This past Saturday the temps were in the low 20's and a couple inches of snow on the ground, I decided that it was a perfect day to get off my post-holidays butt and cut some wood. Dear wife gave me a set of Bluetooth 3M Worktunes for Xmas and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try them out and see if they were suitable for sustained chainsaw use. I use an iPhone 6+ and stream Pandora (mostly hard rock and metal) so any music system I use needs to accommodate Bluetooth streaming of Pandora. Got the cold weather clothes on, put the earphones on, cranked up the music. Good sound. Not a ton of bass but nice and clear. Went out, grabbed a saw (I keep my saws sharp, fueled and ready to use at a moment's notice) and fired it up - I literally could not hear the saw at idle. Just music. Headed out in the woods and spent 3-4 hours, just boppin' away and cutting white oak tops. The Worktunes are comfortable, do a very good job of noise reduction for both full-throttle chainsaw use and lower sustained sounds such as tractor idle. As the day wore on, I noticed that a little more sound was coming through - at the end of the day I could actually hear the saw idling, at least it seemed louder. As time goes by I will see how they are affected by dust and sweat. Not sure what the moisture resistance is, I am not sure wearing these in a rainstorm would be advisable. The best part of the whole deal? The music helps me to work. Not that I don't enjoy cutting wood but there's an additional... motivation(?) there that keeps me going. Obligatory photos attached.
My wife got me a pair of those as well for Christmas. Used them for several hours splitting wood. Worked great. Just don’t leave them on the wood pile when you are done. Especially if it is going to rain cats and dogs the next day. They probably won’t turn on ever again. Not that I would know, but I heard that could happen. And then I’ll bet you would feel really stupid and upset with yourself. Again, not that I would know. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Awesome, my wife got me the Alexa last Christmas and the echo dot this Christmas. I always have the Pandora cranking the Metal/Rock in backyard while working
There is a "mode button" on mine that adds more bass. I don't have the bluetooth version, but enjoy having the fm radio just as much! keep an extra set of batteries handy...
Mine are the version with no radio, just Bluetooth. And rechargeable by USB. I bought an Eero mesh wifi system for the family this Christmas and got a free Echo Dot with it. Still haven't found a use for it yet besides it makes for a great kitchen timer. "Alexa, set timer for 10 minutes". Done. I use an Ultimate Ears Wonderboom speaker in the shop, also using a BT/Pandora stream, and it is pretty good for what it gives. Got that one free as well, I also use a Ryobi BT radio in the shop if my kids abscond with the Wonderboom.
I have 2 different versions of those over the years-am analog tuned set and now a digital set. Just use the radio. Don't use them much wood cutting and splitting- muffs on my Stihl face screen and ear plugs-but I mow and do tractor work for around 150 hours each summer and they are glued to my head for all of that!
I have all three versions, they all work great. I get frustrated with the original yellow ones, I tend to bump the channel selection knob, it really needs a lock feature for the controls. The middle one is bluetooth only, and has an internal battery instead of batteries you can change, it allows you to make and receive phone calls, but they can't hear until you shut off the splitter. The grey one is the first generation of the latest design, bluetooth, line in, radio, it works great, doesn't have the tuning bump issues thanks to the flat tuning knob. The current generation can be a phone headset, like the black one. Both of the bluetooth models have short range, like, keep the phone in your pocket short. My son left his out in a monsoon, I expected it to be dead, it's still going strong.
Glad to see someone post on these, I almost bought a set over the holidays but some of the reviews I read made me hesitate.
Not cheap and have not tried them with the saw/splitter yet. But my ears (nerve deafness) say thank you everyday when in the noisy work van. Nice thing is, I can even listen to the radio at reduced volume as I don't have the road noise. Bose QuietComfort 35 Series II Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones - Black | Nebraska Furniture Mart
I have a set like that from Mrs Papi and use them all the time! running saw, splitter, cutting the field, everything. Day Job requires me to take phone calls frequently, so it's helpful to get the "incoming call" notice I may have missed for hours while wearing hearing protection.
Thanks to all who have given their input. I've been looking at these for a year wondering if they were worth the money or if they were just Chinese junk. I'll be ordering a set tonight.
