GEARING UP
Plunking down $199 seems like a lot for a headset – until the baby behind you starts wailing at 12,000 feet and doesn’t stop until five hours later. The price for noise-canceling headphones varies from about $70 to $300, and so does the quality, which is what makes Pro Travel Gear’s Solitude headset a bargain. It works as well as a $300 set, and comes with a cord and two adapters that converts to a single or double-pronged jack for plugging into an iPod or airplane audio system. But the Solitude’s most important function is to block noise, including the annoying whir of an airplane engine, and it does just that by wrapping each ear in a soft, spongy cup of metal-colored faux-leather padding. The headphones fold down into a compact unit; skip the bulky carrying case it comes in, though, and find a good makeup bag or soft pouch that will fit better in a carry-on.
$199; available at ProTravelGear.com.
