Rugged Wireless Speaker

Product Description

Top Reviews

Not super loud, but loud enough.
by Emmanuel (4 out of 5 stars)
April 2, 2014

I bought this to listen to music while riding my bicycle. I don't like wearing earbuds because I can't hear traffic and also because I'd hate to become one of those oblivious cretins that get startled when you pass them by. This is the perfect size and weight to strap to your bike. You can strap it anywhere with the supplied gummy-wrap or use some velcro depending on your needs. It has a simple user-interface and pairing it to my Samsung Galaxy was easy. The range for me is about 6 feet before the signal starts to break-up but that's not a detractor for me. The audio is as good as can be expected from a small speaker, my only wish is that it would be louder. It's loud enough when the speaker is pointed straight at you but it gets harder to hear from the sides. Other than that it seems to be a durable product that will afford many years of annoyance to other cyclists when they hear my music blaring (maybe not "blaring"). The package touts battery life is 16 hours but I assume it might be less in real-world conditions. Alas, even if the actual battery life is only half of what they claim it would be more than I'll ever need in a single day. I give 4 stars and keep 1 star because it's not super loud (or because I'm getting old and slowly going deaf).
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Decent sound, great battery life
by Alan (5 out of 5 stars)
May 20, 2014

This speaker is a keeper. The water resistant capability, small size, and battery life are the best features. I had previously purchased an Anker® Portable Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker (fully backward compatible) Mini Speaker with 3.5mm Aux Port, Enhanced Bass Boost, Built in Mic Speaker System, 10 Hours Playtime
, which had a richer sound and better bass output, but that speaker produced some static and distortion at max volume. The Buckshot speaker has almost zero distortion at max volume, but the output is a little more "tinny" sounding. I was willing to accept a slight decrease in sound quality in exchange for a louder output. If I was looking for a speaker to use around the house, I'd have kept the Anker, but for use on my bicycle, the Buckshot is my choice.

The battery life on this Buckshot speaker also seems to be very good. I used it on my bike for a couple hour ride at max volume, then I listened to music and podcasts at home for a couple days at a mid level volume. I'd say that was at least 12 to 14 hours of use and the battery hadn't died on me yet. Based on this first test I'm very happy with the battery life.

As for mounting on my bicycle, the included mounting strap seems to work fine, but the speaker is so small that it will fit in a small pocket on the outside of my handlebar bag (an Ortlieb Ultimate 6 medium). I'll probably keep the speaker in this pocket while I'm bike touring so that the speaker comes with the bag when I leave the bike. If I do use the included strap, I'll use a method different from in the product images on Amazon. I'll put the strap between the speaker and the handlebar, then pull the loops around the handlebar and the speaker. This provides a tighter, more secure fit and also allows the strap to act as a cushion between the speaker and the handlebar. I'll upload a photo showing what I mean.
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After Owning Three of These the Same Problems Exist
by Toys for the Ladies! (1 out of 5 stars)
December 7, 2015

sEE MY UPDATE BELOW:

I bought this for my mountain bike so I could listen to music and ride. It's compact and lightweight which is good. It pairs up nicely with my Samsung S-5 Droid but I was getting some breaking up of signal with the phone in my Camelback and the speakers on the handlebars.

The buttons being on the back make it impossible to adjust the volume or anything else while riding. It could be a bit louder as well. I ride at a pretty hard pace and the sounds of the trail sometimes drown out the sound. Update: Turns out that the volume on my phone when playing music can be turned up when using Bluetooth. Once I adjusted the volume on my phone upward, the volume was plenty loud.

I had no issues with it bouncing around or off while on the handlebars.

After a few months, it seems to have a problem staying locked in with the phone after hard bumps, even on a road bike. Wish it had a mini-plug input so I could stop using the bluetooth due to the weak reception. I'm taking it down from 4 stars to 3 stars.

UPDATE JULY 2018

I am on my third Buckshot. After a year the start to go bad. The first one would not hold a charge after a year. I threw it away as it was out of warranty. The second one got a scratchy voice coil and sounded like an AM radio with gravel in the speaker. I couldn't find the receipt and I blamed it on living near the coast and bought my third one. About 5 months after owning it, it also go a scratchy sound to it. But as it was still under warranty, I sent it back for a replacement.

I moved out of the country, but I always have a steady stream of people who could bring it to me. Outdoor Tech has failed to send the warranty replacement to the address I gave them on 2 separate occasions. So 2.5 months after sending them the replacement, I still don't have the replacement speaker. I have months of emails from them, shipping addresses to send it to and no speaker. Of the three, they all still exhibit a weak antenna system and if you get more than 4' away the signal drops out. This was with my Samsung S-5 and S-8. (But for the record, my Bose Soundlink Mini could pick up the phone signal from 25'-30' away. so it is not the phones.)

So bottom line after owning three: Crafty marketing, crappy reception, technical issues with the units working correctly and HORRIBLE warranty replacement service. Buy another brand and save yourself some headaches.
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LOS requirement makes it useless
by Erin (1 out of 5 stars)
July 20, 2017

The fact that this speaker requires line of sight makes it pretty much useless for me. I can't connect it from my handlebars to my phone when I place my phone in my back jersey pocket, even when I place my phone off to the side of my back. I've tried putting my phone off to the side of trunk bags and panniers which helps (although it then takes away my ability to quickly access my phone...) but it's still not able to maintain a solid connection, so I'm really not sure WHERE they want me to put my phone in order to keep it within view of the speaker. I've had plenty of other bike speakers from other companies over the years, and this is the first one that had this issue. I'm ordering the 2.0 version to see if that's any better since I like the size and other features, but we'll see.
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Sounds good but requires almost exact Line of Sight
by PatrickGSR94 (3 out of 5 stars)
September 23, 2016

Sounds good, great volume level. Controls are okay, it's a little annoying to have to press and hold the button to turn it on or off. The worst part is that it requires nearly PERFECT line-of-sight between the speaker and the phone for it to work. I tried attaching it to my handlebar on my road commuter bike, with my phone in my jersey pocket (behind me), and it would not work at all. Tried it on the very end of my right drop bar, with the phone pushed as far to the right side of the jersey pocket as possible, and it works so-so, sometimes okay, sometimes not. I even tried it inside the top lid of my trunk bag on my rear rack, with the phone in my jersey pocket (phone is basically directly above the speaker), but apparently my big hindquarters is enough to block the signal and make the sound cut out and sound like a skipping CD player.

I'm really, really disappointed with how finicky the line-of-sight is with this thing. I emailed OT and they did confirm that LOS is required, even though I thought Bluetooth did not require LOS, but rather it just be within the ~30-foot range of the signal source.
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takes a licken, still ticken
by cjr (5 out of 5 stars)
August 4, 2015

Went out to my bike (recumbent trike) today with my ipod, only to discover my trusty buckshot speaker was missing. I remembered coming down "the hill" on our ride a couple of days ago and heard something but thought I'd probably hit a rock. I didn't notice the speaker missing. This is a pretty steep hill (country road) right by our house. I was probably going 25mph. Took a ride up the hill this afternoon - since it isn't heavily traveled an no houses in the area, figured I might still find it in one piece. Sure enough I spotted the red strap on the pavement, looked around and found the speaker sticking a couple of inches out of a pile of leaves along the side of the road. Grabbed it, turned it on, connected to my ipod, and off I went, still working perfectly. I was going at a pretty fast clip down that hill, I'm sure it hit hard and bounced and rolled off to the side, because I found it on the uphill side of the road! So, 5 stars for durability!
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Not as rugged or durable as I hoped
by Dave Bungle (2 out of 5 stars)
December 2, 2015

**UPDATE: After one year of regular use, my speaker started disconnecting from my phone whenever I ride over bumps on my bike. Another gripe is that the Bluetooth signal is weaker than advertised. It's still a great idea, and I like it enough to try their new "2.0" version. This one is not rugged enough for long term bicycle use though.**

Excellent speaker for the price. It's loud enough to listen to on my road bike at 25 mph as long as the speaker is pointed at my face. I also use it in the garage while wrenching on my bikes and in the bathroom while showering. The rubber band mount is universal enough to be used in a lot of places, but the speaker isn't loud enough to listen to with a lot of background noise if you aren't going to be very close to it.
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BIG sound, little speaker. Great buy!
by Paris K. (5 out of 5 stars)
July 22, 2016

This little speaker has improved my daily bike rides TREMENDOUSLY! It's a lot safer than riding with headphones since your ears are not covered and it also puts out a lot of sound so that pedestrians can be aware of your presence. On full blast people have easily heard me coming from two car lengths away (on bike paths and sidewalks).By the way, it's definitely water proof as well, being that I recently had to ride in a severe thunderstorm and it kept playing the entire time and has continued to play since then. It is a little tricky to operate in the beginning due to the quick directions but once you figure it out it's simple to use. All in all, it's a great little gadget to have and it's definitely worth every penny.
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Insane battery life, easily overdriven speaker, stupid handlebar mount, casing slides right off of t
by BennyG (4 out of 5 stars)
August 22, 2016

Great little device. Really made our time on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route more pleasant. Took tons of rain without complaint. Battery life is ridiculous. This thing would run more than two full days of riding. I don't understand how that's possible. Electronics seem very durable too as it took a fall onto a rocky road at 20+ mph without the outer casing and was completely undamaged.

The speaker is easily overdriven and is highly dependent on the song beat and tone. One second it sounds great, then you get that crazy static overlay.

The handlebar "mount" does not work to securely hold the device. You cannot just loosely rubberband two cylindrical objects together and expect one not to roll on the other.

After three days of wet weather, the outer rubber casing slid right off of the speaker. I didn't care, so I threw it away and used the generic looking little black cylinder which slid more easily into my bike bag pocket.
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sturdy and conveniently sized
by AW (2 out of 5 stars)
December 12, 2016

bought two at different times - very cute, sturdy and conveniently sized. sounds fine, loud and clear but no bass, which is understandable for a tiny palm sized travel speaker. unfortunately, both speakers i got were defected and i was only able to return one in time.

one would only work immediately after charging (basically i couldn't charge it ahead of time - not even a day - it would just have no power when i used it the next day or even within a few hours without using it at all) ... and it no longer powers on now only after a few charges - that took me past the return date to figure out. the other one had an extremely short bluetooth range - it would drop only a few steps away from my device, which was definitely within the specified range - i was able to return this one right away.
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A- Awesome little speaker
by Santiago M. (4 out of 5 stars)
July 3, 2015

A- Awesome little speaker!!

Received this little gem today 7/3 after just ordering it 7/1. Purchase was just for bicycle music portability. I haven't tried it on my bike yet but just wanted to express how this Buckshot does kick out some loud tunes. I pair it with nothing else but my Samsung Galaxy S5 & the speaker has been bumping for over 2 hrs straight now. Nice sound. The pairing wasn't as ez as some other Bluetooth devices would normally, which took me a few attempts but finally got it to play, the sound ends up being my saving grace. I can't wait to strap it to my bike & take it out for a ride. This speaker would even work if you were in an office were you usually utilize your personal phone to kick some tunes!

Great gift idea for self or for another who loves to play plenty of music. When playing Pandora, I Heart Radio or streaming anything this thing is portable & totally functional. Just hit the "+" or "-" buttons to switch/scan other interested stations that are available to be played.

I'll be updating my review once I take it out for my usual city ride....

Thanks for reading,

Santiago M.

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