A MIGHTY FLEX - Bose SoundLink Flex

This impressive waterproof Bluetooth speaker brings powerful sound and a rugged body, but it has tough competition

On paper, the Bose SoundLink Flex has everything it needs to compete with the best Bluetooth speakers: decent battery life, rugged and durable construction, decent technical specification and a trustworthy brand's heritage behind it. But can it knock the Bang & Olufsen A1 2nd Gen and the Sonos Roam off their perch?

The SoundLink Flex is a reasonably compact 20x9x5cm and weighs a very manageable 600g. It has an extremely sturdy fabric strap at one end of its chassis, too, which means it can happily hang off a hook or a bag. And the materials used mean the Flex has an IP67 rating against dust and moisture ingress. In fact, the SoundLink Flex will float quite happily in water.