BOSE Quiet Comfort 35 Headphones Review
We Found Campfire Guy
After a hiatus that Waldo would be proud of, Campfire Guy is finally here again. As a wise high schooler once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop spending all your free time binge-watching Netflix, your blog will sit sad and idle for two years”.
Essential Work From Home Gear
My full-time career has had me working from home for most of the past three years. However, when the Coronavirus shelter in place went into effect in March, we had all four kids schooling from home. With a packed house during my typical working hours, my most essential piece of gear lately has been the BOSE QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones II.
Essential Airplane Gear
On the recommendation of a few frequent flying college buddies, I picked up a set of the QC35s in the summer of 2018. Their first test was on a four-hour flight to LA for a guys trip with my oldest son. As soon as I pulled them from my backpack, he immediately threw down the doe eyes and begged to use them. Campfire Guy is a sucker and gave in. I tried them for a bit on the return leg and soon became a big fan. They greatly reduced the jet engine noise, but still maintained clarity and excellent sound quality with the movie I was watching on the flight.
As a small business owner, I work. A lot. If I’m at the computer working, I have my headphones on. They cover my ears entirely and are very comfortable to wear for long durations. For everyday office use, the QC35s are invaluable. Swapping out “jet engine noise” for “four kids and two loud dogs” noise, they work great. You get a sense of the noise-canceling by simply turning them on. Once you hit play on your music it’s off to spreadsheet bliss.
Quiet Comfort and Intuitive Controls
Switching between laptop and iPhone for Spotify, Zoom and phone calls is seamless. The built-in microphone does a great job picking up my voice, dogs barking at the Amazon delivery folks, and epic fights over Nerf gun ownership. Most callers can’t tell when I’m using the headphones, though they can easily tell when my doorbell rings.
The QC 35s have easy to adjust volume and call pick up buttons on the right side. The call pick up button also doubles a “Pause / Play” button with Spotify. The left side features an “action” button that can summon Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Otherwise, the “action” button can toggle between three levels of noise cancellation.
What’s Included With The Headphones
The headphones come with a carrying case they fold into, a 12” USB charging cord and a 47” audio cable. A longer USB cable would have been nice to allow continued use while charging. Bose touts a battery life of 20 hours, which feels about right. A full recharge can be had in about an hour. Bose has an app for the QC 35s that is “fiddly” at best. I rarely use it.
Two Years And Still Going Strong
The only problem I’ve had with my QC 35s is that after two years of heavy use (50-60 hours per week), the foam earpads finally gave out and split open along the seams. Otherwise, they’ve worked flawlessly. Fortunately, the ear pads can be swapped out. I picked up some knock off replacement ear pads on Amazon, so time will tell if that was a good choice or if I should’ve paid more for Bose’s version of the ear pads.
While certainly not cheap (they typically run between $250 and $300 on Amazon) they are worth every penny if you want comfortable headphones that sound amazing. If you spend any amount of time working from home, the Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones II is a must-have addition to your office supply inventory.
Pros
- Fully covers your ears
- Excellent sound quality
- Super comfortable
Cons
- Expensive
- Needs a longer charging cord
Specifications (as provided by BOSE)
- Headphones: 7.1″ H x 6.7″ W x 3.2″ D (8.3 oz)
- Audio cable: 47.2″
- USB cable: 12″
Campfire Guy bought the BOSE headphones with his own funds. Affiliate links are sprinkled throughout the page. Feel free to click through them, and go load up on fun stuff like Mad Libs and Easy Cheese.