Editor’s Note: This #RADGEAR was done with the help of our friends at Scosche.
And it floats! Photo: Scosche
I just spent the past eight days with four friends (conveniently, we all work together) on the North Shore. We were staying just steps from the sand, packed into a house that eventually came to be known as “the Cave,” a short walk to Pipe and all the commotion that comes with early December along the Sven Mile Miracle. We’d drink coffee in the mornings, hammer away on our keyboards for a bit in the darkness of the air-conditioned living room, taking breaks away from “work” to walk out and surf. But still, running a website and all, this cozy little pad became our adopted Oahu office for a week, even if we would have all preferred to stay outdoors the entire time.
Before leaving California, Scosche had sent us their boomBottle H20+ wireless Bluetooth speaker to bring along. I happily packed my little waterproof gift, thinking I was bringing some good office vibes with me. Work tunes are kind of a staple among The Inertia’s staff. We have fun with it. Walk into our office on a given day and you’re likely to be greeted by at least one adorable office guard dog while music plays in the background. And on day one of our trip that seemed to be the case — minus the lapdogs. Bobby Darin, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and the lot started it all off nicely. The guys were happy. We were getting along as we do. We were grooving.
And for a week spent on the move, this little guy did the trick. The boomBOTTLE H20+ came with us on hikes, it hung out on the backyard patio with us a couple times and even started an impromptu poolside dance party with one of my favorite humans, DJ KK, at Turtle Bay, because that’s just what happens when you mix KK and music. The speaker got dropped, kicked, rained on (I forgot it on that backyard patio one night, and Hawaii is unforgiving with sporadic showers, so that could have been a fatal mistake), and tossed around through it all. And it survived.
Waterproof. And fits in a bike’s water bottle holster. Photo: Scosche
The speaker has an IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating, which means it’s built to survive spills and water. The thing actually even floats. Which came in handy at said pool party.
As far as audio quality goes, the boomBottle H20+ wireless has a 12W 50mm up-firing speaker and passive subwoofer, which did Drake proud. I later had a long argument with my coworker about the nuances of Drake and Kanye, and the speaker’s attention to treble came in handy for said disagreement. If we had another speaker, we could have paired them, which is a handy feature, and probably would have ensured I won that argument more quickly.
As for battery life, the speaker’s lithium-ion polymer battery is rechargeable and lasts up to 11 hours of continuous music playback. We tested this. It’s true. It lasts all eleven hours. In our case, hour one started at Frank Sinatra. Hour eleven ended with Drake. Obviously.
The speaker retails for $119.99 and is part of Scosche’s Optimized for Outdoors Collection, which is designed for rugged outdoor use. The collection includes backup batteries, USB cables, and all sorts of electronics designed to survive abuse.
Note: You can find more from Scosche here.
