Squeezed By a Truck, It Kept On Grooving: Turtlebox Cub Review

Sometimes the best stress tests for gear are the ones you never intended. That’s what happened to Hunt/Fish Editor Rachelle Schrute, who placed her brand-new Turtlebox Cub into the wheel well of her truck to avoid direct sun.

She was happily grooving to Willie Nelson while building a fence when she “heard a terrifying crunch.”

“My partner decided the truck needed to move and was unaware of my decision to tuck the little sucker into the wheel well. It got jammed up into the truck so hard that it crushed the paneling, ripped off a speaker foot, and ground up some of the plastic,” she said. “Willie was still playing through it all.”

Houston-based Turtlebox has earned a reputation for making waterproof, Bluetooth speakers capable of taking a serious beating. With its latest release, the Cub, the brand offers a middle ground between its most portable option, the Ranger, and its larger sibling, the Original. Both Schrute and I put the Cub through its paces in recent months, and we’re highly satisfied with the results.

In short: At half the weight and nearly half the size of Turtlebox’s original flagship speaker, the Turtlebox Cub still pumps out 118 decibels — just two fewer decibels than its larger sibling. In other words, it’s plenty loud enough to generate an impromptu dance party anywhere you take it. But it’s still small enough and light enough not to be a burden on most paddling or fishing trips. These speakers aren’t cheap, and the premium price tag will turn some heads. What they do offer is stellar sound and a build tough enough to take abuse in and out of the water.

Turtlebox Cub Review

The rise of waterproof speakers has made it easier than ever to bring our favorite songs wherever we go, and few brands offer better options than the super-tough jam boxes from Houston-based Turtlebox. The brand’s range of speakers has repeatedly earned praise from us GearJunkies, so I was stoked to test out the Cub — a smaller alternative to the brand’s flagship speaker: The Original.

From solo paddling trips to just hanging out with the family by the pool, I’ve enjoyed putting the Cub through its paces over the last couple of months. I don’t always want music on outdoor outings (and sometimes we should all reconsider when and where we start blasting jams in the outdoors). But if you want a durable, beautiful-sounding speaker for hanging out with friends, it’s hard to imagine one punching higher above its weight class than this one.

Speakers in the Outdoors

As an adult outdoorsman, however, I don’t often blast music while exploring. When hiking, trail running, or biking, I tend to enjoy the natural soundtrack of nature, even though I’m usually by myself.

But there are exceptions. My colleague Schrute is a hard-working property owner. So having a sturdy speaker that can withstand mishaps like the one above is a no-brainer for her. As for myself, I love to paddle, especially during the summer. But when low water levels make river runs impossible, I’ll often turn to lakes instead.

Unfortunately, paddling on flatwater can be mind-numbingly slow and boring. Moreover, lakes are often rife with noise from pontoon parties, jet skis, or lakeside barbecues with speakers large enough for a heavy-metal show. In such circumstances, I have no hesitation in bringing along a burly speaker on my paddleboard and blocking out the endless stream of EDM and hip-hop by opting for calmer grooves that keep me grounded.

So there are plenty of great scenarios for using a loud portable speaker like Turtlebox Cub — as long as you’re mindful of those who prefer a quieter moment in public spaces.

Same Durability, More Volume

For those unfamiliar with Turtlebox, the brand has long since proved its ability to make tough outdoor speakers that still sound fantastic. I remain a huge fan of the Turtlebox Ranger. At just 2.4 pounds, it remains my favorite Bluetooth speaker.

The fact that it’s waterproof just feels like an added bonus for a speaker with such high audio fidelity. And with 105 decibels, you won’t lack for volume — unless you’re trying to keep booties bumping for a party.

The main benefit of the Cub over the Ranger is a significantly larger woofer. While the Ranger clocks in at just 2 inches, the Cub is more than twice as large, at 4.5 inches. That means way more bass, and therefore more ability to compete with other noise, or simply keep the jams audible among a larger group of chattering friends and family.

It worked like a charm when I brought it to family gatherings at the pool of my brother’s subdivision. And I found a major benefit to using it over the Ranger while paddling on Lake Lanier here in Georgia, or across Bear Creek Lake in North Carolina.

I haven’t tried the Turtlebox Original, which is significantly larger and heavier than the Cub. The brand says it’s loud enough for up to 50 people, while the Cub is “ideal” for 20 or fewer. I’m not hosting many parties these days, however.

At 10 pounds, the Original is too big for me to willingly take on even brief adventures. The Cub, on the other hand, is still small enough to easily fit on a paddleboard. And unless you have a zillion friends joining you outside, it’s loud enough and portable enough for most serendipitous get-togethers.

Party in a Lunch Box

The Turtlebox Cub is about the size of the Ninja Turtles lunchbox I took to elementary school (the boombox was too big and heavy, so it stayed at home). Its 5 pounds of weight feels very compressed into this small shape, and you feel the gravity when you carry it by the burly black handle.

Like the Original, the Cub is highly waterproof for both freshwater and saltwater. With an IP-67 rating, the brand said it’s submersible up to 3 feet for 30 minutes. Moreover, it’s buoyant and won’t immediately sink if it falls into the water (though I play it safe and keep the speaker tethered to my boat when going out on the water).

Like its other speakers, Turtlebox calls the Cub “100% drop, crush & dust-proof,” and the brand’s durability claims have certainly proven true for me. I’m hard on all my gear by nature, and both the Cub and Ranger have survived the abuse. They’ve been casually tossed in and out of my Honda CRV, fallen several feet onto concrete, doused repeatedly in water from my kayak paddle, and never stuttered when exposed to the summer sun for hours at a time.

Battery life on the Cub is even longer than the Ranger’s (14 hours versus 12), and the Bluetooth pairing has been reliable. (I grow easily frustrated with speakers that don’t immediately pair to my phone.) The Cub also sports on-board buttons for power, pairing, volume, and track skipping, though I’d imagine most people are like me, and simply use their phone for these controls once it’s turned on.

There’s also a Party Mode that lets you pair multiple Turtlebox speakers. I haven’t used that feature so far, but it does sound nifty if you’re using them to host a party, especially since it automatically creates a left/right stereo pair.

Caveats & Conclusions

There’s not much I can say against the Turtlebox. The brand simply makes top-notch speakers with great sound quality and durable materials. But they’re not cheap. At $330, you can find plenty of cheaper alternatives with similar volume and features.

Now, are those alternatives actually as waterproof as they claim? I doubt it. But even if they hold up initially, I think Turtlebox’s speakers will last a lot longer before breaking down.

Personally, I try to remember not to take technological leaps for granted. Not too long ago, the idea of a great-sounding speaker that could be fully submerged in water was pure fantasy. Now we have already leaped to find the cheapest possible version on Amazon, usually from a Chinese brand.

If you’re not too worried about audio quality or durability, there are tons of better options. But if you’re a card-carrying music lover and dirtbag adventurer, Turtlebox remains hard to beat.