Fugoo (Style, Sport, Tough) review

A lot of Bluetooth speakers claim to be splash proof or able to handle the occasional knock, but we’ve yet to see one that matches the extremely ruggedized Fugoo. It can withstand being completely submerged in water and, with the right jacket installed, survive being dropped and kicked around with impunity.

The Fugoo core is packed with far more drivers than its rivals. It has six in total, with two tweeters, two mid/woofers and two passive radiators to provide its punchy sound. The two tweeters are placed on opposite ends of the Fugoo with a mid/woofer and bass driver pairing facing both front and back. This helps the Fugoo to deliver sound in every direction, rather than just forwards as is the case with many portable Bluetooth speakers. 

Fugoo’s modular approach is somewhat unique, with a 'core' speaker that's common to its three variations; Style, Sport and Tough. The fabric-covered Style (£150) is the smallest of the three (165x66x54mm, 442g) and is available in a range of colours including charcoal, red and sand. Attaching a Style jacket is the easiest of the three, as the core simply slides in place with a satisfying click.

Sport (£170) has rubberised edges that offer a degree of impact absorption while maintaining a reasonably small size (187x73x59mm, 519g) but is only available in one design that uses a combination of turquoise blue and black.

The Tough (£190) adds significant extra bulk (197x73x59mm, 624g) with the benefit of considerably more impact absorption. It’s also the trickiest to attach, as it requires the use of a hex key to remove four screws. The jacket comes in two halves that encase the core and we found it relatively difficult to get on. The Tough jacket is rated to shrug off 3ft drops but we were far more vigorous in our testing. The speaker survived being tossed 6ft as well as being kicked around, all without skipping a beat. We also dunked the speaker in a bucket of water and, while the sound could no longer be heard, the music continued to play without a hitch. The Fugoo can withstand being submerged up to 1m for 30 minutes.

Having separate jackets means you can start with any variation, then buy a different jacket at a later date if you decide you want to throw your speaker around a bit. It also means that if your Tough jacket picks up some scuffs you can just replace the jacket rather than the entire speaker.

SOUND QUALITY

Sound quality was respectable, with punchy bass that is arguably a little too overpowering on certain tracks. Treble was perhaps a little bright for our tastes as well, but this is likely intentional in order to improve clarity when listening outdoors. You’re unlikely to be listening in an analytical manner when out camping. With drivers pointed in all four directions the speakers pleasingly lacked any degree of directionality with the sound. Beyond aptX Bluetooth, there's also a 3.5mm auxiliary jack for connecting a wired device and Micro USB for charging on the back of the speaker.

We liked how the volume buttons could also be used to skip tracks by holding down the multifunction circle button. Most usefully, holding the circle button while powering the speaker on toggles between normal and loud modes. Loud mode lived up to its name, making the Fugoo one of the loudest portable speakers we’ve tested, although it colours the sound slightly so should be reserved for outdoor use.

An omnidirectional microphone on the top of the speaker lets you make handsfree calls, or control your smartphone using Siri on iOS or Google Now on Android. The microphone lacks sensitivity, however, so we essentially had to be directly next to the speaker for our voice to be picked up adequately.

BATTERY LIFE

What really sets the Fugoo apart from its rivals is its incredible battery life. It's rated for up to 40 hours of listening, and while we couldn't match that claim we still managed well over 30 hours at medium volume before needing to charge. With such excellent longevity, it's a shame you can't use the Fugoo as an emergency charger for other devices.

CONCLUSION

The Fugoo is a supremely tough Bluetooth speaker that eclipses its rivals. Battery life is incredible and the wide range of accessories make it ideal for outdoor adventures. At £150 for the Fugoo Style rising to £190 for the Fugoo Tough, the range isn't cheap, but compared to rivals like the UE Mega Boom it's actually quite reasonable. Of the three varieties, we were most fond of the Sport, which was a nice balance between size and robustness.

If you don’t want to spend as much, or don’t need such extreme toughness, the Divoom Voombox Outdoor is considerably cheaper - but also doesn’t sound nearly as good.