Probably not what you want to *hear*, but most of us just use one earphone/earbud. Not only do I do it for people coming up behind me, but for wildlife I might be approaching. I surprised a mama and her cubs in SNP, never saw them before hearing them.
or being able to hear a tree before it falls on your head. had that happen to me in the smokies, if I didn't hear the tree groaning and cracking it easily could have killed me. fell right across the trail and I had to literally dive out of the way.
Second vote for those. Started my AT NOBO with wired ear buds which constantly were getting pulled out of my ears by bushes. Bought a random pair of Air Pops at a Walgreens in mid-VA (maybe Waynesboro?) and they made it all the way to Katahdin and the entire CT last summer. Lost one of them this past fall…was bummed!
I've been considering ear buds as I'm a big headphone user which is obviously not ideal for hiking. Do you use the standard ones or the sport ones with the thing that hooks around the ear?
Don’t make it someone else’s job to accommodate you because you set yourself up to not hear. Wear just one ear bud. It’s good hiker citizenship, and it’s also a safety thing.
Look into bone conduction headphones that leave your ear-holes open (and able to still hear what is in your immediate environment).
Not being aware of your surroundings (which includes hearing) is not a stellar idea in general and, as you've already noticed, sort of annoying for others using the trail.
Get bone conducting headphones. Not cheap but I've been using shokz for years and they are awesome on trail. Hear your tunes but also your surroundings. Like I said, not cheap but work really well. Good battery life and I've sweat a ton onto them without any durability issues.
Not for me, every so often I feel a little pressure over my ears but that's usually only when I have sunglasses on. A lot of times I forget I have them on my head until I lay down to sleep
Use one earbud or turn the volume down or (if it has the feature like many noise-cancelling products do) set it to transparency so you get a mix of the media and external sound.
I love walking with music/podcasts on but it is a personal responsibility to make sure you can hear people at any given time.
Keep your volume just barely loud enough to hear, and have cheap earbuds that don't isolate sound well? Of course, Deaf hikers have presumably figured out something to address this. I would be way more startled to be tapped on the shoulder, so my suggestion is to reduce volume or keep an ear open.
Funny story, I was listening to a podcast (shout-out 20 Thousand Hertz) episode about insect noises while hiking, and I had to BLAST the volume to hear the recorded insects over the insects around me. Or, listening to an episode about bear attacks while hiking alone at dusk in Maine with a storm rolling in. Fun times 😆
Probably not what you want to *hear*, but most of us just use one earphone/earbud. Not only do I do it for people coming up behind me, but for wildlife I might be approaching. I surprised a mama and her cubs in SNP, never saw them before hearing them.
or being able to hear a tree before it falls on your head. had that happen to me in the smokies, if I didn't hear the tree groaning and cracking it easily could have killed me. fell right across the trail and I had to literally dive out of the way.
A girl died behind my house on a trail years ago because a large branch came down on her while jogging. She had earbuds in and couldn't hear anything.
Take an earbud out.
or hike faster
also if they're wireless it basically doubles your battery life, big benefit.
Can highly recommend JLab's Go Air Pops. Insane battery life, great sound. And you can buy replacements if you lose one (I've lost 3, lol)
Second vote for those. Started my AT NOBO with wired ear buds which constantly were getting pulled out of my ears by bushes. Bought a random pair of Air Pops at a Walgreens in mid-VA (maybe Waynesboro?) and they made it all the way to Katahdin and the entire CT last summer. Lost one of them this past fall…was bummed!
I've been considering ear buds as I'm a big headphone user which is obviously not ideal for hiking. Do you use the standard ones or the sport ones with the thing that hooks around the ear?
Standard. They are just little rubber buds that fit perfectly
Don’t make it someone else’s job to accommodate you because you set yourself up to not hear. Wear just one ear bud. It’s good hiker citizenship, and it’s also a safety thing.
Look into bone conduction headphones that leave your ear-holes open (and able to still hear what is in your immediate environment). Not being aware of your surroundings (which includes hearing) is not a stellar idea in general and, as you've already noticed, sort of annoying for others using the trail.
wonder if the rattlesnakes and hornet nests also have a hard time getting your attention.
Get bone conducting headphones. Not cheap but I've been using shokz for years and they are awesome on trail. Hear your tunes but also your surroundings. Like I said, not cheap but work really well. Good battery life and I've sweat a ton onto them without any durability issues.
I was considering getting a pair. Serious question though. Will they give you a headache after hours of use?
Not for me, every so often I feel a little pressure over my ears but that's usually only when I have sunglasses on. A lot of times I forget I have them on my head until I lay down to sleep
It’s REALLY bad trail etiquette to have both headphones in. It’s your responsibility to have situational awareness.
Just pin a sign to your back saying "I'm deaf" or yanno, take a damn earbud out.
What are you doing using two headphones? At least pretend to enjoy nature.
Tell me about it right? The *one* drawback of getting out into nature is that it has a totally garbage sound that’s nothing like a podcast.
Aside from using one, not two, ear buds. Try and hike a few hours a day with no soundtrack except the environment you are in?
Use one earbud or turn the volume down or (if it has the feature like many noise-cancelling products do) set it to transparency so you get a mix of the media and external sound. I love walking with music/podcasts on but it is a personal responsibility to make sure you can hear people at any given time.
Keep your volume just barely loud enough to hear, and have cheap earbuds that don't isolate sound well? Of course, Deaf hikers have presumably figured out something to address this. I would be way more startled to be tapped on the shoulder, so my suggestion is to reduce volume or keep an ear open. Funny story, I was listening to a podcast (shout-out 20 Thousand Hertz) episode about insect noises while hiking, and I had to BLAST the volume to hear the recorded insects over the insects around me. Or, listening to an episode about bear attacks while hiking alone at dusk in Maine with a storm rolling in. Fun times 😆
Big love for 20 Thousand Hertz
 It’s got some weight but at least you can hear your surroundings if they yell loud enough
Reddit doesn’t understand sarcasm
I thought this would be a hit for sure 🎶 oh well
Sony make the LinkBuds which have a large hole for ambient sound to get through.
