Coast FL97R Headlamp Review: Sub-$60 Voice Control Alternative To Black Diamond
Coast FL97R Headlamp Review: Sub-$60 Voice Control Alternative To Black Diamond
It’s 2026 and we have a voice-controlled headlamp before GTA 6. I mean, Tesla also just revealed a ‘flying’ car that can go upside down and steal your parking spot by jumping into it – so, being able to tell Alexa to turn on my headlamp shouldn’t be so strange.
And yet here I am writing a review about Coast’s new FL97R headlamp wondering if the voice-control thing is a feature that we really need.
Note: The voice command trigger word is actually ‘Coast’ and not ‘Alexa’.
I have pair of Amazon’s Echo Dot Max in the living room, one in my office, and a Spot in the bedroom. We use it to control the lights, our thermostat, and the TV. Alexa+ has also gotten so good at responding to our random questions that I almost begrudge hotels and rental properties when I can’t do the same there.
So, maybe I’m a little biased when it comes to the voice stuff. But for the purpose of reviewing the product, I really wanted to see if the voice control thing was a real feature or more a gimmick.
Quick Jump Navigation
- How Coast Voice Control Works
- Voice Control Accuracy and Using Multiple Devices At Once
- Did I Use The Voice Control?
- Simple and Straightforward Controls
- Light Modes
- Battery Life Performance
- How Many Lumens Do You Actually Need?
- How The FL97R Compares To Other Headlamps
- Final Thoughts and What Does FL97R Even Mean?
How Coast Voice Control Works
First off, for voice control to be useful, it has to just work. It’s frustrating if the device fails to pick up the commands or understand you.
In the case of the FL97R, it’s accurate enough that I have no problems with it as long as I say the words correctly enough and not mumble. The feature is included in several other of their products including the $40 EAL35R lantern that I also reviewed and the fir.
To use this feature, there’s a dedicated button to turn on the ‘listening’ feature. On the headlamp, it sits on the bottom side of the lamp. The placement is smart because it’s away from the three dedicated light mode buttons on the top, so you can reach for it intuitively to turn this on.
And you have to turn the ‘listening’ mode on. It stays on for 15 minutes before turning off to save batteries.
To use the feature, you say ‘Coast’ followed by a command. On the FL97R, they are:
- On/Off
- Warm: Activate warm side ARC lights
- White (Low, Medium, High): Activates main light source.
- Red: Activates small red light
- Green: Activate small green light
Voice Control Accuracy and Using Multiple Devices At Once
At home, I placed both devices equal distance apart, starting at 1 ft, then 5ft, and finally across the room. Both worked very well. Apparently, you can operate it as far as 60-65 feet (18-20 meters) with something like the lantern and up to 30 feet (9 meters) for a headlamp. Both use a downward facing mono-directional mic to pick up commands while reducing background noise.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was spot-on about 95% of the time. I had to repeat myself a couple of times, and in some instances, ‘Coast Off’ was read as ‘Coast High,’ though I couldn’t replicate it at will.
In the field, we tested it with 4 very different voices and notably with accents. One from Lithuania, another from Russia, one from Kyrgyzstan, and myself as a native English speaker. There was a bit of wind, but it was otherwise quiet at our camp site. No problems here.
We used this in tandem with a EAL35R lantern, another of Coast’s voice-controlled lights.
While camping, both devices heard the same command and activated properly, but not always. I found that I can speak a lower volume with the headlamp since it was closer to me, without triggering the lantern, which was around 10-15 feet away.
In the real world, if several people are using a voice controlled device, there’s potential for activating (intentionally or otherwise) someone’s light, but whispering in a lower volume would allow a closer device to pick up the command without triggering ones that are further away.
Did I Use The Voice Control?
I actually did. When cooking and peeing. Not together.
Heading into the woods at night, I had the light on high to cast a wide, bright light. No one wants to blindly stumble into a bear.
When I found my perfect tree, free of jumping spiders, I whispered ‘Coast Red’ to dim the light and hide myself.
No one needs to see what’s happening. After I finished, ‘Coast Medium’ illuminated my path back to camp and down to the creek to wash my hands, and then ‘Coast Warm’ when I got back to the table to check up on Italian wedding soup going on the Jetboil.
Was any of it absolutely necessary. Not really. What I would have done before was to just keep the brighter light on the whole time, or ignore the hygiene thing and switch the modes on the headlamp anyway. It’s camping, and a bit of dirt, or river water, or pee never hurt anyone.
But here’s my two cents. It doesn’t cost much for the feature. At least not with the FL97R at $59, since the non-voice counterpart the FL95R retails for $66 (though you can pick it up at REI for $50).
I’m jumping ahead here, but even without the voice control, this is a featured packed headlamp comparable, and better in some ways, to one of the industry’s tried and true model, the Black Diamond Storm.
Simple and Straightforward Controls
There are three buttons on the top:
Left (Two Dots): Activates the red or green light.
Center (Tear Drop): Main light source. Turns on at the medium setting. Press to cycle to high, low, and back to medium. Hold the center button for 2 seconds to activate the max (1250 lumens) light. This can be turned on for 40 second ‘bursts.’
Right (Two Lines): Activates a warm and diffused pair of side lights.
There’s one button on the bottom and a mic:
Bottom: Activates the voice control listening mode.
On the backside, a rubber cover protects the USB-C charging port from exposure.
Two clips on the underside secure the battery compartment, which houses a rechargeable proprietary ZX350 battery. You can take this battery out to charge with its built in USB-C port, or access that same port via the rubber cover on the backside.
Lock-Out Mode: To prevent the headlamp from accidentally turning on while in storage, you can hold the Left (Two Dots) button for 5 seconds to activate Lock-Out Mode. You’ll know it’s activated when the red light blinks. If you hold it again for another 5 seconds, the green light will blink rapidly indicating that it’s no longer in Lock-Out Mode.
Light Modes
There are three main light sources that correspond to the three buttons. Main, ARC180 Warm Light, and Red/Green.
Use the main light, like any other headlamp. The ARC warm light is a softer, warmer light that’s great for not blinding others at the camp table, or when you’re in your tent at night. The red light is for gently illuminating what’s in front of you without affecting your night vision.
You can see a chart of how bright each mode is, the throw distance (how far the light reaches), and your expected runtime.
There’s also the Glide Focus, a manual radial level across the top of the light that allows you adjust the optic beam from a wider flood light to a focused beam. This and combined with the Turbo mode at 1250 lumens gives you the ridiculous 225m throw.
Comfort
Not too much to say here, the ultra-strap is one of the best straps I’ve used. It’s made from a mesh fabric with perforated holes for breathability and a silicone lining for grip. This is super useful for having a secure fit over helmets, especially since it’s a single strap band. It looks rugged, but is very lightweight.
Before my old Black Diamond and Petzl headlamps have failed, the fabric straps have already lost their structure. The straps are also replaceable, which I’d imagine will keep this looking new years from now.
Battery Life Performance
The first time I used the FL97R camping, the indicator was blinking red the following morning. There was still juice, but I questioned whether I had fully charged the battery before heading out, or if it just drained that fast. I did use it for about 2-3 hours, and mostly kept it on the highest setting.
I charged it up and the next night I used it for another 2-3 hours, but this time on medium. It’s still running on that same charge while I continue to test and write this review.
If you remove their proprietary ZX350 battery, that has a flat rectangular design, you can put in 3 AAA batteries in its place. It’s never a bad idea to carry some spare batteries, space permitting, and you get peace of mind that you won’t be out of juice.
Performance wise, the specs don’t look as good on paper compared to something like the Black Diamond Storm. I have an old non-rechargeable Storm, so it’s not quite comparable, but I found that medium on the FL97R is similar to high on the Storm (420 lumens vs 550 lumens). So, in practice, you’re getting similar performance run time.
The batteries are replaceable, so you can buy an extra one if you don’t want to use disposable batteries.
We’ll see how it all holds up, but I doubt I’ll be using the high mode much or for prolonged periods, since the I’ll be only getting at most 2 hours of usage. Which leads to a more important question you should be asking yourself.
How Many Lumens Do You Actually Need?
Most headlamp manufacturers highlight the max lumens, throw distance, and runtime – all together. For the casual consumer, this is a bit misleading.
For example, the FL97R has 1250 lumens prominently printed on the front with a 15h run time. But if you refer back up to the chart, 15h is for when you’re using it on the low light mode at 110 lumens. In fact, the 1250 lumens is only for a ‘burst’ of 40 seconds at a time.
The normal high mode gets you 830 lumens for 2 hours, while medium gets you 420 lumens for 5 hours.
But does it matter and knowing this, how many lumens do you really actually need out there?
In my experience, 100-200 lumens is plenty for basic and close-up tasks. In fact, it’s better not to have the headlamp brighter than what you need. Sometimes, the red light is enough and much better for preserving your night vision.
200-500 lumens is the sweet spot for most activities around a camp site, and even hiking in the dark. For the FL97R, this is the medium setting.
Where you might want more lumens if you’re hiking in uneven terrain at night and want to either 1) cast a wide bright light to clearly illuminate everything in front and to your sides, or 2) a concentrated beam with a long throw to see further up ahead. That’s where 800-1000 lumens will come in handle.
On my second night, I ran the headlamp on medium most of the time when I was actively moving around the campsite, going down to the creek to get water, and then switched to low or warm when I was cooking (especially since we already had the lantern on).
I only used the 1250 lumen burst just to test how far I could see ahead. It was pretty impressive and I’ll be glad for it when we are doing certain sections of the Delicate Arch hike at Arches National Park next month at night.
I do feel like manufacturers should be focusing on pointing on the run time on the medium setting, since that’s what most people will be using and it’s easier to compare.
How The FL97R Compares To Other Headlamps
Headlamps are one of those ‘buy once every 5-10 years’ type of things, but during my endurance racing days, I went through and tested quite a few to find something reliable enough to get me through 48, 60, and 72 hour races.
My benchmark is the Black Diamond Storm. It depends on the model, but at 3.6 oz, you get around 500 lumens of light, a good long 100m+ throw, and solid battery life that seems to last a long time. It’s a good headlamp around the $80 price point.
For around the $75, there’s also the highly-regarded Fenix HM55R, which I haven’t tested out, but gives you closer specs to the FL97R along with IP98
There are definitely brighter units with separate battery packs and more secure headbands, but they are heavier, bulkier, and more expensive. Not something I need.
On the other hand, I also like the Nitecore NU20 Classic if you need something ultralight at 38 grams (1.34 oz). Petzl makes the Swift LT (43 grams or 1.5 oz), but I feel like the NU20, at $25 is a slightly better value package. 360 lumens at max mode, 38 lumens in medium that you can run for 7 hours.
So, where does the FL97R fit in?
At $60, the FL97R, you’re paying less for feature heavy headlamp and getting more than what you’d get with the Black Diamond Storm at $80.
You’re getting very high quality light from both, but a higher and brighter max from the FL97R. More importantly, the glide focus lever is useful for changing the spread and throw of my light and the separate ARC180 warm light is useful for when I just need a bit of light.
The main downside is the IP64 rating vs the IP67 rating on the Storm, which means that the FL97R is dust and water resistant, but not fully waterproof like the Storm. Both will handle being wet or being used in the rain, but if you think you might drop it into a lake, or will be caught out in a storm, this could be a dealbreaker.
Final Thoughts And What Does FL97R Even Mean?
About that name. One small thing that Coast could think about is simplifying their line-up with some easier to remember names for the average consumer.
In this case, FL stands for Front-Loading, whether the battery is in the front, as opposed to head lamp unit with a counterweight battery on the back or rear, which would then be a RL for Rear-Loading. That makes sense.
R stands for rechargeable. That makes sense as well. The 97 is a probably a model, and doesn’t tell me much else.
But if you look through their line-up, it gets confusing very fast, with other models like the TXM, XPH, TPH, WPH, and FLX.
Overall, I think this is a great headlamp in the $50-80 range. If you need the absolutely waterproofing, you might want to look for a more robust option. Coast has plenty of other headlamps in their line-up that have IP67 and IP68 ratings. If you don’t want to spend less than $40, check out their WPH10R, which is part of my EDC kit and travel kit.
You can view the full official line-up on the Coast Portland site, but I’ve found that you can also find the FL97R in certain colors sometimes on Amazon.
Updated on October 25, 2026
