Social distancing doesn't have to mean "no socializing at all," if you're careful. If you stay outdoors, keep your distance, and avoid sharing food or supplies, you can have a fun picnic while minimizing risk. Here are the items you need to have a fun but socially distant picnic.

What do you really need?

Keeping a distance from your friends isn't everyone's favorite thing to do, but it's a must if we want to stay safe while socializing. Please wear a mask when possible, but of course, you can't eat in a mask. A picnic is an ideal way to break bread with friends because you're outdoors, you can space yourselves out, you can eat individually packed meals, but you can still have fun.

The Lazybare Picnic Backpack is an excellent item to have, especially if you're packing a meal for a household of about four people. It has everything you need to lay out a classy spread.

Folding chairs like the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair are a must, even if there are picnic tables. They allow you to spread out comfortably anywhere, anytime, whether you're in the woods, at the beach, or in your driveway. While the four-pack cooler isn't an essential for everyone, it's a nice touch to keep your beverages cool for the duration of your outing.

You've got to have tunes, right? Sure, you can just play music on your iPhone, but if you really want your jams to carry, you need a good portable speaker. The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 is the perfect picnic companion with its diminutive size and outsized 360-degree sound. It's even got that outdoor boost button so that everyone can hear it.

I'm relatively new to the world of smoking meats (and other things). I have a charcoal and wood chip smoker in my backyard that I've used only a few times for actual smoking. It's a time consuming and arduous process that can be relaxing, even spiritual, for some, but not for me. I love the end result of a pork shoulder that slowly cooks over eight hours or a brisket that takes longer to cook than it did to buy from the store, prep, and later eat. I don't love the work it takes to get there; the constant babysitting of the wood chips, the unnerving questioning of whether the grill is hot enough or too hot. Every 15 minutes of checking, prodding, scanning. Smoking meat takes up an entire day that could otherwise be spent going swimming, playing catch, or even watching a movie in the comfortable indoors.

This is where Traeger comes in. Traeger makes electric wood fire pellet grills that let you set a temperature, set a timer, and walk away from your grill until it's done. It's like an oven for your outdoors, only with real wood smoke, so it tastes like it's been charbroiled over open flames. Traeger says its grills have "6-in-1 versatility" (grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise, and BBQ) and it's true. I've never had so much fun with a grill and had the food taste so perfect when it was done.

Everything you need

Traeger Pro 780 Pellet Grill: The features

Where do I start? This grill is so much more than just a grill. Even without the connected app support, it's a feature-rich outdoor cooker. I'll start with the hardware, follow with the electronic controller, and finish with the app support.

First, this particular model, the Pro 780, has a 780 square-inch cook space. There is also a 575 square-inch model for $800, but if you want to fit 34 burgers, six rib racks, and six chickens at once, this is the size you want. The pellet hopper has an 18 pound capacity and the grill temperature ranges up to 500 degrees.

The grill sits on wheels so you can roll it from one location to another, which is good because this is not a lightweight grill. It weighs in at about 150 pounds.

The pellet hopper I mentioned above is a box that holds specially-made wood pellets that are moved from the box and into the grill thanks to an auger. The wood pellets cover the grill's heating element, which ignites, producing the natural wood smoke that makes this more than just an electric grill.

Oh, by the way, this is an electric grill. The auger runs on electricity, as does the heating element. It's not just an outdoor stove, though. That's where the pellet system comes in. It creates natural wood smoke. That's the stuff we love to taste in our food.

The pellet hopper has a clean-out door, so you can easily release the current pellet "flavor" and replace it with a different flavor (or if you're just emptying the hopper for the season).

Under the wire racks of the grill, you'll find a grease drip tray (you can also buy drip tray liners for even easier cleaning) that leans at a slight angle. There is a valve at the bottom of the angled drip tray that allows grease to empty into an included grease bucket (which also can be lined with a grease bucket liner) to catch the grease.

The grilling space has two-tiered removable wire racks. This pellet grill uses indirect heat, so you can put your burgers on the second tier and your veggies on the base and they'll cook the same.

Think of the electronic controller as the controller on your oven in the kitchen. You start the heating up process by pressing the "Ignite" button. You can use the menu knob to scroll through the various options, including priming the auger (when using for the first time after completely emptying the pellet hopper), temperature settings, timer, and more. When setting your grill's temperature, you can cook with a single, consistent temperature for a specific amount of time, insert the probe and set an alarm to let you know when the food has reached your desired temperature, or set the grill to keep the food warming at 165 degrees until you're ready to take it off.

This is everything that can be done right on the grill using the electronic controller, but you can also perform some of the same cooking tasks using the connected app for iPhone or Android.

Here's where things really start to get fun, and where Traeger stands out. The companion app, available on iPhone and Android phones allows you to connect to your Traeger grill using Wi-Fi (or in the case of their specific technology, "WiFIRE") to preheat and adjust the temperature of the grill, check your food's internal temperature if you use the probe, set timers, alerts, and more. If you purchase the pellet sensor, you can also keep an eye on the hopper to know when to refill the pellets.

I should point out that the Traeger app connects via Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth. This is both good and bad. It's good because that means it doesn't matter how far away you are from the grill, you can still read and access the controls. You can even be out at the grocery store (I did this). It's connected to your home Wi-Fi network, so as long as your Wi-Fi is working, your grill is connected.

The bad part is that, if your Wi-Fi doesn't extend far enough from its router to reach the grill outside, it won't connect, no matter how close to your phone it is. Before you buy, I recommend making sure your Wi-Fi reaches into the backyard (or wherever you're setting up the grill) if you hope to connect it to your phone.

The app does more than just tell you how hot your grill is or how much longer you have to cook. It's packed full with hundreds of recipes (apparently, more than 1,500 recipes) that range from main meat dishes to smoking cheese. Most recipes include how-to videos, and many of them come from beloved smoker and grill chefs in the industry. You can find recipes by meat option, popularity, and even follow specific chefs.

There are also guides for setting up and using your grill, which I definitely recommend if you've never used a Traeger grill before. These steps walk you through how to season your grill and prime your auger. You'll also find articles for how to properly clean the grill, how to store your pellets, and more.

Other than the Traeger grill controls, all of these videos, recipes, and articles are available for anyone. Even if you don't have a Traeger, you can take advantage of the expertise gathered here.

Note: It was brought to my attention that iOS Voice Controls don't work very well with the Traeger app, so folks that have site accessibility needs may find the app difficult to use.

Easy smokin'

Traeger Pro 780 Pellet Grill: What I like

I just can't get over how easy it is to smoke meats with this grill. When they say, "set it and forget it," they're not kidding around. We've smoked meats on Saturday and Sunday for three weekends in a row and everything comes out juicy and flavorful. With the companion app, I didn't even have to check on it at all if I didn't want to, though Traeger recommends checking on everything once per hour (probably for safety reasons). I went shopping while my ribs were smoking for six hours and I was able to monitor the progress on my iPhone.

Weeknight grilling is also just as simple. We just preheat the grill while prepping hamburgers, hot dogs, or chicken. Then, throw the meats and sides on the grill at a higher temperature (350 - 500, depending on what we cook), and then go back inside to prep the rest of the meal while the grill does its job. When it comes to high heat grilling, you pretty much just have to flip your meat at the appropriate time. There is no flame, so you don't have to worry about watching the grill.

Cooking isn't the only thing that's easy. Setting it up is so simple the instructions barely have words (it's all about the pictures). I received a huge shipment that literally came on a pallet and thought, "Oh my. This is going to take all day." It took longer to unpack everything from its well-packaged box than it did to set it up (that's a bit of an exaggeration). My partner and I (you really need two people to set it up because it's heavy and awkward until you get the legs on) had the whole thing set up and ready to use in about 45 minutes, and that was after mistakenly attaching two of the legs backward.

Traeger also offers a wide variety of accessories, including must-have additions for your grill, like the above-mentioned drip trays and pellet sensor, plus grill covers for every type of Traeger grill, aprons, grilling tools, extra racks, magnetic hooks, and a whole lot more. Traeger even sells its own brand of sauces and rubs. I had a sampling of the Pork & Poultry Rub, the Prime Rib Rub, and the Coffee Rub. They're definitely good, but I have to admit that nothing beats creating your own style of rub using the distinct flavoring you prefer. If you're new to seasoning meats, they're definitely tasty additions.

Awkward outdoors

Traeger Pro 780 Pellet Grill: What you should know

This isn't a complaint, but it's something to consider before investing in a Traeger. The grill is electric, so you must be able to connect to power. The cord is very short, so you'll need a good outdoor extension cord unless you have a convenient outdoor plug right where you want to plug in the grill.

As I mentioned above, the Traeger grill also connects to your phone using Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth. This is absolutely a better option because it'll stay connected, no matter how far away from the grill you go. But, if your Wi-Fi doesn't make it all the way out into the backyard, you won't be able to connect. Frankly, I think it's worth investing in a Wi-Fi range extender like eero, anyway. You can connect HomeKit devices, stream music from your iPhone without using up your data plan, and connect your Traeger grill. It's worth it.

I have to mention this for the "old-school" smokers. I realize that chip and charcoal smoking is somewhat of an experience that can't be replicated with an electronic grill and some wood pellets. Chase your bliss. This isn't for you. The Traeger Pro 780 is for people that love smoked meats, but definitely don't love babysitting a smoker all day.

One of the best grills you could buy

Traeger Pro 780 Pellet Grill: Conclusion

This really is a five-star grill. It's top-quality materials, considers all necessary conveniences, and works great for both smoking and searing or grilling. It is easy to set up, easy to start using and makes grilling and smoking as easy as cooking in your kitchen.

Before you buy, think about where you'd plan to keep this grill. Do you have a power source nearby? Does your Wi-Fi extend into the backyard? If not, you may want to consider a less expensive grill. Traeger makes a line of portable grills for half the price (or less) and the Pro Series 22 and Pro Series 34 are significantly cheaper but offer many of the same features as the WiFire-enabled grills (just without the WiFire support).

The Pro 780 costs $1,000, but if you don't think you'll need all of that extra grilling space, the Pro 575 utilizes 575 square-inches of space and costs $800. Traeger also sells the Ironwood and Timberline, which both come with some additional features if you really want to up your smoker game.

Every once in a while a photo app or trend comes along that takes social media by storm. Take, for example, two years ago, when the Snapchat dog filters first peaked in popularity and you couldn't go on a single dating app without seeing a girl with a set of ears or a digital flower crown grinning back at you.

There have been apps like Meitu that focus on kawaii-ing your face, or even apps that can smooth, tweak, and remove all your flaws (Facetune, anyone?), but most recently the internet has been on a nostalgia kick.

And you can partially thank an app called Huji Cam.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg9XsbGAIkx/?hl=en&taken-by=selenagomez

Now Gomez has the largest following on Instagram out of anyone on the planet (a whopping 139 million. That's a little over 3 times the population of Canada, to put things into perspective), so it's no surprise that once she started uploading pictures through Huji, people had to follow in her footsteps.

Now the app has blown up and become incredibly popular on social media with the #hujicam hashtag reaching nearly half a million posts in a couple of weeks.

Huji Cam is 100% free to download and use. To use it, launch the camera from your home screen and hold the camera up to your eye, just like you were looking through the view-finder of a disposable film camera. This will make the camera go full-screen and you can shoot whatever you want. When you point and click, a tiny roll of film will appear on screen that implies your photo is 'developing'. You can then go to the 'Photo lab' and pick the photo you want to save to your camera roll.

Every photo you snap with Huji Cam is different. Some images may have a lens flare, some may be a bit more discolored/distorted, some may have a date and others may not. You can go to your settings to adjust the date to being current, '98, or none.

How do you snap your photos?

Are you someone who loves playing around with new photography apps, or would you rather stick to your regular standard camera app? Are you excited to download and play around with Huji Cam? Maybe there's a particular #throwback app for photography or video that you're obsessed with?

Let us know what your thoughts and comments are down below!

I enjoy listening to music on my morning walks and runs, but I have a problem: Earpods don't stay in easily. I recently tried some gadgets to keep the Earpods in my ear, and they work great, but I was still getting tangled in cords. So I started shopping for Bluetooth earbuds. I'm on a tight budget, so the inexpensive Soundpeats Qy7 caught my eye. I picked them up on Amazon for $29.99 and have been running with them for a couple of weeks now. They sound great and can't be beaten for the price.

• $25.99 - Buy now

Soundpeats is a Shenzhen, China-based manufacturer of sports headphones, wearable electronics, and wireless speakers. It's a brand formed by the dubiously long-named Shenzhen SoundSOUL information technology Co., Ltd. I wasn't familiar with their products before ordering the Qy7.

The Qy7 arrives with a zippered hard case with webbing inside to keep the earbuds safe when you're not using them. Soundpeats also includes a variety of different apparatuses to help keep the earbuds securely in your ears. Three different sizes of earcup are included, to fit differently-sized ear canals, loops and hooks to help you find the right fit for your ear anatomy specifically.

The Qy7 supports Bluetooth 4.1 and also supports the aptX audio codec, which is not yet supported on iOS devices. AptX converts say that the codec provides better audio quality over Bluetooth. Regardless, the Qy7 paired effortlessly to both my iPhone 6 and my Apple Watch. I went out on runs with the Apple Watch alone, once I'd loaded a playlist on it.

Both earbuds are connected by a flat ribbon cable that rests behind the neck. The right earbud sports a multifunction button that powers up and down, pauses and plays; a volume toggle on the same earbud also doubles as a track forward and rewind button. The left earbud has a micro USB connector underneath a hideaway rubber stopper.

An LED shows you when the headset is being charged and when it's powered up. It's tough to see in direct sunlight, as it's underneath the same multi-function button you press to power up, power down, pause and play.

A pleasant female voice recording informs you when the headset is powered up and down, when it's connected to a Bluetooth source and when the battery is low. The Qy7 lasted for me for about six hours of active use before needing to be charged again. Soundpeats includes a micro-USB cable, which you can connect it to any USB power source. An open port on your computer will work, or the wall block you use to charge your iPhone or iPad, or whatever.

The sound quality of the Qy7 is excellent. There's plenty of bass, too — great for the driving dance music and hard rock I prefer to listen to when I work out. Bear in mind, however, that these are in-ear earbuds. If you don't like that feeling of "fullness" you get with an in-ear device, you probably won't like these.

There's a safety consideration too: If you're exercising in public, you probably don't want your ears completely blocked off to outside sounds: You want to be able to hear vehicles, dogs and other things that might be a threat. So use at your own discretion.

Soundpeats is generous with the accessories to customize the fit of the Qy7 to your ear specifically. Several different sizes of earloops and ear hooks are provided, along with different cup sizes, so you can almost certainly find a shape that's right for you.

The documentation included with the Qy7 has occasional anachronisms that read as poorly translated English, but it was clear enough. I was left to my own devices a bit to figure out how the ear loops and hooks worked, though, and how, exactly, the earbuds were supposed to fit in my ear. It had taken me a couple of days of workouts before I found a comfortable fit.

Soundpeats makes the Qy7 in a variety of different color combinations. I opted for the red and black model though I noticed Amazon had an even better deal on the black and green model.

The Qy7 is bulkier than some Bluetooth earbuds I've seen, but it's also a fraction of the price. You can spend hundreds of dollars on high-end earbuds, especially when you get into Bluetooth. So it's amazing that the Qy7 costs less than $30. I've been using the Qy7 for a couple of weeks, and it's held up well. Whether it'll hold up for the long-term is another question. But at the price I paid, I can afford to take a chance.

• $25.99 - Buy now

Have you tried the Qy7? Or is there another inexpensive Bluetooth earbud you prefer? Sound off in the comments. Want more accessories to help make your summer more fun? Check out our Summer Accessories roundup!

The Jawbone UP3 is an update to a well-loved fitness band that adds some much-needed heart rate tracking. I used it while camping out in British Columbia, and while it did a stand-up job keeping tabs on how much I had been hiking, it's so much more than a pedometer.

Jawbone's UP app for iPhone is super slick, and amalgamates data ranging from sleep patterns to mood to activity to food intake to weight and provides real, practical suggestions to improve your health. It's not all about nagging though; the UP app will let you know when you're meeting or exceeding goals and highlight the benefits of these victories. Various notifications will populate your feed day-to-day with links to browse the web for more health-related info, accept challenges, and share relevant tidbits with friends. The app ties in with Apple Health, though only for sleep and step data.

The tracker itself has a comfortable rubber band with a high quality, adjustable clasp. Getting the angle right when affixing that clasp can be a little tricky, but it's very secure. Splash protection means you don't have to worry about taking it off in the shower or while doing dishes. Just don't hop in the pool with it on. Battery life is advertised as up to seven days. I generally got four or five before needing to use the custom USB charging cable.

The front face responds to taps. Two quick taps wakes the UP3 and will blink a light to show which mode it's in. Follow that with a long press to switch between activity and sleep tracking. UP3 can delineate between REM sleep, light sleep, and deep sleep, positioning it all on a timeline within the app. This is great, because it's not data you can easily get a hold of otherwise, and rarely is sleep an activity you have much control over. There was only one occasion where the reading was flat-out wrong, but most of the data seemed right. Remembering to switch to sleep mode can be a bit of a hassle. I really wish UP's IFTTT channel worked so I could use the band to turn off the Hue and WeMo lights in my room when I flip on sleep mode, since it would be a good prompt to remember. Luckily the app is good about getting sleep data retroactively, even if you don't go into sleep mode.

My favorite feature of the UP3 for me has been the Smart Alarm. It buzzes the UP3 within an ideal window of your sleep cycle in the morning, but before a certain time. On the other side, there are bedtime reminders based on your established sleep schedule. Overall, the UP3 is built well for wearing all day, and the sleep tracking is particularly useful.

The UP3's addition of pulse tracking focuses a lot on Resting Heart Rate. As a rule of thumb, lower is better. You get good longitudinal data for RHR, and the occasional Smart Coach suggestion if there's a significant change in the rating, but there isn't much else to be done with the information except maybe pass it on to your doctor.

The UP3 is intense about tracking workouts. There's a stopwatch mode that can keep especially close tabs on how much you're doing within a specific span of time. If you aren't doing something that involves steps, you may need to manually input your type of workout for everything to count. Manual weight-logging is also included, though smart scales from Withings and Escali can automatically beam that data to UP.

Social elements are built in so you can get on a Team to follow the progress of your other UP-toting pals, and challenge them to limited-time duels to see who can sweat the most. These social features are largely wasted on me, since my immediate social circle really isn't into this kind of stuff. It's very easy to lean on the Fitocracy app connection to fill your social circle and establish a workout regimen, though it isn't especially accurate when automatically importing that data into UP.

My biggest complaints have less to do with the UP3 specifically, and more to do with the product category as a whole. This was my first fitness band, and most of the reasons that had kept me from getting one up until now held up. Though something like the Jawbone UP3 affords information that you wouldn't otherwise have easy access to, especially with sleep and heart rate monitoring, you're inheriting just as much obligation as you are convenience.

For a full-spectrum, accurate reading on your health, you'll need to manually correct some data, and input plenty of your own, particularly when it comes to food. Tracking food can be a chore. UP's database of items and calorie counts are extensive, but you also have to check the serving size and make sure it lines up with how much you're eating. A barcode scanner helps a little bit, but it can pull in confusing results as often as not. Jawbone has partnered up with a few services to make this process more painless, such as Yummly and Orange Chef. On the whole, I treated the dietary data and the subsequent suggestions as very general.

That said, you'll get as much out of the UP3 as you put into it. Folks who are already focused on living healthy and want to perpetually improve will already be motivated to make use of everything the UP3 has to offer. Similarly, those who are in bad shape and are dedicated to getting healthier will have a lot of tools at their disposal here. Anyone between those two extremes, like me, will likely pushed into ambivalence after the 50th. time the idle alarm reminds you to stand up from the desk. Ultimately I don't know that the UP3 improved my behaviour any more than my personal sensibilities already do.

$180 Buy now

As a pure fitness tracker, UP3 does fine — great, even — but if you're going to be investing time and attention into a wearable, additional conveniences offered by an Apple Watch such as notifications and apps may be necessary to make it worthwhile. Jawbone seems to recognize this kind of convenience, and is integrating American Express tap payments into their next generation fitness tracker, the UP4. As it stands, the Jawbone UP3 is a great tracker for the ongoing and burgeoning fitness nut.

• Read more on accessories that are great for the summer!
• Dig into our fitness band comparison

You'll want to bring your iPhone along for your more adventurous activities, but you'll also want to make sure it has enough juice for you to take pictures, check notes, and chill out with when things aren't so extreme. Take a gander at these extra-tough backup batteries that can handle a tumble and a splash without a problem.

• Read up on other awesome iPhone and iPad accessories for the summer!

Your favorites?

Those are some of my favorite rugged battery chargers. What have you used lately to make sure your iPhone stays alive while roughing it?

If you're heading out camping this summer, you may want to check out one of BioLite's newer products, the NanoGrid. It offers a full spectrum of lighting utilities with a backup battery for your iPhone and iPad. The NanoGrid is really two different accessories. The first part is the PowerLight, which packs a 4400 mAh battery which can charge your electronics over USB. It offers lighting through a directed torch, and an omnidirectional lamp. The SiteLights are the second part of the set, which come in a pair of individual lights which chain together and plug into the PowerLight. The cable for the SiteLights wind into themselves conveniently, and both units clamp onto one another for storage as a single handy orb. A second pair of SiteLights can be daisy-chained to the first to cover a wide area.

The upper section of the PowerLight provides a nice, even glow for many, many hours on a single charge. BioLite advertises that on low brightness, it can go for a full 72 hours. Besides light, you can expect to get at least a full iPhone charge from the battery. Even after a few sips of juice for my iPhone, the PowerLight still had plenty left to keep my campsite well-lit for several nights. The SiteLights expanded the range of lighting significantly. They were just as helpful on the ground to light up obstacles as they were dangling from tree branches. Of course, you may not be too keen to use these outside at night, since they can attract mosquitos, but they're equally helpful inside. I was quite glad to have these around when my building had a lengthy power outage, for example.

The PowerLight can be charged via BioLite's primary product, the wood-burning CampStove, but really, the battery can get its juice from any source over micro USB. I've charged mine through GoalZero solar panels without a problem. The included USB cable has a threaded covering, which feels nice and gives a sense of durability. Unfortunately, this style is more prone to tangles than traditional cords, and frays over time.

Both products are very well-built for mounting. The PowerLight has an S-hook that can rotate all the way around the device, so you can pop it on a branch as easily as a tent hook. The SiteLights, though a bit more finicky, are just as versatile. You get 10 feet of cord for each light, which can be caught in a groove on each light by the winding cavity, and adjusted with a sliding stabilizer on either cord. Getting these lights to angle out at just the right way can be a challenge, but you're given lots to work with.

There are a handful of usability issues. Out of the box, the NanoGrid lights are stuck on a store demo mode. You have to manually reset them or charge the PowerLight over USB to put it to normal functionality. I didn't relish having to dive into the rather dense instruction manual to figure out this issue. After that, you're dealing with a series of long-presses and multiple-presses on the PowerLight buttons to get everything where you want it. For three of the buttons, a long press allows dimming, but for the big one, it locks the lights in their current setting. You also have to make sure the switches on the individual SiteLights are flipped on, and they often needed a little extra push on the plugs to make contact with one another. On the whole, setting up can take quite a bit of fiddling.

There are also a few complaints in terms of build quality. All of the plugs on the PowerLight have small rubber plugs to provide a bit of water protection. After having the SiteLights plugged into the PowerLight, the flap of the plug stayed loose and a little open, reducing its splash protection. On top of that, the charge indicator LEDs on the back bleed through the casing a fair bit. I've experienced something similar with the CampStove LED as well. Combine these with the flimsy cover for the CampStove grill, and I don't have a ton confidence in BioLite's plastics. It's certainly nothing deal-breaking, but there are compromises.

$80 Buy now

Despite some marginal problems around usability and construction, this is a very neat family of products with few competitors. I suspect the NanoGrid family will be supplemented with other compatible accessories in the future. Regardless of whether or not you want to go all-in with BioLite's other, pricier products, this pair is very fun to use.

• Read up on more iPhone and iPad accessories perfect for the summer!

It's one thing to bring your iPhone to the pool or to the beach, another thing to be able to listen to music while you're bobbing in the water. If you're looking for a speaker that you can get wet, you should check out the new UE Roll.

The speaker

The Roll is a circular speaker that looks like a flying saucer. Its diameter is a bit more than 5 inches and it weighs about 7/10ths of a pound, making it small and portable. The big plus and minus on the top are a UE—Ultimate Ears—trademark volume up and down buttons, identical to the ones you'd find on UE's other Bluetooth speakers, the Boom and the Megaboom.

Inside the housing is a 2-inch full-range driver and two 3/4-inch tweeters, which deliver plenty of oomph and 360-degree sound. Not enough to drop the bass for a party, but great for background sound or just hanging out at the beach or the pool. Unlike other UE speakers like the Boom and the Megaboom, there's no integrated mic, so you can't use the Roll as a speakerphone.

The rubberized underside sports a recessed power button and a pairing button; both of these light up when active. You can pair it with up to eight devices, so if you want to use it with your iPhone one day, your Mac the next and later with your iPad, you're all set.

An integrated bungee cord gives you a way to hang the Roll off of and loop it around ... well, whatever: wall pegs, door handles, bike handlebars, the strap on your messenger bag. Use your imagination. A sturdy built-in hook makes sure that the speaker doesn't go anywhere.

You can even pair two Rolls — or a Roll and a Boom or a Megaboom — together, to create a two-speaker sound field — using the optional software app for iOS and Android. That app is definitely worth installing: it provides you with the ability to remotely turn the speaker on and off, adjust equalization levels, and even update the speaker with new capabilities pushed live from UE. I was able to do this with my UE Boom, and the net result was great: two speakers is better than one, and they're perfectly synced. Unfortunately there's no Mac or Windows app, so you'll need to have your Roll paired with an iPhone, iPad, or Android device to get the most out of it.

The water resistance

UE's designed the Roll for rough outdoor use. It's IPX7-rated — the same rating Apple got for the Apple Watch — which means it's water-resistant for up to 1 meter of depth for up to 30 minutes. Safe to use in the pool or at the beach, just don't go diving with it.

Waterproofing aside, it's important to remember that left to itself, the Roll is not buoyant. If you buy it directly from UE's Website they'll throw in a free floaty designed especially for it, though. The ring sports a strap in the middle that the Roll holds on to using its own integrated bungee cord.

The details

UE offers the Roll in six different colors, with names like Volcano (black), Atmosphere (the blue I have), Sugarplum (a gorgeous purple), Sriracha (a geometrically-patterned red and orange), Piñata (grey and red), and Reef (blue and green).

The Roll works up to 65 feet away from its Bluetooth source. The built-in battery lasts for about 9 hours per charge. Charging is handled using an included Micro USB cable and connector that's hidden beneath a waterproof rubber seal on the underside of the Roll. There's a 3.5mm mini jack input to connect to olde-fashioned gear that eschews modern Bluetooth witchery.

$100 Buy now

The bottom line

Waterproof Bluetooth speakers have some tradeoffs. They're a bit more money than other Bluetooth speakers and sometimes sound a bit muffled or canned. That's not the case with the Roll: It sounds great, and its integration with the UE app and its ability to pair with other UE Bluetooth speakers make it a fantastic choice if you want to create big sound.

UE's created a portable, waterproof speaker with some design whimsy that will bring a smile to your face and a bounce to your step.

The Roll is a great summer accessory, but if you're looking for more, check out our summer accessories hub!

We're in the thick of summer, and that means getting out and getting active with the best summer accessories. It could be something as low-key as hitting up the beach or backyard, or as intense as hiking or biking. Whatever you're into, we've got a few protective cases here that will make sure your iPhone 6 or new iPhone 6s gets through it all in one piece!

Your favorite tough iPhone 6 cases?

These are my current favorite iPhone 6 rugged cases that will also go great with the new iPhone 6s. There are also some great ones in our waterproof case roundup that can take a beating. If you already have your protection lined up, let me know which tough case you recommend!

• See more great iPhone accessories for the summer

The $179 Fugoo speaker and I were first introduced back in January, when, during a tradeshow, I heard the boom of Taylor Swift's Shake It Off, a splash, then an exclamation: "It's playing underwater!"

When I turned to look, I found a member of Fugoo's staff smiling and chatting with the aforementioned exclaimer. Both stood around a large fish tank, where several other staff members were dunking active Fugoo speakers, then tossing them on the floor with abandon. On an otherwise sleepy day, the booth was a beacon of sound and life.

Swimming with the fishes

On its face, the Fugoo is not unlike your average bar-shaped portable Bluetooth speaker: a couple of buttons, black speaker core, and connected via Bluetooth Low-Energy. But it sports a few extra perks that make it stand out from the crowd.

For one, the Fugoo — named and logotyped after the Japanese word for pufferfish — is waterproof. Those initial water tests at the tradeshow booth were impressive enough, but having dunked, played, and otherwise tortured the speaker in an Irish infinity pool and lakes across the country, it holds up.

Officially, the Fugoo has an IP67 rating: It's fully dustproof, and waterproof up to 1 meter/3 feet for 30 minutes. One Fugoo representative told me that they'd tested the speaker up to 10 feet, but they had trouble getting Bluetooth to reliably connect below 3.

To be straight, here: You're not really going to want to play your music routinely underwater. Sound waves and water don't really get along, and though getting to watch water droplets bouncing around the Fugoo speakers is a pretty cool science experiment, it's not something you're going to do on a regular basis.

But that level of waterproofing means not worrying about where you drag the Fugoo. Outside. On a boat. Strapped to your bike, or on a hiking trip. By the pool. Wherever you want to bring this petite little speaker, you can.

Battery life for days

On top of that, the battery life is incredible. The Fugoo's stated battery life is a whopping 40 hours at 50 percent volume, and it more than met those expectations.

As a longtime Jambox fan, I was often burned by its 10 hour battery — I'd forget to charge it, pack it for a trip, and wind up with a paperweight. Contrast that with the Fugoo: In my first two weeks testing the speaker, I only had to charge it once. This period included trips to my roller derby practice space, San Francisco, and Ireland, and a fair number of pools. 14 days is pretty stellar battery life for just about any connected device, but for a Bluetooth speaker? I was in heaven.

Big sound, itty bitty speaker

The sound quality is excellent, too, both indoors and outdoors. The Fugoo sports six speakers and drivers all around its body, which makes for a rich, booming experience. You can stick the Fugoo on its side, wrap it on a pole or bike with optional attachment, or shove it into the snow, and it still sounds great.

Like any portable speaker, it does sacrifice its bass/treble balance somewhat, steering away from the heavy deep bassification you'll find in other small options. And because the Fugoo has no custom equalizer app, you don't really have the option to adjust to your preferences. The company's sound choices work just fine for the mix of music I listen to — classic rock, classical music, indie pop, hip-hop, and podcasts — but everyone's musical preferences are different.

If you want to go old-school and avoid the Bluetooth connection (or just don't have a device that supports it), you can still hook up a 3.5mm cable to the Fugoo for some wired music.

Control the room

The Fugoo offers three buttons on its surface — volume up, play/pause, and volume down — along with a Bluetooth pairing button and power on/off on its side.

You can use that center button to play or pause music, as well as activating Siri or Google Now, if you're paired with an iPhone or Android device. Siri works, but not as well as it does on the iPhone or Apple Watch; the microphone isn't quite as fabulous as the Fugoo's set of speakers.

You can also use the volume up button paired with the play/pause button to skip to the next song, or volume down with play/pause to return to the previous song.

Fancy jacket required

The Fugoo isn't just a great speaker: It looks fantastic, too, thanks to a series of removable jackets you can slide on and off. Those three options — Style, Sport, and Tough — each cater to a different type of speaker use.

The $179.99 Style almost looks like a fashion clutch: The jacket is covered in a fine silver, black, red, or tan waterproof cloth covering with a fiber-enforced resin shell, and almost sparkles in direct lights or sunshine. It's the least durable of the three, and the one pictured in this review.

The $199.99 Sport is probably the best all-around option for most people, offering a shock-absorbing rubber trim around the fiber-enforced resin shell, and deals with dust and dirt much better than the Style. I used the Fugoo with this jacket for several outside encounters, and it still looks brand-new.

The $229.99 Tough is the lone jacket/Fugoo pairing I didn't get to try, but it promises even tougher comprehensive coverage, keeping your Fugoo safe from drops, spills, and... getting run over by a car?!

Yeah.

If you want to collect a few different jackets, they're all available separately from the core Fugoo speaker for $29.99 (Style), $39.99 (Sport), and $79.99 (Tough), respectively.

Bottom line

After several months of testing, I don't feel hyperbolic in declaring the Fugoo my favorite portable Bluetooth speaker, hands down. The battery life alone gives it a huge edge over every other speaker I've tried; pair that with great sound, waterproofing, and easy controls, and you've got a solid device. My only wish is software-side: I'd love to see options for configuring an equalizer, or hooking up the Fugoo with other Bluetooth speakers for chained audio.