamps, by design, are virtually always within arm’s reach. Of course, there are presumably times when your hands might be occupied, or perhaps its just cold and you don’t want your frigid digits to leave the comfort of your pockets.

But, as I found over a couple of months of cool, fall weather camping, the utility of voice control becomes far more evident with the humble camp lantern.

Design and Construction

The EAL35R fits the mold of most modern camp lanterns. Gone are the halcyon days of heavy, steel Coleman gas-powered lanterns (although it’s still among our favorites).

The body is mostly plastic with some grippy rubber sections ringing the lower portion, and a stowable pivoting handle. COAST boasts that the diffuser is made of “unbreakable” polycarbonate. Short of smashing it with a rock, I’ve found the general construction pretty durable. I’ve dropped it on the ground and (for science) punched the diffuser with my fist — both survived.

The base has a removable lid to access the alkaline battery compartment, which takes four AA batteries. I have not run the lantern on alkaline, but it’s a smart option to add them as backup if you exceed the built-in lithium-ion battery’s runtime.

Speaking of power, the lantern has two USB-C ports — one IN and one OUT. The lantern’s rechargeable battery doubles as a power bank (more on this below). The EAL35R has been tested to IP54 standards, making it resistant to splashing (not submersion) and protected from dust incursion.

Lastly, this lantern offers five light modes: Warm (low), Cool (medium), White (high), Red, and Red flashing. On White, it maxes out at 1,000 lumens.

Camp Test: Getting Started

I managed a solid 14-plus nights sleeping under the stars in October. The EAL35R helped me navigate while walking around at night, and really shined clipped to the inside roof of my tent.

To be clear, while the voice control was the star of the show, a single-action button offers all the same control over power and modes that your voice will. One short press turns the white light on, cycles through low, medium, and high, and back to off. A long press activates red light mode, and another short press will switch to flashing red, and then back to off.

The lantern comes with a quick-start manual that outlines the voice commands, but these are also printed on the side of the lantern itself, so you always know how to use voice modes. And if those aren’t enough, I’ll put them here, too. All commands begin with the activation word, “COAST”:

• “COAST on” — turns light on warm (low)
• “COAST warm” — low
• “COAST cool” — medium
• “COAST white” — high
• “COAST red” — red
• “COAST flashing” — flashing red
• “COAST off” — turns light off

To use voice mode, you have to activate it via the talk button. This will light up green when it’s on. After 15 minutes of disuse, this feature automatically powers off. Importantly, this means you cannot leave the feature on when you go to sleep. So when you wake up, you will have to manually turn the lantern on.

Testing Results: What I Like

Overall, the EAL35R performed outstandingly. While its battery life specs aren’t anywhere near the high end for this category, I never once had to recharge the lantern over my month of testing. Granted, reading makes me sleepy real fast.

I had no issues with the voice control feature, and every mode responded as intended. As expected, the best aspect of voice control is saying “COAST off” in a puff of warm breath curling through chilly autumn Minnesota air. Once you’re zipped in, it’s no fun having to breach the body heat bundle — and the EAL35R eliminated that little cold-weather inconvenience.

The power bank feature also seemed to work fine, though I didn’t use it much. I will note that as the testing period stretched on, the power bank feature stopped activating, presumably to conserve what little battery life remained. With sufficient charge, the power bank worked fine.

It’s also worth noting that the power bank will work on pass-through power, so if you have one outlet, you can plug in the lantern to charge, and then plug your phone into the lantern to juice up in tandem.

I also appreciated having a variety of light modes. My preferred camp light is red — and next to that, warm light. The fact that the EAL35R had both was awesome for me.

What Could Be Better

I have only one singular complaint, and it’s the primary reason I would ever want voice-controlled lighting. Namely, I would most want to turn a light on when it’s dark — for example, when I wake up in the morning. After all, that’s really the one time you wouldn’t want to be fiddling around in search of an “On” button.

Unfortunately, the EAL35R can’t do that — although I did mention this to COAST. Could it appear in a future model? Maybe. The issue, of course, is the battery. While the brand informed me that the voice feature draws very little juice, letting it run for hours on end, for multiple nights, would likely become a drain issue.

Conclusion: Who’s It For?

If maximum runtime and outlandish brightness aren’t must-haves, then the EAL35R is a great little lantern. It’s got plenty of power, numerous modes and features, and — best of all — you can conserve a little warmth on cool nights with its voice mode.

What’s more, it’s only $40! Kind of wild, when you consider it’s the only lantern like it on the market. It’s not a high-performance option, but it packs in loads of convenience in a lightweight, easy-to-use package. And the cool factor doesn’t hurt either.