If you’re looking for a portable, IP67 waterproof Bluetooth speaker, Sprout’s Soundwave speaker could be the one for you. We check it out.

Headphones may be a great way to enjoy your Spotify playlist privately, but if you’re entertaining at home, camping, or relaxing on the beach, you may want to share your music. For this, you are going to need a Bluetooth speaker like Sprout’s Soundwave speaker.

Sprout is an Aussie company that designs speakers, headphones, chargers and phone accessories. They pride themselves on being sustainable and ethical, with a mission to enhance our world not just for today but for tomorrow as well. They do this via using recyclable packaging and examining the impact of their end-to-end supply chain, including end-of-life disposal.

Sprout’s Soundwave Bluetooth speaker stands 150mm high and weighs only 680g, making it the perfect size for sticking in your bag. The speaker features twin 47mm drivers and a 24W output, so you’re not really compromising power for portability. The speaker comes with a USB Type-A to Type-B charging cable, a strap, and the manual.

On the front of the speaker is a rubber panel with a power button, play button, volume buttons and a Unisync button for syncing up to 50 Sprout Bluetooth speakers. There’s also a bank of four battery charge indicator lights. A status light at the top of the rubber panel flashes red and blue for Bluetooth pairing and a solid blue when paired.

Behind a little rubber cover on the back of the speaker is a charging input, a 3.5 mm aux input. There’s also a 5W USB Type-A output, as the Soundwave speaker doubles as a power bank.

Connecting the device to my phone was painless. Following the instructions, the speaker appeared on my phone’s list of Bluetooth devices and paired with no fuss, with a voice prompt confirming that it was connected. A vocal cue will also let you know if the device needs charging. You should see around 14 hours between charges.

The speaker’s sound quality is great, but maybe a little pedestrian for those wanting to really upset the neighbours. For a bit of background music to accompany an alfresco meal or while doing chores, the Soundwave will do the job. If it’s a dance party you are after, you are likely going to need something with a bit more meat. Alternatively, you could buy a few more Sprout Bluetooth speakers and sync them together if you really need some extra volume.

The speaker seems quite rugged, but you do need to be mindful of the exposed drivers at each end. They are sealed in with rubber and look cool with the Sprout logo, but I’d like to have seen them with mesh covers, just to make sure they don’t get pierced by something in my bag.

Sprout’s Soundwave Bluetooth speaker does what it says on the tin. It’s a robust, very portable speaker for sharing music when you are out and about. It’s waterproof, so there are no problems if you are by the pool or on the beach. The audio is crisp, and it even acts as a power bank. The multi-speaker Unisync mode is pretty cool as well. All-in-all, it’s a competent device that’s worth a look if you are in the market for a portable Bluetooth speaker.