If you ’re a skier or snowboarder looking to add music to your runs to enhance the experience ( Crazy Traindown a smuggled diamond ? Yes , please ) , it may not be as easy as popping in aset of earbudsand hitting the face lifting . challenge for Charles Percy Snow - sport - appropriate earphone include sound quality , electrical resistance to wind noise , ease of use ( especially with glove or mitts on ) , and a secure and well-heeled primed while beneath helmets and bed . And that ’s not to name extreme temperature and lack of wireless connectivity on the slew or in the backcountry .
While sports earpiece makerH2O Audioconsidered these thing with its SnowPro os - conduction headphones , after spending several days on the slopes with them , my experience was a mixed bag of ups and mostly downs ( pun intended ) . view their brawny $ 180 price , the SnowPros at long last miss the mark in almost every way I find important for aset of headphonesI would want to utilise while skiing . Here ’s why .
H2O SnowPro: design and Fit
The SnowPro headphones are similar to other H2O Audio bone conduction phone , such as its popularTri Pro Multi - Sport , which the party point towards sports enthusiastslike swimmers , runners , and cyclists . H2O ’s first headphone made and market specifically with snow sports in brain , the SnowPro headphones play a blanched colour ( do n’t drop them in the snow , you ’ll never find them ) but have the same earhook design and neck opening band , and their hard plastic cloth feels sturdy and rugged . While they do n’t roll up or collapse into a compact form , I did n’t have any issues stuff them in my ski udder with my gloves and toque ( as a Canadian , I ’m de jure forbidden to call it a beanie . ) A case of some kind would have been a prissy touch , though .
The SnowPros weigh next to nothing and can be wear upon for age . I like the path that open - ear and os - conductivity headphone tally in general , and I can say the same about the SnowPros . They ’re comfortable around the ear , the pearl conduction end ride on the cheekbones without pinching , and everything stays in place , even when shaking your head . If you were n’t skiing all day , you could by all odds wear them all day . But Iwasskiing …
Fit problem arise with the SnowPros when wad up for the slope , which is not idealistic since that ’s what they ’re stand for for . Without a balaclava helmet or neck tender on , the low-spirited profile of the earpiece fit well underneath my ski helmet ’s earpads ( more on this later ) , and the neckband did n’t interfere with the back of my helmet either . But zip up the tall collar of my ski crownwork , pulling a balaclava helmet over the headphones , or anything that puts pressure on the neckband or the larger , orthogonal headphone parts that posture behind the ear , can shift the perspective of the ear conductors .
I found that when pack up , even moving my head wobble them , affecting the manner they sounded ( see ourexplainer on off-white conductionfor all the details ) . adjust them require constantly removing my baseball glove or undergo a partial undressing process , which is not fun when it ’s 15 below , er , 5 degrees ( I ’ll use Fahrenheit from here on out ) .
I did get to ski with them on a beautiful , 36 - degree bluebird day , though , and with less gear obstructing them , the fit is much better , and the headphones tilt less . If you run to ski / ride in above - freezing climes , set and shifting will be less of a concern .
However — and this is more of a comment on a limit of off-white conduction earphone in universal — when you ’re rive down a mountain at high hurrying , jazz noise is real . And without the ear sealing wax that a twain of in - capitulum buds creates , with the SnowPros , the breaking wind get so loud in your open pinna under your helmet that you could barely see the music , at least temporarily . This wreak me to how the SonwPros vocalise …
H2O SnowPro: sound quality
What the H2O SnowPros have going for them is that they ’re a decent solidification of Bluetooth headphone that can play music and take calls from your machine-accessible phone , like any duad on ourbest wireless earbuds list . They also have 8 GB of national storage that allows you to go forth your headphone in the chalet and toy a ton of MP3 files straight from the headphones .
After throw the SnowPro headphones a thorough listening in several different configurations on and off the slopes , and with a mess of benefit - of - the - doubt that people will have different antecedency and economic consumption , here are my cerebration .
Out of the box , with no EQ adjustment , there was only one first picture to be made about how the SnowPros sound : terrible . If you ’ve ever tried that onetime trick from back in the twenty-four hours of putting your smartphone in a bowl to amplify audio from its small speakers , this is how the SnowPros vocalize at first .
listen through Spotify , with the EQ set to “ off ” in the playback options ( like I would do for anyheadphone or speaker review ) , the humbled - end is non - existent , there are no dynamics to the sound , and everything sounds remote .
ivory conductivity is not known for its rich bass , but the bad part was the highs , which are incredibly cheap , hissy , and sibilant on cymbal , “ esses ” in lyrics , and just about anything with a sharp step .
I tried them with everything from Alice in Chains to Radiohead to Taylor Swift , Miles Davis , Black Sabbath , and Jay Z , and the results were the same . I was not ask this from an almost $ 180 pair of phone .
After much EQ registration in theSpotify app , things get better , but there is much elbow room for improvement . Applying a “ Rock ” or “ insipid ” preset and then dial the 15kHz sliderwaydown helps a band with all that sibilance . boost the 60Hz and 150Hz scurvy - final stage sliders for certain adds more profoundness and substance , but going too far stimulate the conduction points to vibrate too much on your cheekbones , which tickle and can get uncomfortable . plow the intensity up too much can cause this impression , too , which you may have to do if you desire the headphones to vie with all the wind your larger-than-life runs are bound to farm .
os - conduction headphones are n’t for everyone , and audiophiles need not apply — I get that . If your favorite music app has an EQ characteristic ( Spotify , Apple Music , andDeezerdo , whileTidal , Amazon Music , YouTube Music , andQobuzdo not ) , and you ’re willing to drop the meter tuning the SnowPros , it ’s possible to get the SnowPro headphones sound OK . But no one should have to wreak that heavy to get a $ 180 brace of earphone to voice just OK .
Additionally , while the open - ear , pearl conduction style of the SnowPros do make it easier and helpful for hearing the world around you ( like screaming , runaway Jerrysbarrelling towards you ) , do n’t try talk to your pregnant other while euphony is playing — you wo n’t be capable to hear much without turn the mass way down , which is loose allege than done ( more on that to come ) .
H2O SnowPro: call quality
One of the SnowPro features I was most curious about trying while on the gradient was cause and claim calls . As someone who skis a lot with a untested girl , wife , and friend , I ’m always hazard dropping my phone from the lift while trying to text . order a textbook or , better yet , call my married woman and child , would be preferable . And with the Snow Pros paired to my iPhone , it was easy enough to do .
After what I just told you about how they sound with music , I was shocked with the heavy quality and clarity — listening to my callers ’ voices was good than a lot of high - end earbuds I ’ve tried . winding noise by , voices sounded full , clear , and not at all like the “ speech sound voice ” I ’m used to . Why ca n’t its music playback sound this skillful ?
On the other end , however , after oppugn my wife and daughter , I was inform that with my ski helmet on , they could barely hearme . With it off , they could hear me much better , they order , although they did point out that it sound like I was “ far away . ”
H2O SnowPro: playback and Playlist+
There are a couple of way to heed to music on the SnowPro earphone : as a normal set of Bluetooth headphones paired to your phone and through yourstreaming servicesor as a standalone music player with 8 GB of storehouse and playback control .
The dependable agency to use the SnowPros is , by far , the former . If you ’re already a user of Bluetooth earbuds while skiing or embarkation , the playback experience will be familiar : pair them and control the playback on your speech sound — I ’ve chance it easier to pull my phone from my jacket crown pocket on the lift or before a run than accessing touch sensation or push button mastery on earbuds under my helmet pinna covering .
I made a few playlists on Spotify for my days skiing with the SnowPros , and the lackluster audio away , popping my phone in and out of my jacket sack was n’t too vainglorious of a deal , and my hint - sore glove finger made it relatively easy to control the playback . However , there are Bluetooth headphones that do all this , sound better , and do n’t cost as much .
Using the SnowPro headphones as a standalone MP3 thespian , however , is … interesting . First , let me caveat this by saying if it ’s of the essence that you use them without being connected to your telephone ( maybe you do n’t care impart your phone on the slopes ) or are frequently out of wireless kitchen range for medicine cyclosis , then the SnowPro headphones might make more sense , but be warned …
The playback platform for the SnowPros is H2O Audio ’s Playlist+ feature that lets you access and make for euphony stash away on the earpiece using thetinyphysical buttons on the exterior of the correct side of the headphones that sit behind your auricle . I ’m not sure what was more frustrating : have to take my gloves off and trace under my helmet every prison term I wanted to bet , stop , omission tracks , or pilot the leaflet carte , or actually loading euphony on the headphones in the first place .
Doing this can be done in one of two ways . First , you may connect the SnowPros to your reckoner via USB and haul and degenerate your MP3s to the earphone ’ folder . This isby farthe unspoilt style to do it . After a lot of tribulation and computer error , I was able to make sense of how to get at the music I moved over , either as single MP3s or as entire record album within their own folders that you’re able to — with a lot of clicking of flyspeck buttons — find . I con that for playlist , you should rename your file with numbers at the front so it work them in the order you want and not alphabetically .
The other way is marketed by H2O as “ like your quondam - school tape recorder , ” and they are not jolly . Playlist+ lets you commemorate music from your sound ’s Bluetooth audio connection and a streaming inspection and repair like Spotify , through the not - great H2O app , hold up , like it was 1989 and you ’re urinate a mixtape for your press .
Using the app and the headphones partner off to your phone , you have to start play a song from your cyclosis military service , then jump back to the H2O app and run into record ( you may also do this via the headphones ’ physical buttons ) . The vocal is recorded , live , to the SnowPro ’s 8 GB storage , however it may fathom . Remember the EQing I mention earlier ? My skillful results were from Spotify with my EQ tweaks made , but if I used , say , Tidal , I got that un - equalized , tinny sound ( through no fault of Tidal ’s ) — the H2O app has no built - in EQ of its own for transcription or playback . And unless you have a pile of MP3s on a drive somewhere ( H2O says it also supports “ most audio data format , including the Apple iTunes music format ( .m4a ) , ” this is believably the only way you ’ll have to load the SnowPro up with euphony . So , conciliate in if you ’re immortalise a lot of songs or a long play list ; remember , it must be donelive .
If you block up , adjust the volume , or skip a track , it ’s immortalise to the headphones . And unless you stop and create a newfangled transcription after every song , your playlist will be one continuous file , so , no skipping tracks when you represent it back . to boot , the new single files recorded are constitute with a number like “ 00001 , ” so when they ’re sum to your single data track list , they can mess with the order of your existing numbered side - load course . And another thing , when starting a new recording , because you have to press play on the song before you switch to the H2O app to record , the first bit of every new recording / song gets cut off . build a mixtape was easier .
H2O SnowPro: the bottom line
The H2O SnowPro phone are a cold-blooded mess . I attempt to like them , I really did , because I like the mind of skiing while enjoying some music . If you ’re a person with dateless patience or who does n’t listen just hitting play and listening to whatever is funnel into your ear holes while you rag , and sound quality is n’t a precedence , then vagabond the dice — battery life is n’t great at just five hours , but they are rugged as hell ( IPX8 ) , and you’re able to even take them in the spicy bathtub for some après ski .
$ 180 is a jagged pill to swallow , though , considering their drawback . That said , there are n’t a lot of other selection out there for blow sports - specific headphones and one of the closest competition we could find , theShokz OpenRun , is around the same price — their IP67 paygrade is also still OK for blow , though . You could also seize a brace of simple wire $ 20 EarPods ( or 10 ) or other wired earbuds like I see all kinds of skiers sporting under their helmets without worry about dropping them from the chairlift . Most ski jackets have holes for the wire to ply through the pockets . The tech is unproblematic , and they honestly are a good bet until someone comes up with a ripe answer .
At the final stage of the ski day , however , I expend far too much time fuss with the SnowPro headphones at home and , more importantly , on the stale , cold-blooded mountain , get me require to just leave them in the chalet where they belong to .
