ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker Case Review

It’s the age-old conundrum. You’ve got two hands and way too many things to carry. Cooler, Bluetooth speaker, exercise equipment, random accessories…the list goes on. But what if you could combine some of these? The ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker is here for the save! It’s a combination Bluetooth speaker and waterproof case! Now you can protect your valuables from the elements while jamming to your tunes. Let’s take a closer look!

ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker Specs

• 100% Waterproof (IP67) – shock resistant, sand proof and it floats!
• Waterproof dry storage -100 cubic inches of storage for phone, key, wallet
• 50+ hours of playtime – at average volume levels (10 hours at max volume)
• 20,000mAh – 8-cell lithium battery with 4-step battery level LED’s
• 65 Watts – peak power drives up to 110db@1ft (some frequencies hit 120db!)
• 3 marine grade speaker system: 1 x 3.7” Coaxial midrange with integrated 1.5” tweeter and 1 x 5 ¼” woofer provides deep bass and clear vocals – optimized for outdoor listening
• Bluetooth 5.0 – streams your music from your phone when placed inside the EcoJourney or up to 100 feet away when not stored or connect to the integrated wired aux-in jack.
• ECOCAST – Connect up to 100 EcoJourneys together and connect to any ECOXGEAR speaker with the ECOCAST feature (not compatible with previous ECOCONNECT generation speakers.
• Music controls – Volume, play/pause, forward, and back buttons
• ECOTALK – for direct connection to Siri or OK Google and built-in speakerphone
• Fast Charge – any device via the internal USB-C jack
• Battery size: 20,000mAh battery

ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker Overview

The ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker is a sturdy plastic case with heavy-duty clasps and a Bluetooth speaker built into the lid. The EcoJourney has exterior dimensions of 6″ x 11″ x 9.75″ but the inside is considerably smaller. I couldn’t accurately measure the inside as the lid takes up part of the space. It is certainly large enough to hold your phone and some additional accessories.

When I say the case is sturdy, I mean just that It is constructed out of rigid plastic with very secure clasps. The ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker sports an IP67 rating. This ensures complete protection from dust and protection from submersion in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes. The instructions say to test the waterproof capabilities of the case by putting a piece of paper inside the case and submerging it for 30 minutes! That’s the length of time of the IP rating and shows their confidence in their product! That said, it floats so you’ll have to weigh it down with something.

ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Controls and Ports

While the ECOXGEAR EcoJourney is unique in that it is a case AND a Bluetooth speaker, it’s the speaker part we are most interested in here at AV Gadgets. The ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker has three drivers, a coaxial 1.5″ tweeter mounted inside a 3.7” midrange and a 5.25″ woofer for bass. These are clearly visible on the lid outlined in blue.

The lid also has all the controls in blue, rubber buttons. There are LEDs to illuminate some of the buttons as well as four LEDs to indicate charge. The ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker promises 50+ hours of playtime at average volume levels or 10 hours at maximum. This long battery life comes at a cost – the lid is VERY heavy. More on that later. ECOXGEAR says the EcoJourney will take up to 12 hours to change from low to full. That’s a while but it’s the price you pay for such a long battery life.

The back of the lid (inside the case) has all the connections. First, there is an On/Off switch. The power button on the front of the lid simply puts the unit in Standby Mode. Moving the inside On/Off switch to the Off position protects the battery charge for long periods of unuse. Ports include a USB-C for charging the EcoJourney, USB output for charging your phone, and a 3.5mm Aux-In for direct connection.

EcoJourney Use

The lid, in particular, I found to be particularly cumbersome. Because it houses all the drivers, electronics, and batteries, it is very heavy. So much so that the first few times you open the EcoJourney, expect the lid to “get away” from you and slam open, likely spilling the contents of the case.

ECOXGEAR has sought to combat this (somewhat) by including some slow-close pegs that keep the lid from slamming on your fingers as you close it. Unfortunately, they do nothing during the opening process. ECOXGEAR has anticipated this issue by adding rubber pads on the lid to mitigate any damage. Unfortunately, the pads are only held on by a sticky backing and one nearly immediately dislodged in my very gentle testing.

Lastly, the EcoJourney is heavier than you expect. The unit, as a whole, weighs in at just over seven pounds (7.288 to be exact). It includes a carrying handle and a removable strap. While I found the EcoJourney to be cumbersome to carry, it is fully waterproof and dustproof. If you are a frequent beachgoer (or really need a case that can protect your valuables from the elements), the EcoJourney definitely fits the bill.

EcoJourney Control

Connecting to the EcoJourney was as easy as connecting to any Bluetooth speaker. You just have to make sure the internal On/Off switch is set to On or the power button on the lid won’t work. The top right button on the front is the EcoCast button. It switches between the different inputs and cycles through the different EcoCast modes. EcoCast allows you to use one EcoJourney to connect to many others in order to play the same content.

To the left of the EcoCast button is the EcoTalk button. This enables your voice assistant on your phone (if connected via Bluetooth). Next is the Bluetooth button (which you’ll likely only press if you need to reestablish your Bluetooth connection). Lastly, on the top left is the power button. As stated, this button only puts the speaker in Standby mode. The rest of the buttons are your standard play/pause/skip/volume controls.

The buttons are rubber (as you might expect from a waterproof product) but generally have a noticeable “click” when you press them. I found them responsive and accurate. That’s about all you really need from controls.

ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker Sound Quality

Around here, we care a lot about sound quality. I connected my Pixel 5 to the EcoJourney via Bluetooth (as no phones these days sport a headphone jack). I streamed a variety of music from a number of services. The first thing I noticed about the EcoJourney was the volume. Talk about loud! I’ve reviewed a lot of speakers that claimed to get loud but the EcoJourney beat them all by a wide margin. In my home, I couldn’t get the volume level much past half without risking angering my family (and likely my neighbors).

At a more comfortable volume level, I set the EcoJourney through its paces. First I played a number of sweeps. It started making noise as low as 35Hz but really didn’t make any meaningful music until 60Hz. This indicates that the EcoJourney is trying to recreate the entire frequency range but really can’t do anything more than distort lower than 60Hz.

The high-end of the response wasn’t much better with a decidedly tipped-up presentation. As the speaker is really designed for outdoor use, having an accentuated top end makes sense as these are the sounds that lose energy the quickest in wide-open areas. Inside, however, the overall response of the EcoJourney was very uneven.

To test the speaker in its natural (and intended) environment, I took it outside and stood about 20 feet away. Holy moly! What a difference. What sounded uneven and unnatural inside was suddenly lifelike and impressive! The highs seemed natural and well-balanced. The low end wasn’t very deep but didn’t sound distorted. Outside, the EcoJourney really came into its own with sound quality that suddenly justified the price.

Wrap Up

It’s hard to know exactly how to review the ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker. As a weatherproof case, it certainly checks all the boxes. It might be heavy and not have the greatest carrying capacity, but it will protect your stuff. On the sound side, it certainly can get loud, but the sound quality isn’t all that great…when you are inside But are you looking for great sound when you are outside with your friends? At $200 MSRP (and often less at retail) the ECOXGEAR EcoJourney Waterproof Speaker has everything you need.

The perfect owner of this speaker is someone that spends a lot of time outside at the beach or exercising. They want a rugged speaker that they don’t have to charge often (I’m guessing once a month with normal use). They may never use it at home but want something that will get loud and sound great when outside. Is this the best speaker for all environments? No. But if you are looking for a truly weatherproof outdoor speaker, the EcoJourney is the best one I’ve heard.