Earskinz Are An Almost Essential Accessory For Your Apple EarPods [Review]

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EarSkinz byEarSkinz
Category: Headphone accessories
Works With:Apple Earbuds and EarPods
Price: $11

When our own Rob LeFevre reviewed the Earskins, he was surprised to find them to be an “essential accessory” for his EarPods. I decided to give them a go too. And guess what? They really are essential: I actually have a spare set, because now I can’t imagine using my EarPods without them.

What It Is

They look pretty cool too.
They look pretty cool too.

The Earskinz are a pair of silicone covers custom-made to fit Apple’s Earbuds or EarPodz (there are two models – I tested the ones for the EarPods), designed to add grip to the slick surface, and to make the EarPods stay in your ears. They also make for a better seal with your ear-holes, shutting out ambient noise for better sound and allowing you to listen at a lower volume.

The EarSkinz are fitted by stretching them over the ‘buds, a job made way easier if you lick the earbuds first. You need to line them up (the skins have holes that precisely match the ports on the EarPods), and then leave them for a few seconds to “dry.” Now you have what is essentially a new set of earbuds, as the skin stays put no matter what.

The Good

I have big, odd-shaped ears, and almost all earbuds fall out of them, or at least come loose enough to both feel like they’re on the edge of taking a dive, and to struggle to actually make their sound reach my cochlear. I’d all but given up on the Earbuds that came with my iPhone, which is a shame as this latest generation sounds ok, and it’s extremely convenient to be able to keep them in a pocket, taking up no space and weighing nothing.

The EarSkinz not only keep the EarPods in place, but the slight extra thickness forms a pretty decent seal in my ears, letting me walk through busy city streets listening to podcasts and audio books with the sound at a reasonably low level. In fact, the seal lets me hear the bass that the EarPods are capable of, and so I now use them for music, something I never would have done before.

Skinz. For Earz
Skinz. For Earz

The holes line up nicely with the holes in the EarPods, and the color coding is good if you have a multi-iPhone household. You could even buy two sets and mix the colors to code the left and right ‘Pods, but this is less important as the EarPods only go in one way anyway.

The Bad

Almost nothing is bad about these EarSkinz. The only thing I don’t like is that sometimes they feel like they’re hanging from my ears, as I can’t quite push them all the way in. In reality, they never fall from this seemingly precarious perch: the grippy silicone appears grippy enough to hold on. And if you really don’t like this feeling, you can just pop them out, lick them and then shove them back in. Fixed.

The Verdict

I wasn’t kidding when I said I can’t imagine using my EarPods without them. Well, I can imagine it, but I wouldn’t do it. The EarPods either fall out or sit in a way that means I can’t hear them, making them useless. This simple ~$10 accessory not only fixes them but lets them pump their sound into my ear, so they also make the ‘Pods sound better. Will the EarSkinz make the EarPods sound like proper over-the-ear cans? Of course not. But should you be spending $10 on these instead of $40 on yet another pair of crappy third-party earbuds? Yes.

Product Name: : EarSkinz

The Good: Stay in place like they were part of the ‘buds, sturdy, grippy, cheap

The Bad: you’re going to need big earholes to get the most out of them

The Verdict Unless you’re one of the lucky folks whose ears are a perfect fit for Apple’s EarPods, you should buy these.

Buy from: EarSkinz

[rating=excellent]

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