Outdoor uke recommendations?

Hello there,

I am in need of a new uke for cycling, camping, hiking and stuff. I am quite happy with a collection of 3 decent ukes of each size that I posses but none of them is safe to be taken out on rainy days. That's why I would fancy a plastic ukulele. I've seen a few in a local store, and all of these were pretty cra**y instruments with an extremely high action which seemed not to be adjustable.

Are there any nicely made plastic ukes you would recommend?

Thanks!

Flea. Compact. Good sound, wood soundboard. Perfect intonation. Sturdy. What's not to like?

Or maybe a Fluke.

Re: value for the dollar, you will be hard pressed to come up with a better playing/sounding "rainy day uke" than the $40 something to $50 +or- Kala Waterman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF81EX6YAHY

Pick your color. I am partial to the clear one: https://www.google.com/search?q=kal...X&ved=0CGMQsARqFQoTCK3hl5G87MYCFQKbHgodzrsOcQ

Martin OXK , and Bob's your uncle.

I recently bought a Kealoha from amazon for $40 and it's pretty decent. Intonation up the neck is quite good. It's a concert, and many of the plastic ukes in that price range only come in soprano.

http://www.amazon.com/Kealoha-Concert-Ukulele-Stunning-Playability/dp/B00NKBDBF2/

Some of their designs are rather tacky IMO. I got the "Face Art" one which is apparently not available ATM. (I believe it's their best seller.)

I have yet to find a plastic uke that sounds or plays better than the old Macciferri Islanders . You can pick them up on the bay for about $50 in playable condition. the mint ones go for a little more with the intact boxes and chord thingies.
like this, not mine, just for illustrative purposes
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ISL...692?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33a5bbd5c4

If you're looking for a rainy day uke - as in actual moisture on the uke, I think the Kala waterman or other similar all plastic uke is your best bet. The flea is definitely more durable than most, but it has a wood top and neck that would not withstand significant moisture. The advantage on the cheap plastic ukes is a reduced financial commitment if they do get destroyed.

The other end of the spectrum is to get a serious carbon fiber/ekoa uke from Blackbird. Those are more water friendly than the flea/fluke and very durable, but they are $1200. If you wind up dropping it (in the lake or otherwise) do you want to take a risk that it will withstand the treatment? I've taken my Clara camping, but it made me more nervous than I wanted.

itsme said:

I recently bought a Kealoha from amazon for $40 and it's pretty decent. Intonation up the neck is quite good. It's a concert, and many of the plastic ukes in that price range only come in soprano.

http://www.amazon.com/Kealoha-Concert-Ukulele-Stunning-Playability/dp/B00NKBDBF2/

Some of their designs are rather tacky IMO. I got the "Face Art" one which is apparently not available ATM. (I believe it's their best seller.)

Click to expand...

Wow, check out the reviews on that sucker! Good point on the concert size.

PhilUSAFRet said:

Wow, check out the reviews on that sucker! Good point on the concert size.

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"The ukulele is very well made and came to us perfectly tuned."

another "I forgot to mention that I was afraid it would sound like a 'toy'...so I went on Youtube and found a video that compared a $20 Uke to a $1,000 Uke; (the person who made the video was the 'owner' of both) and there was no difference that I could tell and at the end, he even commented that it really didn't make a difference!"

I would take some of these reviews with a large grain of salt if a reviewer cant tell the diff between a $20 and a $1000 uke. My Islander is ok, but it doesn't sound quite as nice as my Koaloha.

Maybe ITSME will do a review for us with sound sample. I kind of like the HI one, might be as close as I ever get to HI.

I saw that bazmaz did one last year
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?90939-Korala-Explore-concert-uke-Review

PhilUSAFRet said:

Wow, check out the reviews on that sucker! Good point on the concert size.

Click to expand...

strumsilly said:

I would take some of these reviews with a large grain of salt if a reviewer cant tell the diff between a $20 and a $1000 uke. My Islander is ok, but it doesn't sound quite as nice as my Koaloha.

Maybe ITSME will do a review for us with sound sample. I kind of like the HI one, might be as close as I ever get to HI.

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Oh, I totally agree that you need to take amazon reviews with a grain of salt.

I'm not set up for recording, but to my ears it sounds pretty decent. It is, after all, a cheap plastic uke. You don't get the real warmth of wood. I took it a meetup with Ukulele Bartt recently and he gave it a go. His opinion was "It's pretty good for what it is" and that about sums it up.

bonesigh here said she has two. Her comment was, "One plays very good the other is just so, so. But good for 40 bucks!" so maybe I got one of the better ones.

What really impressed me was that the intonation was so good. The action isn't too high and there are no buzzes. I guess I've had pretty good luck in that regard with buying cheaper ukes.

But I recently bought a Luna Tattoo concert from a pawn shop off ebay. The intonation on it is not very good. It's fine when you tune the strings open, but the minute you fret a G chord it sounds all off. I think that one's worth either paying someone to set it up or learn how to do it myself.

Was at a musical swap meet at a nearby vintage shop recently and bought two sopranos (a pink Mahalo and a no-name - $25 for both!) and the intonation on them is even worse. So I have a couple to tinker with before I attempt the Luna. The pink Mahalo is actually kinda cute and in near mint condition. I think if I can get them fixed they'll make good loaners to take to meets. Sometimes we get new people who don't have a uke yet and just want to observe. It's always nice when someone brings a spare to share.

I saw that bazmaz did one last year
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?90939-Korala-Explore-concert-uke-Review

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Actually, he reviewed the Korala Explore.

I've had the OU Tenor about a month and have taken it on a couple music fest/camp/hikes. It can take the abuse, action is nice and low, of course waterproof, and just sounds great for a "plastic" uke (IMO, a better than its soprano counterpart and a lot better sounding the the maccaferri ukes.) It is now my regular ukulele. If you are looking for a good adventure uke get the OU Tenor.

Too bad there's no OU or its equivalent in baritone.

People have been asking OU about that. I hope they do start making baritones. I need an excuse to get rid of my Rogue Baritone.

I had a concert flea but never never dug that size. I've checked their site periodically to see if there is any talk of a flea/fluke Bari, but no dice so far.

If you decide to go plastic, for what it's worth, I like the sound and playability of the Woodi far more than the Waterman. I got the Woodi first and really wanted to be in love with the Waterman (got one as a bd gift). Have to be honest - Woodi is far better for me.

I can chime in with my two cents on the Outdoor Ukulele tenor as a perfect outdoor companion.

I just came back from a 4 day weekend of fishing on Lake Erie. It took the temperature changes from vehicle to air-conditioned motel room to boat and back very well. Temperatures were in the 90's.

While in the boat, I kept it on the deck or in the corner of the boat when not playing it. Didn't need to baby it and only cased it when we were underway as I could use a carabiner to attach the case to a handrail to keep it from blowing out of the boat

Sounded great and was fun to play.