Whilst the weather is still enjoying throwing a few curve balls, Summer is sneaking in. Finally. For me, this means beach time!
My packing list for the beach is about comfort and day-dreaming. After the mandatory towel & sunscreen, oh and bottle of water (just in case Mum’s reading and worrying I’m not hydrating properly!), in goes a well chosen book, a notepad and several pens. However one of my most powerful muses is music. Across the years, this has invariably been missing from my beach time.

Not anymore. Urbanz have designed a beach bag with a built in speaker. The bag itself, before we even get to the speaker bit, is quite cool. Made of plastic, mine has a blue base and a clear plastic body – easy to broadcast your high-brow reading material as you walk through the crowds ;-)

The handles are made of the same plastic and feel reassuringly sturdy. The overall size is such that you can stuff in a beach towel, book, bottle (of water), sunscreen in and the bag will be full to the brim. Don't be fooled by the publicity shots - they must have used a towel for a 6 month old baby... (alternatively, if you like to take the proverbial kitchen sink with you, throw your towel over your shoulder.)
The base is lined with an easy to wipe clean cloth material and tucked away in a separate pouch is the gadgetry to power the speaker unit. This gadgetry requires 4 ‘AA’ batteries to power it up and I was delighted to find the batteries were supplied.

On the side of the bag, just above the base, sits a little speaker. Hmmm, I found myself feeling dubious about this – it looked so small so what would the volume & sound quality be like..? Above the speaker is a second compartment in which you are invited to drop in your music system – iPhone, iPod, standard MP3 player etc. The bag comes with a 3.5mm jack to connect the MP3 Player and speaker. I dropped in my HTC Touch HD phone. Somewhat unexpectedly, the speaker buzzed as the phone signal interfered for a moment. Uh. However, the noise cleared and I pressed play.
Now, this is where I need to play fair. The speaker volume is surprisingly good although it did distort the moment I went above 50% volume via my phone. Therein, this system is not designed for a beach party but will not tend to irritate the hell out the other people on the beach! Placing the bag by my head as I lay in the sun day-dreaming, I could enjoy my music easily. The balance was also very reasonable - I grouch at tinny sounds but this speaker conveyed the bass really well for its size. If I was sitting with a small group of friends, they too would certainly be able to enjoy the tunes.

One point of concern however is that the plastic pouch for your music system offers no protection whatsoever from the suns harsh rays. As a friend commented, I’d need a sun hat for the bag to ensure my phone didn’t explode in the heat! That said, there's no requirement for your phone / MP3 player to have to be placed in the pouch - it can be left in the main compartment.
Nonetheless, this bag is not just cool for the beach but also for picnics, festivals etc.

At £17.99, if being out & about as Summer finally arrives and having your music with you is important, I think this bag is a fun investment! 7/10 – losing so many points only because your sound system is not protected.

For more information or to buy see www.urbanz.co.uk.