Soulra Rugged Rukus review

The Rugged Rukus is also IPX4 splash-proof, so although it will be fine for use by the pool it isn’t guaranteed to survive being fully submerged. Karabiner loops on its corners let you clip it to a bag, which is ideal for those who enjoy hiking with a Bluetooth speaker and should also help it charge as you travel.

Soulra claims it takes five hours to fully re-charge the Rugged Rukus using the sun’s rays. In testing, we found this to be rather ambitious. Even on a relatively clear sunny day, where the Rugged Rukus was left outdoors from midday to dusk, the device was reporting only 75 per cent charged.

Those hoping to use sunshine to directly power the Rugged Rukus rather than having to deplete the battery will be disappointed. When playing music, even when outdoors in strong sunlight, the battery will deplete faster than it’s able to charge. That’s not to say the battery life of the Rugged Rukus is disappointing. We managed to get just over eight hours of battery life, which is about average for most Bluetooth speakers. Outdoors during a reasonably overcast day this extended to just nearly 10 hours. Recharge rate will be dependent on weather conditions but we could see the solar panel as useful for festival goers or holidaymakers.

The speaker has a USB port for charging your devices, such as a smartphone. Again, this will drain the battery very quickly, so the idea of using it as a solar charger slightly goes out the window. The internal battery is only 1,500mAh so might not charge your smartphone completely. At least the speaker doesn’t have to be turned on to act as a charger thanks to a dedicated USB charging button on the rear.

The Rugged Rukus is also IPX4 splash-proof, so although it will be fine for using by the pool it isn’t guaranteed to survive being fully submerged. Karabiner loops on its corners let you clip it to a bag, which is ideal for those who enjoy hiking and should also help it charge as you travel.

Soulra claims it takes five hours to fully re-charge the Rugged Rukus using the sun’s rays. In testing, we found this to be rather ambitious. Even on a relatively clear sunny day, where the Rugged Rukus was left outdoors from midday to dusk, the device was reporting only 75 per cent charged.

Those hoping to use sunshine to directly power the Rugged Rukus rather than having to deplete the battery will be disappointed. When playing music, even when outdoors in strong sunlight, the battery will deplete faster than it’s able to charge. That’s not to say the battery life of the Rugged Rukus is disappointing. We managed to get just over eight hours of battery life, which is about average for most Bluetooth speakers. Outdoors during a reasonably overcast day this extended to just nearly 10 hours. Recharge rate will be dependent on weather conditions but we could see the solar panel as useful for festival goers or holidaymakers.

The speaker has a USB port for charging your devices, such as a smartphone. Again, this will drain the battery very quickly, so the idea of using it as a solar charger slightly goes out the window. The internal battery is only 1,500mAh so might not charge your smartphone completely. At least the speaker doesn’t have to be turned on to act as a charger thanks to a dedicated USB charging button on the rear.

The Rugged Rukus pairs over Bluetooth with A2DP, rather than the less-lossy aptX codec, but this isn’t a major concern for a speaker of this size. You can also connect a wired device through an auxiliary connection on the back of the speaker, hidden behind a rubberised flap.

The two full-range speaker drivers inside the Rugged Rukkus deliver only middling sound quality. There was very little lower frequency response, meaning songs sounded tinny and harsh. Volume was fairly average too, but it’s loud enough for camping, beach breaks or lounging pool-side.

The Rugged Rukus is a reasonably useful portable charger. However, its solar-powered abilities are limited beyond eking out some extra playback time under the right conditions. Sound quality was also poor, so unless you know you’ll be using it in particularly sunny climes we prefer the Divoom Voombox Outdoor, which has better construction and sound quality.