Zaap Hydra Xtreme: Rugged, loud, gives a steady playback of over six hours

Even though it is prioritised way behind a pair of balanced, noise-cancelling headphones, a portable speaker has made its way into the travel bag. But to graduate to the universal backpack, it has to offer much more than loud music in a small package.

Design (3/5)

A seasoned traveller needs a reliable gadget. Something that can withstand Xtreme weather and at least a few drops and splashes. Zaap Hydra Xtreme is designed for the job. The black, rectangular twin-speaker apparatus has a rubberised exterior that has the capacity to withstand a good amount of shock. I tested it by dropping the speaker from about five feet more than a few times on cemented floor, road and grass. It did stop playing once, but only because the fall accidentally hit the pause button. It also survived many splashes near a pool and moderate rain at a terrace party. The IP65 rating makes the speaker Xtremely rugged. Under the rubber exterior, the top panel has four buttons, play/pause, volume up/down and Bluetooth. All are equally hard to press. It's a small compromise for a sturdy piece but a design flaw nonetheless. A basic design and lack of colour options do nothing to enhance the design.

Performance (3.5/5)

Its 12W speaker unit is markedly more powerful than those in popular ultra-portable ones from Sony and JBL. But the sound quality is only comparable at low volume. Closer to peak volume,  the sound has a high distortion. Still, the overall sound quality is above average.

Verdict (3/5)

The Zaap Hydra Xtreme is rugged, loud and gives a steady playback of over 6 hours (the company claims up to 8 hours). Weighing a little less than 500 gm, it is meant for medium-sized travel bags (not backpacks) and intimate house parties. For Rs 3,200, it's a versatile speaker if you don’t possess a terribly demanding ear.