Traveler Tips: Head Gear for the Road

I’m a brand loyal person usually. Not sure why, but if I enjoy a product enough, I tend to buy the newer one or other products from the same manufacturer. When I’m going abroad, I usually carry a small carry-on and a backpack full of all my electronics. Laptop, iPad, iPod, camera, phones and of course headphones.

The whirring of jet engines, the bakes of buses, the squeak of train tracks and of course your annoying fellow passengers make headphones a must when traveling. Here are my suggestions for which type of headgear to use when on the move. My extensive pleasurable experience has been with Skullcandies, I have several headphones and my backpack is also SKDY.

1- Headphones

I’m a headphone fan. Why? Well, apart from having no need to insert stuff deep into your ear canal, they usually look cool. They also send a message to others that “shut up, I don’t wanna talk to you” which is perfect on long journeys. Skullcandy have several types of headphones, but my favorite are the “hesh” line. They’re sturdy, have very diverse designs and are very comfortable to wear. In fact, in the few times I have been a DJ, my Paul Frank Skullcandies (which cost around 70.00USD) were my headphones of choice.

The second type of SKDY headphones I own are the “skullcrushers” which are notorious for their bass amplification. When I wanna listen to some minimal and deep house, maybe even some dubstep, the skullcrushers will definitely be your carry-on club sound system. Usually, a song sounds very different when played in a club setting with the improved and accentuated bass. These headphones provide you a good approximation of what a track will really sound like when you blast it at a party. Only downside is that when there are phones around, they create interference (parasite) and affect the music experience if you get a Whatsapp message. So, I’d definitely recommend Hesh headphones over Skullcrushers. They also need batteries to function fully, and the batteries are housed on the connecting line, which makes it awkward to stow away neatly.

The third type of SKDY I have are the smaller, Agent headphones. These headphones are better for travel, they’re smaller and more compact and usually lighter than their bulky Hesh counterparts. They also take a shape more similar to the human ear, making their prolonged use more comfortable. They’re also cheaper than their skullcrushing and hesh headphones.

2- Earphones

If you’re worried about size and price, and you really want 0 noise from the world around you, then you should go with the earphones or “buds”. They’re the type that you insert into your ear canal, insulating it against any other sound. They’re the cheapest in the product line and you can fit them anywhere. They’re less flashy though, and if you’re looking to make a fashion statement and send others a signal that you’re busy or don’t wanna talk, the buds are definitely not your right choice.

Conclusion

Go with the Agents. Why spend 400 USD for headphones when you can spend 10% of that and get one which doesn’t have a rapper’s name and looks exactly the same every single time. Happy commuting!