Pure are best-known for their DAB radios, having been producing models for home use for over 20 years now. The Pure Woodland, though, is something a little different. As the name suggests, it's an outdoor speaker- the brand's first foray into this area. We've been broadly impressed with their radios in the past, but how does the Woodland stack up? Let's take a closer look!
Related: Top 10 Best DAB Radios
Design & build
Pure are best known for their wooden radios, but that's obviously not the most practical choice for an outdoor radio. Instead, they've opted for something with a bit of a "nature" theme, in the fetching green you can see here. While it may not be the most radical design out there, it's practical enough. More importantly, an outdoor speaker needs to be able to put up with a bit of rain, and for that reason the Woodland is IP67-rated. This means its fully waterproof, so you don't need to worry about getting it we. That rating also means it's dustproof, too.
On top of the radio are all the controls. These are nice and simple to use, and unlike some other portable radios, there are no tricky long-presses or double-taps required to access any features. Instead, everything that you'll want to use the Woodland for has its own button. There's also a handle on the top, which we'll come onto later.
This is also the place to mention that, like a lot of other manufacturers, Pure have committed themselves to plastic-free packaging. True to its eco-sounding name, everything is paper here (apart from a couple of cable ties).
Sound performance
Design is all well and good, but it doesn't mean much if the speaker inside isn’t up to standard. Thankfully, though, we’re pleased to report that the Pure Woodland more than lived up to our expectations.
Naturally, a speaker designed for outdoor use isn't necessarily going to provide audiophile-level sound quality, as they tend to focus more on volume than nuance. That being said, we found during testing that the Woodland was remarkably balanced for a portable model. Speech sounds clear and crisp, which is ideal if you're planning on listening to talk radio or podcasts while you're out and about.
As for music, the Woodland has a good balanced sound to it- not too bass-heavy, but not tinny by any means. This means that, although it doesn't ever rise above "very good" sound, there wasn't anywhere we felt the Woodland was lacking. Whatever you like to listen to, it'll sound good coming out of this speaker.
Additional features
As you'd expect from an audio device from Pure, the Woodland works as both a DAB and FM radio. The built-in aerial did a good job while we were testing of picking up a steady signal- admittedly we didn't take it too far out into the wilderness. As well as a radio, the Woodland can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker. It’s Bluetooth 5.3 which is nice and reliable- we didn’t find the connection dropping at any point during our testing. The last thing you want when you’re listening to music is for it to cut in and out, so that’s reassuring.
There aren’t any physical connections such as aux-in socket here, which are commonly found on other radios.. However, with an outdoor speaker like this, you probably aren’t going to be connecting up anything other than your phone, almost all of which come with Bluetooth nowadays.
One of the most important aspects of a portable radio is the battery life. After all, what good is a speaker that's going to run out of power while you're in the middle of listening? We're pleased to report, therefore, that the Pure Woodland comes with an impressive 14 hours' max battery life, which is great for a portable speaker.
We already touched on the Pure Woodland's handle earlier, but it's perhaps worth highlighting as a feature in itself. After all, lots of “portable” speakers completely forgo any way of actually carrying the thing around. It’s also nice to have a soft handle as opposed to a piece of plastic that’s going to cut into your hand while you’re carrying it.
Pure Woodland: The Verdict
All in all, the Pure Woodland is an admirable attempt at an outdoor speaker from a company better known for their home audio products, and one we'd be happy to purchase and use ourselves. While the price tag is perhaps a little high for a speaker of this size, it's still great value for money.