WestJet "premium" earbuds / headphones

[grinspy]

I am wondering if anyone has actually gone and spent $10 on the premium ear-cancelling headphones that WestJet sells, and what your experience has been? Are they actually worth the increased cost?

[ally12]

i'm pretty sure they are just same old crappy ear buds you can get at the drugstore, you are just paying for the convince and name. Better off getting some good quality ones. But can I recommend something don't go buy earbuds they are really crappy and the sound quality is horrible and you will damage your ears faster, get some old school over the ear headphones.

[brunes]

The $10 ones are not noise cancelling. They are just more comfortable than the $3 ones. If the flight attendant told you they were noise cancelling, they are clueless.

Active noise cancelling headphones are not cheap. Think more like $50 at the bottom end, not $10.

[jeremyschacht]

Surely someone has bought these earbuds. The man next to me on the flight was wearing a pair but I didn't realize until I looked at a picture of them after I got off the flight. They are made of wood which makes them seem like they could be an okay earbud for the $10 price. Someone must have a pair, tell us how they are!

[singhrh]

Don't think the Westjet are noise cancelling. They might be noise isolating. As i understand it these just have more rubber on the earpiece to prevent ambient noise reaching you. Active noise cancelling headphones tend to be more expensive that require electronics and a power supply.

[NewsyL]

The Westjet premium earbuds come with three sizes of the flexible earpiece to fit correctly and block the noise plus a zipper case and they come in several colors.

Some pics....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hlooman/5580650898/
http://www.mobypicture.com/user/neilhedley/view/9667768

Westjet's inflight mag.... http://www.upmagazine.com/

An interview discussing them from the CEO...
http://toqueandcanoe.com/2011/09/04/...-mr-westjet-3/

[Mysteek]

Go big or go home: Shure SE530's

On a more serious note, I would stick to the $3 ones

[jeremyschacht]

Yeah, I don't care about noise cancelling. All I'm really after is for someone to say "yeah I bought them, they sound okay, I think the wood helps" or "yeah I bought them, they are terrible" I know they are cheap, obviously won't be shures, but if they sound okay (better than the $3 ones) I'll probably pick up a pair because 6 hours on planes an airports is a long time to go listening to the crummy $3 headphones but I also don't want to waste my money.

[NewsyL]

Yeah, I don't care about noise cancelling. All I'm really after is for someone to say "yeah I bought them, they sound okay, I think the wood helps" or "yeah I bought them, they are terrible" I know they are cheap, obviously won't be shures, but if they sound okay (better than the $3 ones) I'll probably pick up a pair because 6 hours on planes an airports is a long time to go listening to the crummy $3 headphones but I also don't want to waste my money.

LOL... I had a two hour flight on Westjet a week ago and in-ear buds are the greatest just for their passive noise blocking characteristics. I had two babies near me who cried most of the way and I would never have known if not for having to remove the buds to speak with the flight attendant. Just pick a TV channel to watch, keep the volume above a certain point but still low, and shut the eyes. Btw... they now allow you to wear in-ear buds when taking off or landing. I travel with Klipsch S4's (per a RFD deal) that work well for blocking and use them with a Creative ZEN 8G (from another RFD deal). If I ever forgot to bring my own I wouldn't hesitate to buy the Westjet units.

PS.... in-flight sandwiches are $7 and water is $3/bottle and they don't accept cash - debit or credit card only.

[ijustgotadeal]

LOL... I had a two hour flight on Westjet a week ago and in-ear buds are the greatest just for their passive noise blocking characteristics. I had two babies near me who cried most of the way and I would never have known if not for having to remove the buds to speak with the flight attendant. Just pick a TV channel to watch, keep the volume above a certain point but still low, and shut the eyes. Btw... they now allow you to wear in-ear buds when taking off or landing. I travel with Klipsch S4's (per a RFD deal) that work well for blocking and use them with a Creative ZEN 8G (from another RFD deal). If I ever forgot to bring my own I wouldn't hesitate to buy the Westjet units.

PS.... in-flight sandwiches are $7 and water is $3/bottle and they don't accept cash - debit or credit card only.

Just got to get lucky with the last flight of the day and get the nearly expired sandwiches for free. Don't forget to ask for double bits and bites and a can of pop(both free).

[redflagjimmyd]

I love these headphones. No, they are not noise-cancelling. The flight attendants don't know the difference between noise cancelling and noise reduction. I corrected them on the flight I was on.
They do block some sound and are more comfortable than your typical apple-style ones.

What I love about them is the case. If you put the phones in it, and push the cord in, but leave the plug sticking out (and zip it almost closed) then whenever you pull them out it won't be tangled. It's amazing. The next time I'm on west jet I plan to buy two more. It's the case that I love. I think it's a great deal for $10, and I'd buy them online if I could.

JimDavies