I have over a dozen Bluetooth speakers in the house, but in the last year and a half, I’ve only used Tribit’s products — the StormBox Blast is the go-to choice if I want wall-shaking sound, and I turn to the StormBox Pro for all portable needs. While I like the latter’s convenience, it doesn’t have any ingress protection, and that’s where the Flow comes in.
Tribit unveiled the StormBox Flow at the end of last year, and its key differentiator is IP67 ingress protection, allowing it to be used just about anywhere. So if you need a speaker to take to the pool or for use in the shower, the Flow is the best choice in Tribit’s catalog. And like the rest of the brand’s products, it is inherently affordable; the StormBox Flow usually retails for $79 on Amazon, but you can buy it for just $60 right now.
Both the StormBox Blast and Pro have a similar design scheme with dark colors, and Tribit didn’t make too many changes with the Flow. The speaker comes in a lighter grey color, but the design is still muted and unobtrusive. The flatter profile makes the Flow easier to travel with, and coming in at 662g, it isn’t too heavy.
What I like about the design of the Flow is that you can easily change orientation; you can have it facing forward by default, or have it on the back. Another nifty addition is stereo pairing, where you can combine two units to create an immersive stereo sound. The build quality itself is fantastic, and I have no problems in this area. The overall design isn’t flashy, and that’s not a bad thing.
The control buttons are located at the top, and you get the usual power and Bluetooth buttons in addition to EQ, and a stereo mode that lets you connect two units together. The playback controls include volume up and down buttons along with a multifunction key that handles play/pause with a short press, invoking digital assistants with a long press, and seek controls — three presses to go to the previous track, and two to go to the next.
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There’s a lot to like when it comes to connectivity as well; the StormBox Flow pairs via Bluetooth 5.3, and I didn’t see any issues with signal quality even at range — it was able to maintain a steady connection beyond 30 feet. Pairing is as straightforward as it gets; just hold down the Bluetooth button for two seconds, and the Flow goes into pairing mode. You can use it to take calls as well, and it does a good job in this area.
As the Flow has IP67 ingress protection, you can comfortably use it at the pool without any issues; I used it extensively as a shower speaker, and it is ideally suited for this task. There’s a lanyard that attaches to the right, and it allows you to hang the Flow to a hook or shower caddy.
Like the rest of the products in the StormBox series, the Flow delivers incredible sound — this is the defining characteristic of the speaker, and it holds up against the best Bluetooth speakers under $100 in this area. It is able to deliver 25W via two drivers, the sound is vibrant and detailed out of the box, and you can enable XBass mode to drastically increase low-end energy. Doing so means the bass exuberance bleeds into the mid-range, but the added rumble and vigor is highly enjoyable. The treble isn’t as detailed, but you still get good overall definition.
You can also tweak the EQ by downloading the Tribit app, and while it isn’t intuitive, it allows you to adjust the sound to your liking. There are preset modes available — including Audiobook, Classical, Rock, and Jazz — and they make a noticeable difference to the sound. The only issue with the sound quality is that the Flow doesn’t have LDAC or any AptX codecs; you’re limited to the standard AAC and SBC.
Battery life is another area where the Flow excels; I got over 20 hours of music playback with a single charge out of the 4800mAh battery, and this is with XBass mode enabled — you can eke out much better battery life otherwise. It’s a good thing that the speaker lasts a long time on a full charge, as it takes four hours to charge the internal battery. There’s no fast charging — it only goes up to 10W — and I basically plugged it in overnight to charge.
Outside of the slow charging and missing AptX codecs, there isn’t anything to fault with the StormBox Flow. The Bluetooth speaker has good build quality, easily accessible controls, and with IP67 dust and water resistance, you can use it anywhere. The sound quality is great, the EQ lets you adjust the audio profile, and it lasts over 20 hours between charges.
If you need a portable Bluetooth speaker with terrific sound that can be used outdoors, the StormBox Flow is one of the best around — particularly in the sub-$100 segment.
The StormBox Flow is small in stature, but still manages to deliver room-filling sound. The watertight enclosure is ideal for use at the pool or shower, and you can easily adjust the sound to your preferences.
