Braven Noise Cancelling Headphones

• 13/04/2018

If your first thought on reading the headline of this review is “why would I need noise cancelling headphones when camping?” you clearly haven’t been in the situation where you’re desperately searching for some peace and quiet while camping with kids, dogs and friends in the middle of a Butlins in Minehead. To be clear, neither have I, but if I were, these wireless Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones would be the first bit of tech I’d pack!

First things first, the headphones are packaged really well and come with a very nifty carry case. Handy when they’re being thrown in a bag/box with a bunch of other stuff (which is usually the case when I go anywhere!).

They’re over-ear headphones, which mean they completely cover your ears (unless you’re the BFG in which case they’ll sit nicely in your ears). That means they’re super comfy to wear for extended periods and they do a great job of blocking out external noise by design.

It was a quick, easy process to pair them with my phone and laptop and the sound quality is great. They come with a 3.5mm jack lead so that you can use them as regular headphones even if the battery runs out. There’s a neat little pocket in the carry case for the audio lead as well as the charging cable, so you shouldn’t run out of battery and then realise you left the leads at home!

Battery life is ok… it’s not bad while using the headphones (Braven quote 32 hours, I couldn’t stay awake long enough to test that limit) but I found they drained quicker than I expected when they were turned off. It may be an unreasonable expectation, but I found that if I charged them on the weekend and then didn’t use them for the week, they needed charging again the next weekend. For most people this wouldn’t be an issue at all and they charge pretty quickly in any case.

All good so far… however, the real magic happens when you flick the little switch to enable the noise-cancelling mode. Instantly you’re transported to a world without background noise… cancelling out the kids, dogs, friends and noisy campsite background! They work best with constant noise rather than sudden loud bangs or clangs, but the overall effect is very impressive. I’ve used them on the train and at home with a builder drilling and sawing in the next room. In both situations they created a wonderfully quiet bubble around me… sometimes I even just put them on without music to enjoy some peace and quiet!

Overall, if you’re looking for a comfortable and effective set of noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones… these are a great option at a much more reasonable price point than an equivalent pair of Bose or similar.