London mayor Boris Johnson poked a wasps' nest this week when he said he would support a ban on headphones while cycling.
To placate cyclists' righteous anger, the mayor should have had a boomBOTTLE handy to show them an alternative. Through the speaker, cyclists can share their favourite dubstep, One Direction, soft rock anthems or whatever's on their iPhone. It might even be a useful ice-breaker with other cyclists parked patiently in the Advanced Stop Line bike box.
The oddly capitalised boomBOTTLE (£120) has similar dimensions to a 750ml water bottle and fitted neatly in our test cage.
It operates via Bluetooth and synchronises with a user's smartphone, so whatever's playing in a rider's back pocket is blasted out of the pretty powerful 360-degree speakers. Scosche Industries, who designed the outdoor speaker, say it has a 10m wireless range. We've not tested that distance, but know it works over at least 5m because we've been playing practical jokes with it in the office all morning.
The boomBOTTLE is a robust looking number with a chunky on/off switch and volume controls. The rubberised shell gives grip while in the cage and there are tough plastic caps around the dustproof speakers. There's also a karabiner loop to prevent it bouncing out into the road.
The lithium-ion rechargeable battery is said to be good for 10 hours of continuous music and can be recharged via a microUSB.
The boomBOTTLE is available on Amazon.