Anyone try Oregon Aero Headset Upgrade Kit?

So i have a pair of Bose and i didnt think they could get any better.
im lazy, and was flying the Arrow today. it's cold so i didnt want to het my headset outta my car. so i grabbed my old CFI, Tim's Bose. ive always loved them cause they're super comfy. ive noticed that the headband was a bit bigger than mine, so after reading this, it intreagued me to check um out. sure enough, it has "Oregon Aero" written on it.

i think ill have to get myself an upgrade! the earseals are comfier and dont look as gaudy as the picture makes them!

i would reccomend these to ANY pilot!!
 
Hey everyone, just a quick update.

I just obtained the Oregon Aero headset upgrade kit for the Bose X. Took about 3 or 4 days to arrive in the mail.

The package included:

  1. SoftTop headset cushion. This literally is at least twice as large as the stock Bose headset cushion. I was impressed at how nice it felt when I put the headset on -- keeping in mind that i'm folically challenged and, therefore, really like soft things.
  2. SoftSeal ear cushions. I had to get my wife to put these on for me. It was a little tricky to get the leather cushions attached to the Bose. Well, tricky for me. She made short work of it and in less than 5 minutes they were attached.
  3. SoftSkin ear seal covers. These fabric covers just slip over the ear cushions. I have to admit it made for a much more comfortable wear. The spring on the top of the Bose is pretty much stretched to the limit with the 3/4" cushions over my fat head though...
  4. MicMuff. Foam microphone cover, that is then covered a second time by a leather "sock".
All in all, including getting my wife's help, it took about 10 minutes to refurb the headset. I do look funny in it -- but I'm pretty sure I looked funny before I modified them and never really paid attention.

I tried the noise attenuation at home, but it didn't work -- I could still hear my wife! Just kidding. I should have the opportunity to fly with these next week. I'm looking forward to really giving them a good test to determine of the noise attenuation is still "Bose good" but with improved comfort. The living room test does seem to prove them to be considerably more comfortable than the stock unit.

I'll give you another update next week once I fly with them!
 
Still no flights scheduled. Isn't that always the way? You get a new toy and want to try it out and no flights. Hopefully this week one pops up...
 
I haven't forgotten about a review. Just haven't flown. Hopefully next week otherwise it'll have to wait until Feb.
 
Ok. I flew with the Oregon Aero upgrade to my Bose X headsets tonight and wanted to write a short evaluation.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the Oregon Aero is more comfortable than the Bose without upgrade.

  1. SoftTop headset cushion. It took me a few minutes to get this cushion where I liked it on my head. Since I am folically challenged (at least on the top) I could "feel" the cushion, but once we got going I forgot about it -- which I guess, at the end of the day, is the whole point.
  2. SoftSeal ear cushions and Softskin covers. I felt virtually no pressure at all from the ear cushions, and the combination of these and the ear-seal covers made these almost pleasant. On our second leg from a warmer climate I was sweating a little bit and I did notice these seemed to be quite warm, but it seemed like they wicked the sweat away whereas in the unmodified Bose, i'd end up taking the headsets off to wipe down the earcups once we were underway
  3. MicMuff. Not entirely sure what this did, but I guess it looks cool
Overall impressions:
Ok. The headset is more comfortable, but the modification also makes it "bulkier". So it does seem as though you're wearing more headset than you have a negative impact on the noise-cancellation features of the Bose X. I noticed this during climb with high power settings (I could hear the engine noise clearly -- something that I was not able to hear very well prior to the upgrade), and during high-speed descent at low altitudes (below about 25,000). The wind noise is apparent in the latter case, so much so that I had to increase the volume on the audio control panel.

So the question is, will I keep the upgrade or go back to the stock Bose. The answer really depends on what kind of flying i'm tasked with in the year(s) to come. If I am doing more long range flying I'm going to stick with the Oregon Aero upgrade. If they're quick trips with multiple legs of 2 hours or less, i'm going to go back to the stock Bose. The noise cancellation is more important to me on those quick legs.

I'll let you know what I think as I get more experience with the upgrade!
 
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