Looking for aviation headset

Sacrilicious

IIRC there are a few pilots on the forum. Does anyone know of a website that sells a decent, but reasonably priced headset? I'm hoping for one under $100.

Susan Delgado

try www.sportys.com - that's where my ex used to get his headsets and pilot gear.

Limp moose

you are not going to find anything good for under 100$

maybe 200-300 can get you something that isnt bad.

But really if you are going to be doing anything more than getting your private get a bose.

You will not be sorry.

EDIT-
Also this is something you really don't want to go cheap on. If you are flying and go lost comms with only a private license you could be in for a world of shit depending on where you are operating. There is ZERO lost comm training in the private pilot syllabus (at least when I went through) other than to squawk 7600 and hope for the best. There is a lot more too it than that and you dont want to have to find out because your cheapo headset shit the bed mid-flight (which is exactly when it will)

If you are opperating out of some podunk airfield in a 172 and only use the radio for ctaf calls on sundays then it doesnt matter as much. But if you plan on going anywhere near controlled airspace make sure you have a solid headset.

I've gone lost comms multiple times with my government issue gear (hooray lowest bidder) and If I hadn't had a copilot with working gear, i would have been in a world of shit.

ProPatriaMori

Disclaimer: I know this doesn't exactly answer your question.

The BlackHawk Elite is what I use. Got it because it was cheap, but I haven't been disappointed in it in the...3 or 4 years I've had it.

I didn't actually get mine from Ebay, but I'm having trouble actually finding any on the interwebs at the moment. I'll keep looking a little bit longer and see if I can find something...

Limp moose

I would use extreme caution buying any headset off ebay. You have zero recourse if it just doesn't work.

Any new headset will cost you between 150-1000 dollars. One for 24 dollars screams I DONT WORK!

Then again it could be the steal of the century. But refer to my other post for reasons you shouldn't screw around with headsets.

ProPatriaMori

Limp moose wrote: »

I would use extreme caution buying any headset off ebay. You have zero recourse if it just doesn't work.

Any new headset will cost you between 150-1000 dollars. One for 24 dollars screams I DONT WORK!

Then again it could be the steal of the century. But refer to my other post for reasons you shouldn't screw around with headsets.

$150-$1000? I got mine for like $70 and I've had it for years, working just fine. For $1000 the headset better have a hell of a blowjob attachment.

I wouldn't buy off EBay either, personally, but I just wanted to show that model. Its price seems way more reasonable than what you're talking about.

QuicksandSlowly

If you want to go super-cheap David Clark has headsets for around $50.

They're a bit heavy and take some getting used to but I've had mine for two years now and it hasn't failed on me.

Limp moose

The bose head set is the $1000 one.
And it is like a blow job for your ears. Totally noise canceling and perfect. Makes ATC sound like a dream. Super plush soft ear cups and also has a lifetime warranty. I would wager if you tried one of these and then put on your regular headset you would never want to go back. (plus what bose products arn't Awesome)

But the OP said he was looking for a good headset for under 100$ all I am saying is that will be hard to find and I would be leary of second hand / discounted cheap headsets for the reasons already mentioned.

The reasons Most headsets are more expensive than $100 is because of features like that. Noise canceling static eliminating functions that are very very helpful. If all you have ever used is the $50 david clark I challenge you to try one of the more expensive and see what you are missing. Not to mention the reliability factor for me personally is reason enough to spring for the extra hundred bucks or so. Aviation is expensive as it is a $100 that will save your life is one of the best bargains around.

ProPatriaMori

Limp moose wrote: »

The bose head set is the $1000 one.
And it is like a blow job for your ears. Totally noise canceling and perfect. Makes ATC sound like a dream. Super plush soft ear cups and also has a lifetime warranty. I would wager if you tried one of these and then put on your regular headset you would never want to go back. (plus what bose products arn't Awesome)

But the OP said he was looking for a good headset for under 100$ all I am saying is that will be hard to find and I would be leary of second hand / discounted cheap headsets for the reasons already mentioned.

The reasons Most headsets are more expensive than $100 is because of features like that. Noise canceling static eliminating functions that are very very helpful. If all you have ever used is the $50 david clark I challenge you to try one of the more expensive and see what you are missing. Not to mention the reliability factor for me personally is reason enough to spring for the extra hundred bucks or so. Aviation is expensive as it is a $100 that will save your life is one of the best bargains around.

Yeah, noise cancelling and static elimination aren't that helpful in my experience. I mean, you do want noise reduced, because the aircraft engine will ruin you for that frequency if your headset does get rid of a bunch of decibels.

I've never had a complaint with a David and Clark headset, so Quicksandsslowly has a good option there too. If OP gets heavy into aviation and starts flying a billion hours a day he can get an uberheadset that cancels 50dB engine noise and won't miss dropping the $50 on the first headset. If OP flies about as much as, say, I have (~250 hours since 2002-ish, which isn't a lot) then a $50 headset is probably super.

Cycophant

I'll echo one of the David Clarke headsets. I may not have worked in the aviation industry that long, but every single company I've worked for thus far uses strictly David Clarke headsets (and not the cheap ones).

They seem to be nearly indestructible, and when they do break, parts are easy to find and easy to replace. If you can find one for $50 or so, I'd say go for it.