Camping, hiking, heading out on the road in your RV, or lounging at the cottage. Whatever your summer plans include, music is often the accompaniment. To keep the tunes playing, you’ll want a durable and fun speaker for outdoors at home, or on your next outing.
Best Buy has a huge selection of speakers, and many manufacturers have just released new versions for summer. Plus at Best Buy, you’ll find some exclusive designs, so we’ve matched a selection of new speakers with the best summer activities.
Best portable speakers: Houseboating on the Great Lakes
Whether it’s with friends or family, renting a houseboat is the best way to enjoy the rugged watery beauty of the Great Lakes. Bobbing along from cove to cove and diving into the clear water is made better when it’s set to a soundtrack. Bring the Bose SoundLink Micro Rugged Waterproof Bluetooth wireless speaker with you.
It’s got killer sound, and it’s made to share, since you can let anyone connect and play DJ.
Whether you want to use this super small 4″ speaker inside for room filling audio, or outside to jazz up the lake, it’s going to sound great. With its six hour battery life you’ll be able to keep things going all afternoon long and if you want even better, bigger sound, you can pair two together for stereo sound.
Best portable speakers: Camping in the rockies
Western Canada’s rugged, craggy rocky mountains are the ultimate camping destination. Whether it’s the majestic peaks, gilded greenery or the vast array of wildlife, you’re bound to fall in love.
While out in this wilderness, you’ll want a portable wireless speaker that can keep up with you. Check out the Sony XB41 EXTRA BASS waterproof Bluetooth speaker.
This mid-sized wireless speaker has a lot of power for filling larger outdoor areas like your campsite, but it’s also durable. It’s rated IP67so it can fend off rain, splashes, and even accidental submersion into a mountain lake (up to 1m for up to 30 minutes).
Want a little more oomph in your campfire party? Multi-coloured line lights and a flashing strobe will give you a little bit of the big city club vibe to your outdoor shaker. I recently reviewed these speakers and love them! Read more here.
Best speakers for road tripping in your RV
Sometimes it’s the call of the open road that lights your summer on fire. If you’re heading out in the RV or camper van, or even in the car, pack up the JBL Charge 3 Waterproof Wireless Bluetooth speaker.
The portable and powerful JBL Charge 3 is a versatile Bluetooth speaker that will give you high-quality stereo sound for starters. Plus, it includes a USB power bank to charge your other devices, (perfect on the road), and it has an IPX7-rated waterproof design. The rechargeable battery provides up to 20 hours of playtime, which should keep you rocking for days on end.
The whole family can share this smart speaker, since you can connect to up to 3 smartphones, tablets, or laptops. With a rugged, IPX7-rated waterproof design, it’s not afraid of rain, or lake water, no matter where you pull the RV over.
Best speakers for the next backyard BBQ party
So your plan is to stay home? You can still create a vacation-ready vibe in your own backyard with the Polk Audio Atrium 4 80-Watt All-Weather outdoor speaker.
Thanks to advanced acoustics, it’s got the power to fill a large area with hi-fi sound and the all-weather design makes it ideal for almost any environment.
Your other choice here is one that allows you the unique prospect of designing it to match your yard.
These Klipsch AW-400 all-weather speakers bring high quality sound to your outdoor space. With a fun, paintable, UV-resistant ABS enclosure with rustproof aluminum grille you can match your speakers to your outdoor decor perfectly.
Best outdoor speakers for that weekend at the cottage or cabin
There’s one last option to talk about, and that’s more permanent speakers that are made for the outdoors. Tailored to withstand weather, wind and water, specialty outdoor speakers are another option for summer. No, these aren’t portable, but they are another popular option to talk about this time of year.
Eastern Canadians call it a cottage. Westerners prefer cabin. Whichever your nomenclature, you know it’s easy to relax at your rustic forest getaway. Let the music sooth the savage memories of gridlocked holiday weekend traffic by playing something nice and soothing on your Boss Audio MR4.3B 200-Watt Indoor/outdoor weatherproof 3-Way speaker system, or the Polk Audio indoor-outdoor speakers once you arrive and open that first cold beer.
Conveniently compact, the Boss Audio or the Polk speakers are suitable for indoor, outdoor, and marine use and can be mounted easily nearly anywhere outdoors.
Whichever way you prefer to embrace summer, pick the right speakers for your situation, and vacation. Find a great selection of portable, wireless, Bluetooth or wired speakers and outdoor speakers at Best Buy.
