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Since 2003, headphone company Skullcandy Inc. have garnered a reputation for mixing action sports with high-quality audio. This month, Skullcandy released Vert™—their latest addition to the increasingly popular wireless earbuds market, and a product which continues that strong reputation.
Although Skullcandy’s claim that Vert™ was ‘Designed with adventurers in mind’ may seem fanciful, these earphones are certainly aimed at the snowsports community. This is immediately clear from their glove-friendly controls—incredibly useful for those on the slopes. Furthermore, the ‘Stay Safe’ earbud design—which allows for ambient sounds to be heard—prioritises safety for sportspeople, without diminishing audio quality.
However, Vert™ Earbuds aren’t solely for the mountaineer. As a cross-country runner and keen cyclist, I’ve taken Vert™ to the test on the roads of Scotland. Even without a helmet, Skullcandy’s FitFins™ (included with the earphones) keep what can be tricky earbuds in. Indeed, one downside of Skullcandy’s ‘Stay Safe’ design (which means the earphones don’t penetrate as deep) is they may fall out easier, especially depending on ear shape. This is combatted with the FitFins™.
A problem often associated with wireless earphones—even those connected by a wire—is they’re easy to lose should they drop out. This is one of the reason’s to like Vert™. Their unique, clip-on ‘body’, designed to fit on a helmet or collar, means your worst outcome is a pair of dangling earphones, rather than £69.99 down the drain. With short leads from the body to the buds, you don’t have to worry about the dreaded tangling that comes with wired headphones.
Should the worst occur, Skullcandy’s Vert™ come with a built in Tile® tracker, meaning even a fresh load of powder won’t stop you from hunting down your music player.
Ultimately, Vert™ is a bold move for sports earphones, their unconventional design perhaps putting off more superficial shoppers. Yet their practicality and relatively inexpensiveness, combined with the high-quality we’ve come to expect from Skullcandy, are sure to win over the music-lovers of the mountains in the season approaching.
Vert™ Specs:
- Approximately 10 hours battery life
- ‘Rapid Charge’ technology—two hours of battery life with just a 10 minute charge
- Bluetooth™ 5.0—that of the latest generation of Bluetooth devices (e.g. iPhone 11), meaning 2x the transmission speed of previous devices, a longer range and higher output power
- IPX4 rating—sweat and splash-resistant (standard of most sports headphones)
Vert™ Features:
- Support for calls and personal assistants
- ‘Stay Safe’ earbud design, allowing for ambient sounds to still be heard
- Two year warranty
- Micro-USB charging cable
- Comes with a pair of removable FitFins™—hooked rubber earbud covers, useful when head isn’t covered by headgear
