Photive Hydra Waterproof Wireless Bluetooth Speakers. Rugged Shockproof and Waterproof Portable Wireless Speaker Open Box

I bought this for my father-in-law for Christmas. His home was completely demolished by an EF4 tornado the next day. The following day entailed torrential rain. Today, we found the speaker amongst the soaking wet rubble of his home. Amazingly, it powered right up and is in perfect working order.

I've listened to a lot of bluetooth portable speakers, always searching for the one that is just right. The BOSE was the best sounding I thought and was saving my pennies to get it at Costco, BUT after running the reviews through fakespot, it was clear that this little speaker was something to check out. And am I ever glad I did. Pairing went flawless and charging it didn't take too long. But the sound! Its got a fantastic bass range, mids are strongs and highs are acceptable. It's a great in the garden, at the beach, in the garage speaker. We got this so we could work out in the garden without having to have my iphone get muddy and wet.Would love to have a LED battery level indicator however. Other than that, for $30 bux and free shipping, anyone you get this for will be very happy. I might just have to pick up two.**UPDATE**The biggest problem I had after one use was the material that clads the speaker. Its very soft, and outgasses. Full of phalates to soften the vinyl I am sure. It picks up all sorts of lint, dust and debri making for one dirty little speaker.

This is by far the best portable and waterproof speaker I've come across. I use it in the shower nearly everyday without fail. I use it in the kitchen when cooking up a storm and I even bring it to work and use it in the machine shop. Super rugged and sealed off from water and dust makes this thing the go anywhere speaker of choice. I'm going on over two years with mine and it hasn't let me down yet. My favorite attribute is that it has separate buttons for volume and track control. Many others out there use the same buttons for track control and volume and you will often end up fast forwarding a song when you really wanted to just turn up the volume. Another key attribute is that the speaker will turn on at the same volume you last used it at. The only way they could make this thing any better is to somehow make a on/off switch and charging port that didn't require a door to be removed to access - but I guess that would be quite a challenge. Anyway, the thing sounds amazing and lasts a really really long time. You won't be disappointed. This is not a cheap worthless toy - this is the real deal. Keep up the good work Photive!

The speaker is fantastic. Battery lasts for hours and hours (+8hrs on a charge after daily use for nearly 2 years!). Pairs easily enough and reconnects nearly instantly as long as you're using it with a dedicated device. The range is better than any other bluetooth device I've used and the sound is great: clear, loud, good stereo and plenty of bass for such a small device.The major flaw is a physical design issue. The microUSB port is not braced by the speaker housing, so that each time you plug and unplug it, the connection weakens. My first Hydra broke within a few days. Amazon refunded my purchase. I bought another a few months later, and it lasted nearly 3 years, but I had been SUPER careful when plugging it in, and the last 6 months, I had to kind of hang it from the charger so that the connector was bent to complete the circuit. Thank goodness for the red charging light which shows you immediately if there's a charging connection so I could jigger it until it was steady red. Finally, it just quit working.Now, Since it's only $35 and seems to last +2 years, and I've yet to find another device that competes I may buy another to replace this one. But my faith in Photive is shaken, I seriously doubt I'd trust them at a higher price point. I'll be researching other options before I send them another $35 for shoddy construction. And if I do buy another, I'll probably crack it open and reinforce the plug myself

I received this bad boy 28 days ago on April 5th. I have used it EVERY single day since then and the battery JUST NOW died today (May 2nd). I have been waiting to see how long the battery lasted to review it. Based on my typical use, I believe it lasted between 13-15 hours at 70-80% volume. I keep it in my shower on top of my VIVISKY Stainless Steel shelf which was the perfect shower shelf to accommodate this speaker (You should totally buy this if you plan to keep this in your shower). I keep it on the wall opposite of the shower head and although it doesn't get directly sprayed, it catches plenty of water. I have held it directly under the shower a couple of times for 10-20 seconds and had zero issues. This thing is fantastic. I purchased it after reading the countless other reviews including the top review about how it survived an F4 tornado. It's built extremely well, sounds great (low bass, but lets be real, given the size and fact that it's battery operated, it's not built for that) and super easy to use. It has more controls than many others such as the separate volume/skip buttons (many use the same buttons and need to be held for extended periods of time to skip or raise volume). I want to keep typing about this speaker, but I think my point has been made and I'm afraid to use any more commas or parentheses, because I'm tipsy from my super awesome musical shower (btw a 12oz beer fits perfectly on the shelf with the speaker or you can just put 5 [maybe 6] beers on it without speaker). Oh and, you can take clear calls and talk to Grandma Agnes while showering and enjoying your beer. Buy it.