Review on 🎧 ReTrack Retractable Stereo Earbuds, Red/Black - Optimize Audio Quality (ETAUDIOBLK) by Chucky Hepler

I really liked this product. I commute to work and take the train daily and then walk a mile and listening to music is key for me. Before these headphones, I used regular headphones that ended up in my bag every day and were a tangled mess that I had to unravel before listening. Enter ReTrack's retractable earbuds. In theory this was exactly what I was looking for and in a way it works well. However, this is not enough in other respects. Pros: 1. The pull out function works as expected. I felt uncomfortable with this a couple of times, but I was able to fix it with a little work on the mechanics. For the most part, it's packable and easily fits in a jacket or backpack pocket.2. The sound quality is okay considering the price. Standard headphone sound quality. Not too tinny or subdued.3. So far they have continued to work for several months of daily use (2-4 hours a day I think). Cons: 1. Due to the fact that there is a pivoting/retractable component in the dead center of the cable, there are problems with ergonomics. The retractor is a decent size and weight and hangs right around the navel or belt buckle. It's harmless when you're on a train, but when you're trying to bypass the retractor it's heavy and slightly tugs at your headphones. Also, it will swing and bounce like a pendulum when walking. I find myself holding it as I walk to keep it from dangling. This is an uncomfortable position for my arm as the length of the core means it needs to be somewhere near my chest or abdomen. If it were higher than the sternum, it wouldn't rotate as much. If it were lower, it could be neatly put in a pocket. The retractor sits at the perfect height to the headphones, which I find very uncomfortable. Forget about running as these things will pull your ears with every step and the retractor will fly all over the place. I've also tried it under a shirt, but the roll-up is large and it catches on the fabric, which in turn tugs at the headphones. Conclusion: I continue to use them, but only for train travel. These days I wear a fleece jacket to work with an outer left breast pocket that I put a thick retractor in when I walk. It's not ideal that you need special clothing to get this working, but for now this solves the problem. At this price I didn't feel obligated to return them but their use is limited and I still need my other headphones for workouts, runs etc. I also used this company's accessory cable which can be stashed in my car. and it worked great. So I will continue to follow this brand and see if they can find a way to improve the ergonomic aspect in the future (reduce the weight and size of the retractor or lengthen the cable so the retractor can sit in a pants pocket). , which would put this product at 5 stars for me. .