I live in an area with two ski resorts within a 30 minute drive. I’ve never been much of a skier or snowboarder. However, I know plenty of people with season tickets. They hit the slopes as soon as the dastardly white stuff starts falling in November. Whichever is your winter activity of choice, you should be wearing a helmet. It can be the difference between a bad headache and you drinking through a straw the rest of your life.
What if you want to listen to some music or take a phone call? You have to take off your helmet and more importantly your gloves. Neither is a fun experience when it’s -5 degrees outside. Outdoor Technology will be shipping something soon that should do the trick. The Chips are a very special set of Bluetooth headphones designed specifically for ski helmets with audio liners. They consist of two oversized earpieces with integrated, equally oversized buttons, and a wire to connect them. There’s nothing dangling outside your helmet with tiny buttons that you can’t press wearing winter gloves.
Using the two buttons is actually a lot like using the inline headset on any other mobile device. The right hand button is for powering up the Chips as well as answer/hang up and play/pause functionality. The left button is click once for volume up and double click for volume down. The left button also has track skip functions. Using these buttons seems easy and you look a bit like a Secret Service agent doing it.
The Chips from Outdoor Technology look like an interesting product. They are niche to be sure, but they fill a niche where there’s a need for a pair of good quality Bluetooth headphones. They will be available this September, just in time for snow season, for $129.95.
We’ll be taking a closer look at the Chips Bluetooth Headphones in our live coverage from the CE Line Shows on June 26th and 27. Make sure to check it out!
