A Bluetooth hat? Uh…yes actually.
It may sound nutty but I get it. Now that the weather is so wonderful, I have been finding myself embracing my much loved routine of long walks on the weekends with my trusty iPhone and headphones combo to provide musical accompaniment along the way. But with a new discovery of the Cynaps Bluetooth hat, I can cut half of that combo out of the equation.
Cynaps is a very cool concept that integrates Bluetooth and bone conduction technology (what they use in hearing aids) into a hat, for hands-free and headphone-free listening and calling.
A small Bluetooth transmitter and remote are tucked pretty inconspicuously into the hat’s bill; pair your phone/device with the Cynaps Bluetooth, and you can immediately begin listening to music and answering calls through the hat itself. Pretty cool! The sound even penetrates without your ears being obstructed, which is important for when you’re out on busy streets and crossing traffic while you’re running or walking.
The Bluetooth transmitter itself has a great battery life, about 7-8 hours, so you can get a handful of walks/runs/uses in between charges. And don’t worry–you can take them out when you want to wash the hat.
Bonus: You don’t look like one of those guys walking around the street with a giant earpiece to show you how busy he is. (True, right?)
You do have to get used to futzing with the controls on the bill to figure out how to adjust volume, advance songs and accept calls, but with only three buttons to choose from, you’ll figure it out pretty quickly. And I didn’t find the sound quality to be exactly as clear as my in-ear headphones, but with a couple adjustments here and there, it’s worth the very slight decline in quality to be able to hear ambient sounds more readily and lose the wires of my headphones.
If you do hate the hat, although it’s pretty innocuous, you can also purchase the transmitters separately to install yourself into your favorite lid, bike helmet or any other cap.
Are we thinking about Father’s Day yet? Yes, we are. –Jeana
The Cynaps cap with Bluetooth transmitter is available for $60 from the MaxVirtual website.
