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- The Scosche BoomBottle MM ($119.95) is a wireless speaker with a number of useful features that outdoors enthusiasts will love.
- It's water-proof and dust-proof, and it's light enough to carry around without weighing you down, but what really sets the speaker apart is that it magnetically mounts to metal surfaces and has a convenient built-in bottle opener.
- Importantly, the BoomBottle MM doesn't sacrifice sound quality for fancy features — it's still a loud and great-sounding speaker.
Whenever I go on an outdoor trip or to a group gathering, I always make sure to pack a portable speaker. I like controlling the music, and in turn, the mood of the whole setting — from the light, carefree tunes that make the hours spent at the beach melt together into one relaxed haze to the bass-heavy hits you can't help but sing along, bob your head, and dance to on your rooftop.
Everyone's looking for the same features to make these moments happen: seamless wireless connectivity, long battery life, and great sound quality. Scosche's new BoomBottle MM speaker has all this and more, with thoughtful design choices to address the little irks you didn't even realize you had with your current portable speaker.
The most immediately noticeable and rewarding feature of the BoomBottle MM is that you can magnetically mount your device to it, and the speaker itself also magnetically mounts to most surfaces. Using Scosche's special included MagicPlate, you can attach your phone securely to the top of the speaker so you'll always be able to quickly access and control your music.
Then, try mounting the speaker to any metal surface. This ability was weirdly satisfying to play around with because I could throw my speaker onto surfaces that were usually off-limits, including the sides of car doors and the tops of coolers that get opened and closed often throughout the day. Regardless of how the surface moved, I didn't have to worry about where my speaker was or whether it had rolled off to another location.
At the same time, I wasn't restricted by the speaker's attraction to metal surfaces. While the magnet is very strong, I could also pull it off easily and attach the included carabiner clip to swing the speaker around freely as I walked or hiked.
Scosche also managed to sneak in a built-in bottle opener, which comes in handy in case someone forgets to bring one. Though it's a small feature, it's not unnecessary, and it shows the company is thinking about what real people are doing while they're enjoying the outdoors. While "built-in bottle opener" will never be the first thing I consider when comparing portable speakers to buy, it does set the BoomBottle MM apart when all the speakers with otherwise similar specs start to blur together.
Because of these few features, I initially thought the BoomBottle MM could be gimmicky, but I was willing to give it a try anyway. After actually using it, I realized that extra features are desperate distractions when tacked onto a device that can't do its most basic job well — but they're smart enhancements when they work together with the device's main strengths.
At the end of the day, the BoomBottle MM is simply a really good speaker. It connects quickly to your phone through Bluetooth and the sound is clear, strong, and rich. It can struggle a little with deep bass, so if audio quality is your number one priority, you might want to look to other speakers. Overall, however, I was impressed with its audio capabilities.
It also has a 12-hour battery life, a built-in microphone, and an IP67 dust-proof and water-proof rating, meaning that it can withstand harmful dust and be submerged in three feet of water for half an hour.
The BoomBottle MM might've been just another portable speaker for me to lump together with the others, if not for how optimized it is for outdoor usage. It can play music loudly and clearly, even while facing the elements and the weather and environment are working against you. It mounts securely and conveniently to metal surfaces (not to mention keeps your phone in place), but it's also fairly light and easy to carry around in your hand. And of course, we can't forget that it pops open your beer bottles for you, too. It's the perfect speaker if you spend a lot of time outdoors..
Shop the BoomBottle MM Speaker for $119.95 at Amazon and Scosche
Connie Chen Connie Chen is a former senior reporter on the Insider Reviews team, where she led coverage of home textiles, home entertaining, and food and drink. While at Insider, she specialized in all the things that enhance life at home, from the most comfortable bed sheets and fluffy pillows to cool online wine clubs and bartender-approved cocktail shakers. She combined rigorous testing methods, conversations with professionals, and active knowledge of the home and kitchen space to help readers get the most out of their money. When she's not changing duvet covers or washing towels twice a day for articles, she loves talking about and trying the newest snacks, drinks, and food gifts. You can see more of her testing process and other behind-the-scenes of being a product journalist on her Instagram @connayreviews. Connie joined Insider Reviews as an early member in 2017 and has also reported on products and services in the style, tech, fitness, travel, and e-learning spaces, with a particular interest and expertise in emerging startups. She has represented the team at CES and moderated panels on media business and the future of retail. Connie graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in media studies and business administration, which help inform her perspective on and coverage of industry trends, as well as the competitive e-commerce landscape at large. Read some of her work: The 4 best cocktail shakers in 2021 The 7 best women's bathrobes in 2021 The 5 best wine openers and corkscrews we tested in 2021 The 5 best bed sheets we tested in 2021 The 5 best cordless vacuums we tested in 2021 12 direct-to-consumer kitchen startups that are changing the way we shop for cookware and knives 8 tableware startups changing the way we shop for dishes Even chefs experience cooking burnout — here's how they get re-inspired in the kitchen How businesses create successful virtual experiences 50 cookbooks from famous restaurants across the US that will help you recreate their best dishes at home Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we test kitchen products. Read more Read lessYou can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here.
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