I’ve owned some version of Bose noise canceling headphones for more years than I can remember. They have been an essential accessory for all my travels since the first pair I purchased, and not to sound corny, but I felt like they were kin to my Amex card…I never left home without them. I believe that Lucky was the first traveler I read mention of the new QC20 product. I was intrigued, but my QC15s were in good shape, and I don’t spend nearly $300 lightly.

Not terribly long ago, I was sitting in the Sky Club waiting for my flight and minding my own business. The gentleman on the next bar stool was a chatty sort, so I obliged by listening. Out of the blue, he brought up how much he loved his Bose QC20 earbuds. I forgave him for buying them with miles, but that’s another post. In any event, his fawning over the noise canceling capabilities of the QC20s really piqued my interest. Being an iDevice guy, I began looking at the QC20i which can control the functions of your various iDevices. Finally, I broke down and bought a pair a little over a week ago, and had to chance to test them in flight on Sunday. The verdict – they are #Awesome!!!!

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The earbuds are very comfortable, hold a charge for a loooooong time, and most of all, their noise-cancelling abilities are far beyond my wildest expectations. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say they do a better job than my over ear QC15s, but opinions vary on that. They offer an “aware” mode that works great if you’re wearing them for exercise around town that lowers their “noise canceling capability” a bit, but maintains sound quality. The most important feature for me beyond their ability to cancel noise……they take up so little space. They come in a small carrying pouch, and easily fit in most any little nook and cranny of your briefcase. Here they are in the case, compared to my Lufthansa F amenity kit now converted into a device charger carrier.

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The noise canceling capabilities of these earbuds is excellent, and the QC20i version can control your iDevices with ease. In the end, I think my investment in these great noise-canceling earbuds was one of my better travel investments. Any questions, just ask.

-MJ, July 22, 2014