Depending on your anxiety levels and how you cope with stress, travel isn’t exactly a breeze right now. For some people, maybe it is, and I wish they’d share their secrets with the rest of us. Because even when I’m out there at least once a month, speed-walking through Miami International to make my connection or frantically trying to beat my fellow passengers to customs so I don’t get stuck behind a family of 12, I just cannot get used to the hustle and bustle.
Like most travelers, I battle the stress and flight time with music and movies, so a great set of headphones is incredibly important. I’ve typically relied upon a very popular set of earbuds to get me through my Caribbean flights, but I recently reached the point where the notoriously unreliable battery life dipped to under an hour. I can’t even watch two episodes of Peacemaker on a flight with that. So, I turned to a personal favorite brand for my newest replacement, the Treblab Z7 Pro Headphones.
How are They Different?
I’ve previously sung the praises of Treblab’s Z2, which boasts comfortable over-ear padding, great battery life at up to 35 hours, and stability for a variety of activities. Like all good products, these evolved. The Z2 do a great job of drowning out sound, but you can still hear annoyances like the middle-seat passenger two rows in front of you demanding to know why she can’t have the open exit row seat next to you (because we paid $57 extra for it, okay?). The mad scientists behind the Z7 took those tantrums into consideration and found a way to make the listening experience even quieter, as if you’re in your own bubble.
But the great achievement of this brand is always battery life. The Z7 offers up to 45 hours of play, which is phenomenal for those of us who aren’t always smart enough to plug such devices in after a long day of exploring. Even better, the fast-charging feature allows for full power in under three hours, and for when you don’t have a lot of time before the flight boards, just 20 minutes of charging will buy you five hours of playtime. For comparison, a similar set of Sony extra bass headphones costs more and only offers 30 hours of battery life. Treblab offers a heck of an advantage.
What’s Our Favorite Thing?
It’s always the little things, and with the Z7 it’s the on-ear detection. Things tend to be wonky when using a brand that doesn’t match your device, so being able to remove the headphones to beg for a second bag of pretzels and have your episode of The Book of Boba Fett instantly pause is a nice touch.
Especially since it’s what we expected from those old earbuds that are now collecting dust in the junk drawer in the home office.
Keep It in the Family
For quick and convenient travel, I’m still a sucker for the lightweight style of Bluetooth earbuds. If you share that preference and still desire great battery power, check out the Treblab X1 Earbuds, which offer up to 24 hours of playback as well as a case that provides six four-hour charges when fully juiced. That’s the kind of power we love when our island time is spent hiking and biking.
