Although many venues have a public address system, it is by no means guaranteed and sometimes, when you arrive, the person who 'looks after the mic' is on holiday and nobody else has a clue how to set it up or operate it. Often the venues where we are asked to speak are far from 'public speaker friendly' - I have given a talk in a lofty, school classroom with a salsa session going on in the hall - there was no sound proofing and no PA system. On another occassion I was speaking above the shouts, shieks and chops of what I think must have been a karati class in an adjoining room. After that voice challenging experience, I realised that a personal, portable, lightweight PA system was a must.

If, like me, you live alone and have to hump all of your equipment into your car by yourself and set it up at the venue, then large speakers are out of the question. As far as I know, there is only one portable PA system that is truly portable in as much as it is small and lightweight and can be carried into the venue in one trip. It has the added advantage of being relatively inexpensive at around £75 for the complete kit.