When the weather outside is frightful, what could be more delightful than bundling up in a warm and stylish hat you can also use to listen to your favorite Christmas songs? (Or, you know, other music you may actually like.) HatPhones™ are the perfect gift for that frustrating "someone who has everything" because whoever that "someone" is, I'll bet they don't have HatPhones™ yet -- and HatPhones™ are really, really cool.
HatPhones™ are, in essence, a simple idea. Take a warm, soft, fashionable hat, build some earphones into it so it can play music, and that's HatPhones™ in a nutshell. Great idea, right?
But it's not just that HatPhones™ are a great idea -- they're a great idea that has been executed brilliantly.
- They're super comfortable to wear, even for hours on end.
- You can adjust the speakers so they sit right over your ears for maximum sound quality and volume, or you can push the hat up a little to catch every word of what the people next to you are saying.
- HatPhones™ will keep your head AND your ears warm even on cold, windy winter days, but they're not too warm to wear inside, either.
- One size actually does fit all.
- They give you one less thing to carry around by combining two things you already take with you everywhere.
- Their sound quality is quite good.
- They're compatible with your smart phone, MP3 player, laptop, and any other device with a standard 3.5mm audio jack.
- They come in over a dozen styles and colors, ranging from the classic-cute stripy winter hat with a poofball on top to understated single-color beanies.
- They're fashion meets technology meets music.
And they cost a humble $15 per set.
I have a set of HatPhones™ myself -- mine are the orange knit stripes kind -- and I LOVE them. When I first got them, I admit I was dubious. Sure, it's a cool idea, but do I really need earphones inside a hat...?
As it turns out -- yes, yes I do.
I put the HatPhones™ hat on and immediately discovered it was delightfully comfortable: warm and soft, a snug fit, and no irritating itchy bits. I adjusted the speakers -- which sit in soft little pouches sewn inside the hat -- to sit perfectly over my ears in about five seconds without even having to take the hat off. And then I plugged in the audio cable and ran my new HatPhones™ through my usual sound test gauntlet: an acoustic number with delicate trebles, some bass-thumping rap, a little gut-bucket rock... and before long, I forgot I was sound testing these and found myself YouTubing my favorite songs.
So, logically, I immediately snapped up a set of these for a friend as an early Christmas present. This friend of mine is a music fanatic who walks to work, and it's winter, so I thought of her immediately and snagged her some HatPhones™ -- the girly black and red kind with the ear flaps, the braided ties that dangle down, and the poofball on top. She was delighted before she even realized this was no ordinary (albeit adorable) hat! I had hoped she would love her HatPhones™, and she did. But what really surprised me is that her boyfriend -- this big 6'4" body-builder type complete with persistent Old Spice smell and manly beard -- wound up wearing my friend's new HatPhones™ all weekend. Poofball and all. Just like I forgot I was sound testing and not just listening to my HatPhones™ for fun, this macho man quickly forgot he was wearing a hat that could've come out of Heidi's gothic cousin's closet. Priceless. I should've taken pictures.
That's the thing: HatPhones™ have a way of growing on you. The longer you have some, the more you like them -- I won't leave home without mine now -- and the more your friends, co-workers, and relatives begin to want some, too! These are already spreading around here at EPSS like wildfire. Everybody has HatPhones™, and I suspect a lot of our EPSS friends and family will find a set in their stockings come Christmas, too.
Anyway -- there's one more HatPhones™ feature I must mention, since this is really the icing on the cake in terms of making HatPhones™ a fabulous Christmas gift, especially for my friends. HatPhones™ are SUPER versatile and very clever. When you're not listening to music, you can just take off your HatPhones™ hat, tuck the audio cable up into the top of the hat, and put it back on... and after that ten-second quick change, nobody can tell you're not just wearing a regular, normal, fashionable hat. (Except for the two headband styles, all HatPhones™ have plenty of room in the top to stash the audio cable.) This makes HatPhones™ perfect for family gatherings or other events where you might want to sneak in a few minutes of music listening in between greeting relatives without anyone being the wiser.
Too, since the speakers are easy to remove, you actually can opt to wear your HatPhones™ as a regular, attractive, innocent hat -- and you can even toss the hat in with the laundry once in a while without harming the speakers.
Even if your hard-to-shop-for loved one just isn't a "hat person," the headband HatPhones™ models may be just the ticket. There's a thin one and a wide one, and either would be perfect to double as a musical sweatband/ear-warmer for cold-weather sports, jogging, winter nature photography, or working around the yard.
Or if you happen to live somewhere extremely cold, a set of those headband-style HatPhones™ would fit nicely underneath another hood or hat, for an extra layer of insulation you don't have to peel off to get to your earphones.
I love HatPhones™, the EPSS crew loves HatPhones™, and I bet your loved ones will love HatPhones™, too. So stock up for Christmas, cross those last frustrating names off your list -- and get a set for yourself, too, and keep your ears safe and warm (and full of music!) whether you're heading over the river and through the woods, putting up the lights, or just rocking around the Christmas tree -- literally.
Until next time, be safe and love your ears!
--Sarah Bergman, Web Developer
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