You live your life outside-the-box, so why should you get your music from a standard boring, boxy speaker system? That’s why Outdoor Technology designed the Turtle Shell®, a do-anything, go-anywhere wireless boom box. It’s the wireless wonder that doesn’t mind a little rough treatment.
On Performance and Design…
From it’s polygon like shape, to its crisp and clear sound that blasts through two onboard speakers, the Turtle Shell is ready to turn up the volume on your outdoor adventures.
Unlike its namesake, Outdoor Technology’s Turtle Shell is available in an array of vibrant colors, each with a soft touch rubber finish. On a whole, the unit is slightly larger than palm sized and feels solidly built on all of its octagonal sides. It’s small enough to toss into a bag, or even attach to your daypack with a carabiner.
Sure, you can treat the Turtle Shell like any other Bluetooth speaker system and leave it on your desk or kitchen counter, waiting for your colleagues to complement your good taste. But keep in mind that the Turtle Shell adheres to IP5X standards, which means it’s designed to be water, shock, dust and grime-proof. In other words, it’s designed to fit right into your life of outdoor revelry.
Once charged, connecting the Turtle Shell to a bluetooth device is easy and straightforward. Switch the device on, and enter pairing mode by holding down the Multi-Function button (aka the Bigfoot caricature) for six seconds. The on switch will blink red and blue alternately, and then you simply connect your device once it finds the Turtle Shell on its list.
From that point, the Bluetooth interface streams music wirelessly and seamlessly from any of your Bluetooth 2.0 and newer devices. That means it will work in wireless mode with your smartphone, tablet or laptop providing reliable performance at 30+ foot distances. Whether we were out for a day on the longboard, or at home for a neighborhood BBQ, there was never an issue syncing the Turtle Shell to our android phones or Kindle Fire.
Controls on the Turtle Shell are kept to a minimum, but the buttons on the side of the unit allow you to adjust tracks, change volume, pause/play tracks and and even take calls thanks to the built-in controls and noise-canceling mic. And really, for a wireless boombox what else do you need?
Listen, just because you’ll now be out tailgating more with your newfound musical freedom, you are not immune from calls from Mom. Which is one of the reasons we loved that the Turtle Shell’s microphone was clear, enabling mom… errrr… colleagues to hear us on the other end without issue. The fact that you can use it to take or make calls outdoors is a bomber feature.
Flip over the Turtle Shell and you’ll notice a metal screw thread designed to attach to an optional $25 accessory called Turtle Claw. Use the clamp to attach the Turtle Shell to your trusty two-wheeled steed for your next session shredding the fire trails.
From our perspective, the real beauty of using the Turtle Shell while biking or cruising on your longboard is that it gives you the benefit of your musical motivation without closing off the world around you with ear buds.
Over the course of testing, we found ourselves frequently pairing the Turtle Shell up with our Joby Gorillapod. Whether we were at base camp, or simply an afternoon lunch spot in the local park, the Gorillapod attached easily allowing us to attach the Turtle Shell to pretty much anything and let the musical mayhem ensue.
And don’t worry about the party getting cut short. With an estimated battery life of 9 hours, the Turtle Shell will easily rock you through your outdoor adventure, and outlast your party guests before needing a recharge.
The good: For a compact portable Bluetooth speaker, the Turtle Shell from Outdoor Technology delivers impressive sound, has good battery life, and can handle a life of adventure. It also has a built-in rechargeable battery, an auxiliary input, a rugged design, and business-grade speakerphone capabilities.
The bad: The angular, triangle-themed construction of the Turtle Shell may aschew some.
The Bottom Line…
Your life of outdoor revelry has always deserved its own soundtrack. Now the Turtle Shell from Outdoor Technology let’s you live your adventures untethered and out loud. Gumption tested, gumption approved.
*Gumption Gear Review received the items featured in this review from Outdoor Technology at no cost and receives no monetary compensation for this or any related review. The items featured were provided solely in return for our honest views and opinions.