Trail Running Blog

Skullcandy Smokin’ Buds Ink’d Earbud Headphones Review

I bought my first pair of Skullcandy Ink’d Earbud Headphones back in February of 2008 when they were on sale at Circuit City (when they were still in business). It was around that time that I started running again too and only one earphone of my current Sony headphones were working, so this was much needed for my runs. I am far from being any type of audiophile, but I was very pleased with those earbud headphones. The sound quality was really good, they actually stayed in my ears while running (can’t say the same with the headphones that come with iPods) and I had no real issues with them while they were functioning. The only reason that they died on me was because after I was done using them, I would wrap them around my iPod shuffle and after doing that so many times, the wires seem to have gotten loose and started receiving static noises and eventually died. I got another pair to replace those and have learned my lesson about wrapping the headphones around the iPod. The problem now is that transporting them from work and back home is a little bit more difficult as they get tangled with other stuff in my bag. But if that means that they will last longer, it’s definitely worth the trouble.

The Look

Skullcandy Smokin' Bud Ink'd Earbud Headphones

The original ones that I purchased were white which from far away looks exactly like iPod headphones. For some reason that I can’t think of now, I wanted to let people know that I was listening to an iPod and not any other type of music player. Looking back, it doesn’t really matter to me about that, in fact it may be better to make others think you’re not using an iPod after reading these articles about people getting mugged because the white headphones showed that they had iPods. The ones I got this time are “metallic blue” which sounds cool, but looks more like baby blue.

The Feel

One feature I like about these Skullcandy Ink’d earbud headphones, which is probably available to all in-ear headphones is the 3 different-sized cushions. They all fit in my ear fine, but the middle and larger ones do feel like they are less likely to fall out of my ear while running.

What’s annoying in other headphones is that they are made specifically for each ear (left and right). It’s a waste of time to have to look at each earbud headphone and determine whether they go in your right or left ear. The Skullcandy’s can go in either ear, which makes putting them on that much faster.

Sound Quality

When I really sit back and just listen to music, I can actually hear all the little things like a random instrument in the chorus. I really need to do this more often. Another cool feature about these and other in-ear headphones is it’s ability to drown outside noise whether or not music is even on. So they work just like regular earplugs when you’re trying to concetrate and want to just hear your own thoughts. They by no means are Bose earbud headphones that cancel all outside noise (or a jet engine!), but they do a great job and will not cost you an arm an a leg!

Other Features

Something that I liked about my previous Sony earbud headphones that the Skullcandy earbud headphones lack is the way the length of the cord in one earbud headphone was significantly longer than the other, so you can wrap that one around the back of your neck. By having it rest on your neck, it feels like it won’t be trying to pull itself out of your ears while in use. And when you’re not using them, you can just unplug the earbud headphones and let them hang over your neck. That’s not really an issue with the Skullcandy’s since they’ve never came out of my ears before and I never need to let them rest on my neck because once I’m done, I just put them away.

Recommendation

Overall, the Skullcandy Ink’d earbud headphones are a very comfortable pair of headphones that offer clear audio with a hint of bass and good noise reduction. They are ideal earbud headphones that will give you more than what you are paying for and I definitely recommend these to runners, athletes or and anybody on a budget.

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