Review on Rugged Radios H41-CF Carbon Fiber Behind The Head Two Way Radio Headset: Volume Control, 3.5mm Jack for Music / MP3 Players by Allen Hart

First, these headsets are NOT intercoms. People who buy them for this should read the description more carefully. If you don't know or are unsure, contact the seller before buying anything that doesn't fit your purposes and if you buy anything that doesn't meet your expectations. Don't leave low rating reviews because you don't understand what you are getting. This is your business, not the item or the seller of the item. I use this headset when working with heavy earthmoving equipment. This headset is very comfortable and I wear it every day when I work. I have a real headset with a 5-pin headphone jack connected to a business band radio (8W Baofeng UV-5RTP tuned to the company's business band frequency) so I can get directions from the site engineer and with the team can communicate in general. This is very helpful for me and my company. I mounted an MPOW Bluetooth device right next to the mic and it has a 3.5mm audio cable that goes to the 3.5mm jack on the left earcup. This turns the headset into a bluetooth headset which allows me to talk and hear my phone. I listen to audio books and music most of the day while I work. I get about 15 hours of music and maybe half an hour of phone calls during those 15 hours on a single charge. If I was on the phone more, I would probably have less time to charge. So while I work, I have both radio and telephone communications available at the same time. Both audio systems, 5-pin to radio and 3.5mm audio jack, work simultaneously. I never miss a call on the radio when I'm listening to books or music and vice versa. Audio through both the 3.5mm jack and the 5-pin jack is excellent. I crank the volume on the HEADSET to maximum and then adjust the radio and phone with their own volume controls. The radio is VERY loud when both the radio and headset are at full volume, so I have to turn the radio down to about half volume. Telephoning is just right with the headset, and at full volume. Headset type "behind the head” – this allows you to wear a hat with the headset. Often people wear helmets with such headphones. Nothing can fall on anyone at my job (everyone sits in a ROPS hardtop cab), so we don't wear hard hats, but I do wear baseball caps and an old, comfy, well-worn Stetson. Headwear is the reason why you would choose such headwear. If you don't need this feature, buy an on-ear headset. I modified mine a bit. The microphone that comes with the headset is designed for very noisy environments such as rock concerts and operating near high-bypass turbofans. You have to get it right to your lips and practically shout into it, and that's how it works. It works well, but I don't need it in a fully enclosed, air-conditioned cabin. The cockpit is noisy, but it's not like running jet engines or race cars. So I swapped out the mic for a hotter electret mic. The mic boom isn't long enough for me, so I replaced the first stage segment (two segments instead of three on the boom) of the cable that attaches to the headset. It was fairly easy to use the old wire as a template and make a new, longer segment of pole out of the galvanized lawn clip. It works great and if I don't point it out you'll never know it's a mod. I love them so much I also ordered a 5 pin cable for my phone from Rugged Radio. This allows me to use the 5-pin connector (and thus the non-Bluetooth Boom mic) with my phone. I use this headset when mowing a few acres and working on my tractor at home, and also use it at work and don't need a business band radio. Overall I am happy with this headset. I took off a star because Rugged Radios doesn't give you a mic when you order, so I had to spend $20 on a new mic. It increased the cost of the headset because they don't take the original back and credit me with it. Also, the arrow length issue contributed to my also calling her a star. Since the boom is fully adjustable, a few inches more wire booms won't cost them much, so I have a feeling they could do better with this boom. If it's stretched to its maximum and still not centered in front of your lips, it's not long enough. Especially with the standard noise-canceling mic that you have to shout into to be heard. If this microphone is not ideally placed, it will be very difficult for others to hear you. All other Rugged Radio headsets that use a wire stem have a three-piece stem of the right length that you can buy on their website for $15. I don't know why they thought they had to cut corners here. However, all stem adjustments on the headset are made of decent quality metal. There is no plastic to remove and render the headset unusable. The build quality seems to be very good. This is a professional device, not a toy for amateurs. An added bonus is the fact that you can purchase replacement and repair parts from the Rugged Radio website. If you are good at these things, you can solve your problems and get your devices up and running again as soon as possible. You can even get upgraded parts (like gel earpads), although I wouldn't bother with anything like that unless and until the original ones wear out. I've been using them for a month or two now. So if they don't last I will come back to correct my review. So far, so good. I don't see any reason to buy their more expensive headsets just to get a longer shaft and probably the same mic that needs to be replaced for my application anyway.