[leadin]We dropped it from an overpass, ran it over with a car, even drowned it under water, and the Fugoo Bluetooth speaker still kept pumping beats.[/leadin]
The Fugoo speaker is made for the outdoors. It’s waterproof, drop-proof, and super tough.
In a world busting with Bluetooth speakers, the Fugoo is in a league of its own. Did we mention its 40-hour battery life? Incredible.
Though it’s priced higher than a lot of its competition (see below), we recommend this unit for anyone who needs a true rugged and reliable speaker for use outside.
The speaker can be outfitted with one of three interchangeable cases. The Tough case proved to be more like armor and stood up to loads of abuse.
Fugoo says the speaker in the Tough case is drop-proof up to 6 feet and waterproof to 3 meters. We tossed it about 30 feet from an overpass onto pavement, and the drop hardly put a scuff in the case.
As noted, we also ran it over with a car, and, to the same affect, the speaker kept working and showed little sign of damage. It even kept music playing underwater when we dunked it.
The Tough case adds a little weight to the speaker so if you’re looking for something less bomb-proof the Sport and Style cases offer lighter, albeit less durable, options.
Audio Check
Six tiny speakers inside give 360-degree sound. Audio is clean and crisp — the Fugoo sounded great with a wide variety of music.
After turning it on, the speaker comes to life with a voice and a little tune to let you know it’s live (in addition to a blue light). A voice tells you when you’re pairing to a phone or other device.
There’s a built-in mic, so if you get a phone call, you can use the speaker the way you would use the Bluetooth in your car for answering the call. Large volume buttons adorn the top, and it also works with Siri and Google Now voice technologies.
We were mostly amazed with this little speaker. Its durability, particularly with the Tough jacket on, was unrivaled by any other Bluetooth speaker we’ve used.
Its functionality is incredible and can go from home to basecamp without faltering, and the monster battery life (40 hours between charges!) means you can have it out in the field for days without worrying about it dying. The Tough speaker is available for $130 from Fugoo.
