Outdoor Technology Turtle Shell 2013

Since I have purchased the Turtle Shell, I have used it non stop. This thing is awesome. I bring it in the shower, put it on my bike handle bars, bring it on the boat, bring it fishing, bring it by the campfire. Probably the best purchase I have ever made as far as using the product.

Ease of Use:
-There are three buttons and a power switch. Even if you did not have the directions that come with it, you could figure it out. In order to sync your device, all you do is hold the logo button until the light flashed on the power switch. Your device should locate the bluetooth signal. Once your device is synced up, you can control the volume from the turtle shell or from your device.

Sound:
-I will say that it is not the best sounding speaker I have heard. The quality is still very good, but the bass is lacking and the volume could definitely go higher. That being said, for the mobility and battery life of this thing there aren't many options out there for better sound quality. My boss has every bluetooth speaker that has been made (because he loves the things) and he definitely had a few with incredible sound clarity, bass, and quality, but they were much more expensive.

Durability:
-This thing is pretty close to indestructible. I have gotten it completely soaked many many times (not submerged) and it never skips a beat. I have had it thrown all over my boat on rough days while cruising around and fishing with no scratches to be found.

Battery Life:
-I have never seen such a long battery life on any electronic before. It will last for at least 8 hours, and even when the beep for low battery comes on it will last up to another hour some times. I really could not believe how long I went before charging it the first time, and the battery life does not appear to be disappearing as it gets older and used more.

Features:
-Like I said before, it is very basic. The only thing you can do on the Turtle Shell is volume control. But you can get the handlebar mounts and other GoPro-esque accessories which is cool. The handlebar mount is pretty cheap for what you pay but it gets the job done. Other wireless speakers have more features like DJ modes (4-5 people can sync up at once) and song skip, fast forward/rewind, etc.

Other:
-Syncing up can be a pain sometimes. I have both my Macbook and Iphone 4 setup to sync and remember the Turtle Shell. It doesn't always like to connect with my laptop, but that is probably because it is 6 years old and a piece of shit. It almost always immediately connects with my Iphone. One thing to note is you have to turn the bluetooth off on the other device or else the Turtle Shell doesn't like to connect. Also, I find that you need to be playing music already in order for it to sync up. It seems to work better with music already playing for some reason. Once you figure out these quirks you can get it to connect fairly easily. This may also be the fault of my ancient devices but I am not certain.
-The range is fairly good. I would estimate it at about 50 feet (if there is no wall or trees or anything in the way). Definitely works best within 20 or so feet of your device from my experience (regardless of walls and stuff).

• Design
  Clean
  Busy
• Weight
  Light
  Heavy
• Durability
  Fragile
  Durable
• Style
  Uncool
  Cool
• Battery Life
  Poor
  Excellent
• Features
  Basic
  Full Featured
• Usability
  Easy
  Complicated
• Sound Quality
  Poor
  Excellent
• Fit/Wearbility
  Awkward
  Comfortable