Let me say one thing up front about the bass: if you want a speaker that rivals something in a tricked-out car, you will need 200 - 300 or more watts and an enclosure. You can push a Turtlebox to the limit by adjusting bass in your EQ but it's going to sound, at best, like a 50-watt system with a tiny enclosure because that's what it is. You can put this in a backpack or box and crank the bass and it will really thump, I mean really, really thump, but it will not match someone pushing 300 watts in a 36 inch wooden box. With that said, at the end of this review I'll include step by step instructions for getting superb sound out of this thing by using an smartphone or tablet.First thing that stands out is the size: it's big. I was expecting something the size of a lunch box but this is larger and wider by several inches. I think it will still fit in most (larger) backpacks but you can probably forget about carrying two while hiking unless you do some very creative packing or have another person carry the second one.The weight isn't bad considering how large it is. It's actually lighter than it looks. It's still heavy enough to knock you out or worse if it falls on your head, though. It feels very rugged and reminds me somewhat of a military-issue ammo box.I've seen these colored black and would have preferred a black one but that doesn't seem to be an option anymore. I would have bought two if they were available in more colors. Some companies just don't want my money, I guess.The instruction manual is clear, short and easy to follow.Charging time is two and a half to three hours, which is spectacular for a battery this large: It charges about as fast as a newer quick-charging smartphone. I have many smaller power banks and battery packs that charge much slower. The downside is that this has a custom charger and can't be recharged through a usb power bank like most small bluetooth speakers. That could be a problem for longer trips: you'll have to find a wall outlet every couple days to recharge this thing or carry some other kind of electric generator. That also rules out most smaller portable usb solar chargers.The sound is great, loud enough to make you deaf if you stand close to it at full blast. The bass is good if you have the right EQ settings on your audio player.My previous bluetooth speakers were the JBL Flip 3 and the UE MegaBoom. The MegaBoom is well-known for being very loud yet still lightweight and compact and easily dominates the JBL Flip in volume, however both are limited by small speakers which simply can't push much bass (the JBL Flip has non-existent bass) and both distort above 80% to 90% volume.At the time of writing this, to get a louder, bassier portable speaker than a Turtlebox (120 decibels) you'd need to buy either a Soundboks 2 (122 decibels, $999), a Teufel Rockster (122 decibels, $1059) or a DiamondBoxx XL (120 decibels, $1799). There are some other, cheaper options like the Aiwa Exos-9 (100 decibels, $299), the JBL Boombox (101 decibels, $499), the ION Audio Road Warrior (113 decibels, $269), the Sony GTK-XB90 (104 decibels, $298) or the ECOXGEAR Eco Boulder (112 decibels, $129) but they either are heavier, aren't very portable, aren't waterproof, limit their volume when they aren't plugged in, distort above 80% volume, or a combination of these things. This puts the Turtlebox in a very sweet spot of combining most if not all the best attributes of a bluetooth speaker into one smallish unit at a relatively low price.I picked this Turtlebox up during a flash sale. $300 is more than I want to spend on any bluetooth speaker, but at a reduced price this is an absolute must buy. I skipped lunch for a few weeks to afford it and don't regret it in the slightest. My housemates ooh'd and aah'd over it before I'd even taken it out of the box lol.To make this speaker sound amazing with an android phone (may also work for Apple, not sure):1. Buy JetAudio HD music player from the Google Play store, Amazon app store, etc.2. I can't remember if plugins are included or priced separately but buy/turn on the following JetAudio plugins:EQ: try making it V-shaped or inverted V-shaped and adjust from there (see pics)AM3D Audio Enhancer:Z-Bass 1: 25 - 100%Z-Treble: OffZ-Surround: OffZ-Boost: OnBongiovi DPS:Phoenix GeneralWide Expanded (Turn off for tracks that make popping noises during high treble)Crystalizer+ or HX:10 - 25%These are optional, and may not be ideal for all music:JetAudio Sound Effects:Hall Reverb around 25 - 75%X-Bass 1 or 2 as far up to 100% as it will go without distortionDone! Note that this will make any speaker or system sound much better (assuming it's powerful enough to handle it), but you'll want to tweak the settings slightly higher or lower depending on the track you're listening to. Don't try this with a weak or small speaker, it very well may break!