QUICK LOOK

• Mic with track and volume controller on the chord for hands free use of your phone or for your iPod
• Conveniently fold up and pack away in their own handy zip up case
• Great comfortable padded ear cups. 

Headphones, headsets, earphones (whatever you want to call them) are getting more and more trendy and evidence of this can be seen by walking into any music or tech store around the country. The Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators are cute and effective. I gave them a good go when listening through some of the new house tracks I purchased and wasn’t expecting the bass to translate as well as it did. I’m impressed. They weren’t tinny or over compensating.

The earpieces are slightly triangular in shape and come away from the head a bit giving them that aviator look. They do comfortably cover the ear completely, though they’re not completely noise cancelling and I found them a little bit tight on my ears (and my head is not bigger than your average female). They’ll be more than adequate to listen to music or watch videos with for a few hours without feeling the urgent desire to free your pinnae like many other sets I’ve tried.

The other cool thing about this headset is that they conveniently fold up and can be kept safe a small zip up leathery bag. The bag has two small compartments for jacks or USBs inside too (do you have any idea how much I love extra pockets?)

The string-like nylon black cord on the set is quite unique. It looks better than your run of the mill plastic covered cord and doesn’t get caught on your clothes because it lacks stick, but it does get twisted. Luckily I’m neat when packing away headphones especially as these ones have the matching bag to pack them in and slip into your handbag.

There are a few added bonuses with these Roc Nations too. They have a microphone so you can use them for your cell. The quality of the microphone for hands free is great and it’s in the right position on the cable so it doesn’t need to be held closer to your mouth. It also has a volume and track control.

I’ve never used a full headset that comes with a mic and thought I’d try them while driving and at the gym to see if I got stared at. Only two funny looks, but I won’t be wearing them to the gym again because the fabric around the earpieces is not meant to get sweaty.

(Noted: earbuds for gym and running, headset for the rest) the controller on the cable allows you to pause, skip between tracks or re-start depending on the number of times you click. It is a little difficult to press the controller button between the volumes up and down because it’s not easy to identify purely by feel.

The only thing that I’m not crazy about with the Skullcandy’s is the silver metal pieces for adjusting the size and the shiny finish over the earpieces. I think it looks a bit cheesy, but like I said I’ve only ever used dull black. The white is also more for girls, as my manfriend made me aware of when he stole them from me for a test run, but they are available in black and brown/gold.

I did greatly appreciate the note from Jay-Z though.

Turn ons

• Conveniently fold up
• String cord doesn’t get stuck on clothes or get dirty
• Good sound
• Lovely matching bag that doesn’t take up much space 

Turn offs

• A bit pricey considering the sound quality
• Skullcandy and Roc Nation logos all over
• The thin metal that allows the ear pieces to be adjusted feels like it could get bent out of shape easily

Price: R1 199.95