rugged bluetooth speaker

The Top 10 Rugged Bluetooth Speakers for Outdoor Sports

Nothing beats the thrill of listening to your favorite music tracks while on an ardours outdoor adventure, but you will need an incredible rugged and compact speaker to do the job and survive the outdoor elements. In this article we explore the top 10 rugged bluetooth speakers for outdoor sports that are designed to be small, portable, and yet deliver ultra-high performance sound quality. Some of these outdoor speakers are also selling at a very good prices at the time of writing, so don’t forget to snag them up before they sell out!

#1 The All-Terrain Sound Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

The All-Terrain Sound Rugged Bluetooth Speaker is a weatherproof, ruggedized Bluetooth speaker designed for those who need rugged speakers that can keep up with outdoor sports or extended periods of travelling. The rugged design and outdoor friendly features took us a little by surprise. We expected it to be really heavy but we were wrong – it’s really lightweight and got a great feel to it too, so it doesn’t weigh you down as you take it with you. We experimented with this speaker by taking it on 2 bike rides, brought it outside for outdoor use and the battery still remains almost fully charged after 6 consecutive hours of use. The display also shows the battery life next to the Bluetooth symbol, which is a nice added touch. All in all, this speaker lasts for more than 14 hours of continuous play time with a single charge, which is pretty neat for a speaker of this size.

Pairing this device was easy, although it will give preference to whatever device it previously paired with. The industrial strength clip holds up really well and we never worried it would fail during an outdoor expedition. The clip is made of a strong polycarbonate material that’s designed to withstand extreme conditions, so you’ll never have to worry about the speaker falling off. The sound on the All-Terrain is really good – it gets loud enough to hear but not obnoxiously loud to others around you. We listened to tech, pop, rock and classical and it handles all these genres nicely. The sound is clear and crisp with no distortion at maximum volume. The bass is not lacking for a speaker of this size (don’t forget it’s a really tiny speaker, not a car stereo) – so you have to adjust your expectations accordingly. We found that this speaker is perfect for hanging in a tent or on your patio.

We have tested dozens of rugged Bluetooth speakers but the All-Terrain is unique for its more ruggedized design that makes it suitable for camping, hiking and even kayaking. It certainly feels comfortable bringing these speakers around the water – it’s waterproof and even floats if you accidently drop in into the water. To be exact, this speaker has a waterproof rating of IPX5, which means that it is capable of withstanding blasts of water from all directions and you can drop this in the water or get rained on without having to worry about it. Its ruggedized design is also shock proof, which means you can drop it from 10 feet height directly onto concrete and it won’t even scratch. The case of the speaker has a tire-like appearance and it is the rubber “threads” that help protect the speaker when it is being subjected to rough and tumble conditions.

The verdict? With a long play time, robust design and pleasing sound quality, the All-Terrain speaker is one of the best rugged Bluetooth speaker that will please the outdoor enthusiast. It’s a convenient speaker that you will never ever have to worry about when you take it outdoors – all while listening to your favourite music without having to skip a beat.

#2 The Arespark Portable Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

The Arespark is probably one of the best compact and durable speaker we’ve tested. Not only is it feature rich, but the sound for such a little thing is solid and punchy. The bass has so much pop that the speaker hops around the table when the bass is going (of course there are ways to secure it so it doesn’t move around). We could not believe the sound in such a small form. It just kept cranking out solid bass and sweet trebles. The trebles are good but maybe just maybe a little flat if you have music without much bass (such as instrumental or jazz genres) but that is to be expected.

Next we tested out the rugged design of the Arespark. We dropped it from a height of about 4 feet onto a ceramic tile floor. The front mesh speaker cover popped off, but the music played on and didn’t miss a beat. We simply popped the mesh cover back on. The speaker plays just fine without mesh cover although we were slightly concerned that it might pop off during a hike. The included carabiner clip is actually a surprisingly useful addition as you can hang it from your bag or belt hook.

Furthermore, the Arespark can be played as a bluetooth speak but also as an MP3 player if you use the micro SD card slot. This is especially convenient if you don’t have access to your music or you are in a place where getting your music involves data usage which you have precious little left to spare. The music must be in the card’s root directory and the card cannot be larger than 32GB. We tested it with a SanDisk Ultra 32GB UHS-I/Class 10 Micro SDHC Memory Card and the speaker recognized it. It also comes with a shutter release function so you can trigger the shutter of your cell phone with this speaker. It’s an interesting feature and no doubt useful – you could even take a selfie with this bluetooth speaker.

Unlike most small bluetooth speakers this one is very loud, probably due to the 2×1.5 inch total 7W dual powerful acoustic drivers. Most speakers in this size range are good for three meters away – maximum – before the sound volume becomes indistinct. This one projects a good six-to-eight meters indoors and four plus meters outside in high ambient noise like a beach.

In addition to sound volume the sound quality is very good. Do note that there is bias towards the low frequency, so if you listen to modern music with booming bass you will love this. Since the mid and high range frequencies are solid, a little fiddling with your device’s EQ can compensate if in-your-face is not what you want.

The Verdict? The Arespark is an outstanding speaker in terms of size and value. It is compact, includes some interesting features and is very loud. The rugged bluetooth speaker’s protective design also makes it perfect for indoors or outdoors use.

#3 The iFox Creations IFS303 Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

The IFS303 is a really cool rugged bluetooth speaker which comes in a small but powerful package. If you are looking for a slightly smaller rugged bluetooth speaker that you can carry around conveniently to different places, this option will appeal to you. It is designed to be safely and securely portable with amazing sound. With a strong carabiner clip hook this compact speaker clips easily onto a back pack, kitchen rack, workshop, carrier bag, bicycle, car or tent which makes it ultra-portable and useful even at home. It runs on just 3 watts of power, but it delivers the booming sound we normally hear from a boombox.

This rugged bluetooth speaker comes fully loaded with 5 functions, allowing you to switch between wireless bluetooth, micro-SD/TF, FM Radio and Aux line, or even use the speaker built-in mic to take telephone calls. The smart buttons allow you to easily control songs and adjust the volume on the speaker. The bluetooth range on this rugged speaker is also outstanding, with a range of 33 feet.

The material construction on this speaker is top-notch. It is CE/FCC/ROHS certified for quality components and reliability with its rugged construction. It is also ultra-portable and lightweight so you can attach this to almost anything while listening to your favorite music.  The volume on this speaker is surprisingly loud and clear even when pumped up to full volume without any distortion. The emphasis on the bass also gives your music a punchy ‘thump’, which makes this speaker vibrate from its own sound production. While the bass output is good for a speaker of this size, it’s a small speaker so you have to adjust your expectations accordingly. But still the speaker is, performance wise, quite outstanding.

The rugged bluetooth speaker features a good lithium-ion rechargeable battery which lasts for more than 6 hours between charges. You can charge the speaker by plugging it into the adaptor and it will be fully charged in less than an hour. The great thing about iFox is that they have a 100% money back guarantee for 1 full year, which means that if you don’t like this rugged bluetooth speaker for whatever reason, they will be happy to replace it or refund it without any questions asked. Now that’s true customer service.

The Verdict? The iFox IFS303 is a cheaper alternative to other rugged bluetooth speakers, but still manages to delivery stellar sound performance and is rugged enough for outdoor use. The money-back guarantee is also an added plus on this item, making it a good value purchase. It is definitely one of the best rugged Bluetooth speakers that comes highly recommended

#4 The Polaris-Palm Beats Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

With its cast aluminum housing and silicone bumpers, the Polaris Palm Beats is one of the more compact rugged Bluetooth speakers that we’ve tested. At approximately 3¼”x1½” and weighing 7.7 ounces, the Palm Beats is portable enough to carry in a purse or book bag, but it’s equally at home on a desktop or in the shower. The speaker’s IP35 rating signifies that it’s protected against intrusion of small objects (>2.5 mm) and that spraying or splashing water won’t harm it. The codes for water protection range from 0 to 9, and nothing less than a 7 includes submersion in water, so the speaker’s 5 signifies that the speaker is water resistant but not waterproof.

The user guide shows the speaker’s built-in battery being recharged from a USB port with the included 20″ charging cable. We paired this rugged Bluetooth speaker with a Kindle Fire tablet with no connectivity issues. The product description indicates that the speaker’s 800mAh built-in battery will play for up to 6 hours. We tested that by streaming an iHeartRadio station to the speaker until the battery died. The speaker played continuously for a few minutes short of 12 hours, when a low-battery warning starting beeping, which well exceeded all our expectations.

What is surprising is that the Polaris Palm Beats has excellent audio quality for a speaker of this size. With the speaker lying flat on its silicone-rimmed base, the sound radiates in all directions. With the speaker hanging from its metal carabiner, the sound is directional, with the 3-watt output having enough volume to overcome background noise such as splashing water in the shower. The product description indicates that the speaker has a Class-G amplifier. We researched on this and learned that this class of amplifier is very electrically efficient (longer battery life) and does not have the electromagnetic interference effects that some amplifiers have. The speaker does have bass that sounds great with most songs.

In addition to the Bluetooth mode, the Palm Beats speaker will play directly from a micro SD card (up to 32 GB capacity – card must be formatted in FAT32 format). The speaker also has an auxiliary port for line input from another device. The port itself is for a 20″ cable that’s included. It’s a special cable with a 3.5 mm jack on one end (for the source) and a micro USB plug on the other end (for the Palm Beats).The controls are similar to those on most compact Bluetooth speakers. There are buttons for forward/back and play/pause. These buttons double as volume controls. When the speaker is powered on and when you change modes, a human voice prompt speaks to tell you the status. Like many other Bluetooth speakers, the Palm Beats can be paired with a smartphone and used as a hands-free device for phone calls.

The Verdict? Overall the Polaris-Palm Beats is a very nice general use speaker for wireless audio, but with its ruggedness and water resistance, it’s especially suited for outdoor use in damp or rainy conditions, including poolside use or boating. We really liked the portability of this speaker and the ability to use it in so many different settings. Adrenaline junkies who love to listen to their music while on an outdoor adventure would love this.

#5 The Nogo Mini Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

The Nogo Mini is really an awesome little speaker. We were impressed with the originality of its design It is very sleek, portable and has a very small footprint. It only weighs 7 oz. but can paly music for over 10 hours on a 3 hour charge. When you pick it up and hold it you realize that it is not a cheap little plastic shell like lots of other small speakers. It has a rubberized surface and a very absorbing “bumper” around the edge which makes it shockproof.

In addition, this rugged bluetooth speaker is also rainproof, which makes it an optimal speaker for outdoor activities like cycling, hiking, running, camping and so forth. It really is a rugged little unit that comes with a carabiner, so you can just clip it to your backpack, tent, jeans, etc., or even wear it on your neck. The unit even comes with a customized bike holder that can fit on any bicycle handle bars – we thought this was a really nice added touch.

The sound quality on this bluetooth speaker is good especially for such a small speaker. If you just have the speaker sitting on a table, it sounds even better since the resonance added by the surface it is sitting on enhances the bass characteristics. But this actually has a nice all around sound and plays pretty loud for its size. A cool feature is that this can play music from a Micro SD card. And if you group your music into different folders, you can switch between folders. This is a much nicer method to playing music because it gives you more control over what music will be played if you’re using the memory card. This is also great if you don’t have a bluetooth device around to connect to. Now you can always have music as long as you’ve got some loaded onto the memory card. Another good feature is that this speaker comes with an in-built mic so you can conveniently take telephone calls without any hassle.

There are volume/track buttons and an on/off button along one side of the speaker for you to easily adjust the volume and track of the speaker on the go. Included with this rugged Bluetooth speaker is a USB to Micro USB charging cable, a rain bonnet, bike mount, neck lanyard, and carabiner clip. The included carabiner clip and lanyard let you hook it to a strap on a backpack or tent which is perfect for camping or other outdoor sports.

The Verdict? The Nogo Mini Rugged Bluetooth Speaker features a rugged and compact design with ultra-portability, and is an optimal mini-speaker for both outdoor sports and indoor use. The solid zinc alloy surrounded amplifier pumps out 360 omni-directional sound with enhanced bass, and features and outstanding connection range of up to 100 feet with the latest CSR Bluetooth 4.0. This rugged bluetooth speaker definitely comes highly recommended and is now selling at a very good price, so don’t forget to check it out!

#6 The iDeaUSA Mini Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

The iDEAUSA Mini rugged Bluetooth speaker is an interesting outdoor speaker that features a unique rugged design and the ability to play an SD card while maintaining an active Bluetooth connection for phone answer. It comes with a unique silicone case design which gives it an IPX4 rating, which means that you can take this out under rain without having to worry about it, although you probably don’t want to fully immerse this into water. Overall the speaker is small and lightweight and the army green coloration gives it an added rugged look. The metal hook easily fits into a bag or pocket, and the speaker features over-size buttons which makes it easy to navigate its features. The buttons also work well enough to control volume and order of the songs.

This speaker is very small and is as round as a soda can, and maybe half as tall. It’s made from a lightweight but durable plastic, and most of the speaker is wrapped in shock-absorbing rubber which allows it to withstand bumps and jolts during a hike while it dangles from the backpack.  The amazing thing about this speaker is its ability to perform – the sound performs great across all ranges. From deep bass to detailed highs they are incredible. We normally test audio products across a specific wide range of audio, including Parlament Funkadelic’s “We Got The Funk” with a lot of different instruments and deep bass, The 20th Anniversary Concert of Les Miserables which features full orchestration and a wide range of vocal keys, and The Who’s Baba O’Riley as it has a wide range of tones. In our tests we heard no distortions whatsoever. We found that the vocals sound true. The voice reproduction is great. The detail relayed in full orchestrations is clear, down to the point where we could hear individual instruments. And it handled the deep bass well without overpowering the vocals.

Bear in mind that given this rugged Bluetooth speaker’s size, it’s not exactly loud for a room full of people. But the speaker does get loud and it’s more than loud enough for a personal speaker. The bass on this speaker is amazing too, and you could hear the thump from the beats with good precision – the bass is punchy and isn’t muddy. With the included clip you can put it on a belt or on a pack. It’s perfect for adding a little music to a hike or bike ride.

Furthermore, this speaker has micro SD card support – you can pop in a micro SD card into the back of the unit and the speaker will automatically begin playing the music files stored on the card. This is great if you don’t want the speaker linked to your phone during the entire hike (file format support: mp3, wma, wav, flac, and APE). It also has a built-in mic which allows you to take phone calls on this unit, which is a pretty awesome thing.

The Verdict? We really liked the unique design and sound quality of this rugged Bluetooth speaker. The water, dust and shock resistance of this unit is exactly what you need for an outdoor adventure, and the SD card support is a really cool feature that makes this speaker really stand out. 

#7 The LeFun Cannon Portable Wireless Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

We were pleasantly surprised when the LeFun Army Green Camo Bluetooth speaker first arrived in an attractive factory box. Inside the box are the speaker, USB cable, carabiner-type hook and user manual. The speaker is covered in a green camouflage rubber material with a loop on the top to hang it up. The speaker is actually made from the combination of Zinc allow and Silicon rubber which protects it from the outdoor elements. It’s rain-proof, splash-proof and shock proof, although it cannot withstand being partially or fully submerged in water or being dropped in water, which makes this less ideal for water sports.

Surprisingly, this rugged Bluetooth speaker has an extra-long battery life and can last for more than 12 hours of extended playtime. After charging the speaker up, the Bluetooth connects up quite flawlessly to the cell phone. It’s on-board smart connectivity allows it to connect to the last connected devices, with an outstanding range of up to 33 feet. Plus, it also includes a MicroSD card as an MP3 player with a built-in microphone which makes it a hands free speaker phone, which by the way is super fun to use while on biking expeditions and if you need to take a call halfway.

The sound quality is very good for a Bluetooth speaker of this size and is more than adequate. The bass on this tiny speaker is hands down amazing. We were pleasantly surprised to get that much bass out of something so small, with a good emphasis on the mids and lows. There is a ring on the top of the speaker to use as a clip on it to attach to items outside – you could clip it onto a backpack and start your outdoor adventure while listening to your favorite music. We were impressed with the overall quality and sound that comes from this rugged Bluetooth speaker.

The Verdict? We would recommend this speaker for its sound quality, ease of use, ruggedness and good looks. Although it’s not exactly water proof, it’s certainly water resistant and great for outdoor adventures under slight rain. Furthermore, this speaker is now selling at whopping 33% at the time of writing, which makes it a great value buy at the time of writing.

#8 The Photive Waterproof Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

The Photive is an excellent rugged Bluetooth speaker originally designed for those who like to listen to their favorite music while showering, but it’s ideal for hiking, camping, cycling, or just for easy listening. One thing that really stands out about the Photive speaker is how loud it is. If you really like to party rock with a portable rugged Bluetooth speaker that can pump out a high volume of your favorite music, then this speaker is one you should consider. We could crank this rugged Bluetooth speaker up multiple times and get nothing short of high quality music rapturing our ear drums with sick deep beats. It also features advanced Bluetooth technology – the ultra-optimized version of Bluetooth that consumes less energy and delivers crystal clear sound even for music at 320kbps.

The protection that the Photive speaker offers is unbeatable and one the best we’ve seen. It is waterproof, shockproof, dustproof, rated IP6X for 100% protection against water and dust. The rubberized, rugged exterior provides excellent impact resistance. It also includes a removable suction cup for use in a shower, and a carabiner clip for you to carry it on the go if you are taking it outdoors.

The controls on this rugged Bluetooth speaker are amazing. This baby features a power button, answer call button (it comes with a built-in mic for hands-free voice calls, which by the way may come in handy in the shower), volume up and down, and skip forward or backwards. If someone calls you while you are listening to the Photive speaker, you can simply hit the answer call button and have the phone conference wherever you are.

The speaker comes with a long-lasting lithium ion rechargeable battery straight out of the box. The speaker charges quickly and lasts for quite a long time whether indoors or outdoors, although you can easily turn off the speaker while not in use. The only thing that bothered us was the tones that play at full volume when powering on or off this speaker. We found that much of this volume can be muffled by placing your phone over the face of the speaker when triggering functions, although this shouldn’t be of any issue if you’re outdoors.

The Verdict? The Photive Waterproof rugged Bluetooth speaker, apart from being the perfect shower companion due to its excellent waterproofing and loud volume output, doubles up pretty well as an outdoor speaker that packs a good punch in the sound department. The design of this speaker feels great and offers plenty of protection from the outdoor elements too.

#9 The Alphatronix AX320 Portable Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

The Alphatronix AX320 is a beautifully designed, water-resistant, all-around rugged, portable, all-purpose rugged bluetooth speaker. The rubberized shockproof and impact resistant rugged exterior makes it suitable for tough outdoor activities in rugged environments such as hiking, camping or mountain climbing and makes it feel like a real ‘outdoor’ speaker. We have also tested it in the shower with no problems so it seems perfect for taking to the beach or pool. The wrist strap is one of our favorite things about it – it’s super convenient to carry on hiking trips since it is lightweight and easily carried, attaches to almost anything, or even put into the pocket.

The sound is excellent. We tested the AX320 and found that the sound quality remained consistently loud and punchy – whether at the beach, on the boat, at the campground or in the car. Furthermore, the AX320 provides hi-fi quality 4.0 Bluetooth which streams high clarity audio and quick pairing. Once paired, it easily recognizes each of our devices and has a wireless range of over 30+ feet. This allows high-grade fidelity music together with enhanced bass. The AX320 can last for about 8 – 10 hours of continuous play time and takes only 1.5 hours to charge when connected using the USB/Micro USB cord included in the package.

Another convenient function about this rugged Bluetooth speaker is that it functions as a speaker phone. It has a built-in mic and you can take calls through the speaker while trekking through the outdoors. We have connected the speaker to a Samsung Galaxy S III, iphone 5, Samsung galaxy tab S, Google Nexus tablet, Samsung galaxy tab 3, an old Blackberry, and a Samsung laptop. The speaker connected to everything easily. The volume range is excellent. Playing it indoors we found the maximum volume far too loud so it would probably be great for outdoors. The sound quality is much better than the small speakers we tested from other brands. The AX320 has a slightly tinny sound and a bit of a buzz at low volume, although playing it outdoors or at louder volumes will make the buzz barely noticeable. Still, much better quality than most similarly sized and priced speakers.

The AX320 has 4 control buttons: Power on/off, Play/Answer (phone), Volume up/skip forward, and Volume down/skip back. Quickly pressing the volume buttons changes the song while holding the button down changes the volume. We found this to be a bit awkward and several times advanced the song when intending to increase the volume.

The Verdict? If you need a speaker for use near a shower, pool or other ‘splash zone’, the Alphatronix AX320 would be a great choice. It’s a very versatile rugged Bluetooth speaker at a reasonable price and comes with a 1 year warranty included in the bundle. The Alphatronix customer service is also responsive and excellent, and the company continues to impress with good products in this audio line.

#10 The Omaker M4 Rugged Bluetooth Speaker

rugged bluetooth speaker

The Omaker M4 is an amazing rugged bluetooth speaker that’s reputable for its long lasting battery life and supremely rugged design. If you are looking for an outdoor speaker that can last for a long time on a single charge, look no further. It can last for more than 12 hours of music at 80% volume, up to three times longer than similar-sized portable speakers with its 1,500 mAh battery. The recharge time takes 3 hours using the included micro USB cable. This would be great for outdoor activities, because it will last you all day long without having to be recharged.

The M4 is built like a tank – it’s made for rugged use and made of a hardened plastic material and feels really nice in the hands. It’s also very lightweight for some reason despite the speaker looking very sturdy and durable.  It is designed with Splash proof, shock proof, dust proof functions which make it suitable for outdoors and use in the shower. This speaker has a unique rugged square design. On the front of the speaker you will find the company’s name printed on the cover of the speaker.

On the top of the speaker with the name of the company the right way up, there will be 4 different buttons. Going from left to right. You will see the Power Button, Answer/Hang Up/Play/Pause Button, Volume Up/Next Track, Volume Down/Previous Track. To go to the next track you will need to press and hold the button and let go. Press and hold for a few seconds and release and it will bring you to the next track, some goes for the Previous Track.

On the side of the speaker, you will find all your ports which are covered up. You will find your Micro USB Port, as well as AUX Port. There is also a rest button for in case the power is dead. All those ports are covered up to protect it from water. On the back of the speaker you will find the NFC Pad, All you need to do is place your phone on the back of the speaker and it will connect via NFC. Connecting the speaker to my phone was really easy, when you turn the speaker on it will go into pairing mode right away. When we connected to the speaker pressed the power button, it would disconnect the speaker from the phone.

The sound on this speaker was amazing for its size, and we were pleasantly surprised. The lows on the speaker were nicely articulated – songs with the most bass made the speaker shake!. This rugged bluetooth speaker delivered an impressively crystal clear sound quality and robust bass through a 3W audio driver and passive subwoofer. The treble on the speaker was also really nice and clear.

The Verdict? Overall the Omaker M4 is an amazing rugged bluetooth speaker that sounds great (with a decent amount of bass output) that has an outstanding battery life. The only thing of note is to make sure that the speaker ports are covered before letting it get in contact with water. Other than that, this is an impressive speaker that will not disappoint.