The Best Headphones for Travel
If you tend to travel a lot, it might be worth investing in better headphones that are well-suited to tag along. But what makes headphones good for traveling? There are a few things to take into account, such as if they fold into a small space, or if they offer features such as Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), which can help drown out other noises while traveling.
Battery life is another important feature when it comes to traveling, since the last thing you want is to be caught on a long flight with headphones that won’t make the entire journey. Thankfully, there are plenty of options out there that support ANC and a long-lasting battery, making it possible to make most trips on a single charge, unless of course, you decide to travel to the other side of the world.
Here are some of the best headphones for travel available today.
Go in Luxury and Style With Our Picks for the Best Travel Headphones
Premium headphones with a huge battery life
When purchasing expensive headphones, there needs to be a reason to justify the cost. The Jabra Elite 85h Wireless comes packed with incredible features, a long-lasting battery, and much more, making them worth the premium price tag.
The Jabra Elite 85h Wireless might come with a premium price tag, but the features and comfort they offer make them worth every cent, especially for those that tend to travel frequently. They’re comfortable, have a long-lasting battery, and come in a range of stylish colors too.
With Jabra’s Sound Plus app, the Jabra Elite 85h Wireless has multiple ANC modes, including Smartsound Audio, which automatically analyzes the surrounding sound to help you find the perfect mode. It even continues to monitor your surroundings and update your ANC mode on the go.
With an impressive 36 hours of battery life, the Jabra Elite 85h Wireless can easily tackle even the longest of flights. Not only are they great for listening to your favorite music, but they’re also perfect for taking calls too. With six of the eight microphones dedicated to enhancing your call quality, they block out background noises, such as wind, with ease.
They also fold away and come with a convenient travel case, which makes them easy to take around with you on your travels.
A premium and feature-rich option
The Sony WH-1000XM5 might be expensive headphones for use while traveling, but they offer some of the best features around, including a long-lasting battery and incredibly crisp sound with deep bass.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Headphones might be the most expensive headphones on the list, but Sony is well known for making quality headphones that set them apart from the rest.
Much like the Jabra Elite 85h Wireless, the Sony WH-1000XM5 feature automatic ANC, changing the noise cancelation automatically depending on your wearing conditions and environment.
With up to 30 hours of battery life and quick charging, the Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones are a great investment for those on the go. A single charge will be able to hold out for even the longest flights and car rides. And thanks to the super-comfortable design, they are also perfect for wearing over prolonged use without causing discomfort.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 also come with a handy travel case—however, they don’t fold as much as the Jabra Elite 85h Wireless unfortunately, meaning they might take up a little more space.
The ultimate travel headphones for gamers
The Razer Barracuda Pro is the perfect choice for gamers. Not only can they be used to listen to your favorite music while traveling, but their feature set makes them great for gaming on the go.
Due to them primarily being gaming headphones, you could be forgiven for overlooking the Razer Barracuda Pro. But thanks to the built-in Bluetooth 5.2 and 2.4GHz wireless connectivity, they’re not just great headphones for gaming; they also make great headphones for listening to your favorite music or audiobooks while out and about.
The Razer Barracuda Pro features Razer TriForce 50mm Drivers that offer crisp treble, deep and powerful bass, as well as crystal-clear midrange audio. They’re also equipped with Razer’s advanced audio controls, which let you activate bass boost, improve voice clarity, and even adjust the equalizer.
Of course, if you are a gamer, and enjoy playing games while traveling, the Razer Barracuda Pro is a must-have. With compatibility across major consoles, including the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, they’re ideal headphones for gaming, no matter where you are.
As a gaming headset, the Razer Barracuda Pro do not fold, which could make them a little more difficult to transport than other headphones on the list. But if you’re willing to carry them, they are impressive headphones that are worth considering for your next trip.
Impressive features at a low cost
The Soundcore by Anker Life Q30 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones offers three noise cancelation modes, as well as a whopping 40-hour battery life.
While many travel headphones might set you back a bit, there are some more affordable options out there. The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 comes in at a much more reasonable price, while still offering some impressive features that make them great headphones for traveling.
The Soundcore Life Q30 boast top-notch active noise cancelation that includes three modes, including transport, outdoors, and indoors. Each mode has been designed to optimize the sound based on your current environment, helping remove any background noise and letting you focus on enjoying your audio in peace.
The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 also features an impressive battery life that can play for up to 40 hours with ANC enabled. With only five minutes of charging, you can enjoy a whopping four hours of listening time. They are lightweight and have ultra-soft protein leather earcups, as well as comfy memory foam padding, making them great for prolonged use on a plane or in a car.
A solid balance between comfort and quiet
Bose is a big name when it comes to headphones, and the Bose QuietComfort 45 Headphones easily showcase the high-quality builds that have earned it that reputation.
If you’re looking for noise-canceling headphones, the Bose QuietComfort 45 are a solid choice. As well as being easy to use, they are comfortable to wear for long periods of time—perfect for traveling.
And, if you enjoy listening to music or audiobooks while exploring a new city, the Bose QuietComfort 45 boast something called Ambient Aware mode. This ensures you can hear sounds around you when you want to, like when crossing a road. However, when you want to immerse yourself back into your music, you can do so with a simple click of a button.
With decent battery life, fast charging, and good sound quality, it would be hard to say no to a pair of Bose QuietComfort 45 for your next adventure.
Fun and stylish headphones for kids
The Puro Sound Labs BT2200s are great headphones for kids while traveling. Not only do they have noise isolation, but they also have a built-in volume limiter to keep your kids safe.
When it comes to traveling, it’s not just adults that need good travel headphones; Kids will often need them too. Especially on long flights, where it’s easy for kiddos to become bored quickly, having the right travel headphones for kids can be the difference between peace and boredom-induced chaos.
The Puro Sound Labs BT2200s have been designed to be safe for kids, with a built-in volume limiter to ensure they are never listening to anything too loud. The maximum volume is 85dB, which follows the advice on safe volume levels for kids from the World Health Organization (WHO).
With up to 20 hours of playback time, the Puro Sound Labs BT2200s are perfect for both short and long flights or drives and offer superior sound quality for children’s headphones. They are lightweight and comfortable and come in a range of colors suited to any taste.
How to Choose the Right Headphones for Travel
Buying new headphones can be expensive, which just makes it even more important to find the right ones for you, or risk wasting a lot of money. There are also a lot of features to take into account when choosing new headphones: do you need ANC, a longer battery to last on longer flights, or are you just after something comfortable and affordable?
If you’re a gamer, you might want to consider headphones that work well with portable consoles, such as the Nintendo Switch. The Razer Barracuda Pro is an impressive gaming headset that is perfect for both gaming and listening to your favorite music.
But, if you’re after travel headphones for your kids, you will want to think about features to ensure they are safe. The Puro Sound Labs BT2200s comes with a built-in volume limiter, making sure the headphones never go above 85dB to protect your little one’s ears.
If you’re after the best of the best, you needn’t look any further than the feature-rich Jabra Elite 85h Wireless. Not only do they boast one of the most impressive adaptive ANC features on any headphones, but they also offer superior sound quality that can be adjusted via the Sound Plus app, as well as impressive battery life.
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