Guns are great. We all love reading about how the newest rifle performs, what kind of accuracy you’re getting from the latest match offering, or what kind of scope just got released. From time to time, though, we reviewers like to take a minute to check out some of the tangentially-related products out there.
Fresh from a Facebook advertisement, I got a chance to try Catastrophic Industries’ bluetooth speakers, the Claymore and the 9mm Bullet. Let’s check the specs then dive into the hands on.
Specifications:
- Output Power: 8.8w (9mm), 30w (Claymore)
- Battery: 10 hours (9mm), 8 hours (Claymore)
- Water Rating: IPx5 (9mm), IPx6 (Claymore)
- Fun: Yes
The Catastrophic Industries speakers are a neat little novelty, and clearly doesn’t intent to be taken too seriously. The Claymore speaker is a small nostalgia hit among my fellow veteran friends, while the 9mm bullet speaker gets all sorts of comments from the teenage football players I coach.
An additional feature not mentioned above the the ability to wirelessly pair two speakers together prior to syncing with your phone, effectively doubling your audio output.
To test the Claymore, I took it up to Alaska with me for a full season of salmon seining out of Petersburg. For two months, the only time the Claymore went inside was to charge. I ran the speaker for 6 to 8 hours a day, giving the crew a little morale boost as we went about our work.
The Claymore got rained on, baked in direct sunlight, left on the deck while it got slapped around by coho and pink salmon, and generally neglected in the salt water environment. For reliability, the Claymore speaker gets an “A+”.
For battery life, I’d say that the Claymore acquitted itself well, with one caveat. When music was playing, battery life was indeed around the 8 hour mark. When the speaker was left on but no phone was connected, the battery would run down in as little as 2 hours though. This issue doesn’t happen with the 9mm Bullet speaker though. Strange. Charges via usb-c, takes about an hour.
The body of the Claymore is solid, but the legs are a bit weak. The controls on the Claymore are simply volume up/down and the power button, while the 9mm Bullet speaker also has track forward/back, and play/pause.
Looking at the tech specs between the Claymore and the 9mm Bullet speakers, a distinct disparity of 8.8w versus 30w output exists. The Claymore was definitely loud enough to be heard on the noisy back deck of the F/V Rosie M, but if I had taken the 9mm Bullet it would have been near useless.
Sound quality on the Claymore is pretty impressive. It compares favorably to the stereo I just installed in my Hilux, at a fraction of the cost. The 9mm Bullet speaker is not only less directionally focused, it neither excels at bass nor treble. A group hanging around a campfire might love the 9mm Bullet speaker, but the Claymore outclasses it in nearly every way. The 9mm Bullet speaker’s “360-degree sound range” definitely works better in a wide open environment, like when I toss the speaker on the ground in the middle of football warm-ups.
I’m happy to say (finally) that the Catastrophic Industries speakers are as easy to set up and connect to as bluetooth was always supposed to be. I’m tired of connection errors, and the Claymore gives me none. Both speakers have the same sound effects when you turn them on (shotgun racking), connect (explosion), and turn off (empty brass bouncing on the ground). Definitely more fun than a clanker voice saying “bluetooth connected.”
The Claymore and 9mm Bullet speakers both currently run $89.99, with the bundle for both saving you about $10. Perhaps there are more feature heavy speakers for the price, but these definitely bring the style as well. Check em out!
See more of author Jens “Rex Nanorum” Hammer at The Truth About Guns, and Ammoland.
we experiment with placing stuff like this in boxes. they can really open up in the garage, depending on placement. i’d put that bullet in a big salad bowl.
This is something I can afford.
BIG(smile)