Flying With Small Children - Headset and Other Recommendation

aparchment · #1 10-12-2012, 05:04 PM

Guys,

Many of you (like Scott Schmidt) fly with small kids. Do you have any recommendations for making flights go smoothly? I have an almost two year old, and I would like her to be comfortable, especially for her first trip. What headsets do you recommend that are comfortable, not too tight, etc. I am considering this:

http://www.softcommheadsets.com/avia.../headsets.html

I want her to be able to hear her Mom's and my voices.

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

Antony

TroyBranch · #2 10-12-2012, 07:47 PM

We have used the Light Speed QFR solo and the child softcom, I think it was the softcom. They found the light speed more comfortable. They at least complained less with it on. The QFRs clamp well on a small head.
It takes time to get them comfortable for long flights. You need to build up to it and get them use to the head set. The older Bose are the best choice but pricey, kids are not kind to head sets.

They clamp a small head well, the only down side is the child will have no idea if the ANR is on or not. You have to make sure they don't shut it off in flight. Even now at 6 and 8, they would not know it is off on start up so I need to check before takeoff. The oldest knows to check now. They have flown with me since they were just over a year and now do not complain about the headset, not sure if it is the age or the Bose. We quite often make legs over 4 hours.

Hope that helps.

Lan Vinh Do · #3 10-12-2012, 08:30 PM

same things as Troy
I bought a softcom for my 3 years old. used it twice but he now use my old bose. It look like there is less clamping force, lighter and he look better.
Sure one excuse for me to buy the new generation of bose but sincerely it's more confortable for him and it fit as well as the softcom ( even better)

n981ms · #4 10-13-2012, 07:17 PM

I wasn't I'm impressed with softcom child's headset. It didn't even seem much smaller. I can wear it. My son has been flying since 2yo and prefered the Lightspeed 30 3gs. Now 8yo he also likes Zulus.

LOL "at least they complain less". Exactly. LOL.

uk_figs · #5 10-14-2012, 06:32 AM

I tried multiple headsets for small head/comfort for wife and daughter, best combination was the bose QC15 travel ANR headsets with the Ufly mike conversion kit. Light and comfortable but you do have to remember to turn them on and off.

AaronG · #6 10-14-2012, 09:16 AM

I purchased some used bose headsets and they worked great. They fit small heads fine, and are lightweight with low clamping force which made me feel better with their small and delicate head/neck.

Also, using their car seats worked well ... Good crash protection, and they were used to them.

Aaron

ScottSchmidt · #7 10-14-2012, 02:53 PM

Until Anna was 2 we just used the kids Peltor ear muffs. Now Emily is wearing those and Anna is now wearing the Bose X with the Oregon Aero cushion on the top. It really fits were good. I figure in a 4 place plane you are going to have four headsets anyway and you can get a used pair of Bose X now for $500.
I may try the Bose QC-15's on Emily this next flight. I have a pair I use when I travel. I will let you know what I find out.

We also try to plan our flights around their naps. Last year I put the PS Engineering 8000BT in so we could Bluetooth the iPad to the intercom. Now we just set up the iPad, play a movie and the kids are super happy.

aparchment · #8 10-14-2012, 08:27 PM

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I like the sound of the QC 15s with the UFly Mike, but maybe I should just give her my Bose X.

Scott, please let me know how your experiment goes with the QC 15.

aparchment · #9 10-14-2012, 08:38 PM

To Scott's point, it looks like the QC15 and UFly Mike are about the same as a used Bose X. Hmmm.

ScottSchmidt · #10 10-30-2012, 09:50 PM

Took the kids to Tucson last week for a few days and we tried out the Bose QC-15's.
The flight from Salt Lake was 3 hours 20 minutes so we started out with the Peltor ear muffs on my 13 month old because we knew they would sleep at least the first part of the flight.
They were holding hands when they both fell asleep. I know it is not related but I thought it was a cute picture.

Emily woke up with about 1.5 hours left so I tried out the QC-15's. They are much larger than the Bose X's. I had to roll up a rag and tape it in there to take up space. Not sure if the Oregon Aero cushion would fill this, I need to test it.
I put them on before I put them on her and they definitely worked great. I linked up their iPad to the intercom and she watched her movies for about an hour and looked like she enjoyed them. This was her first time listening in the plane and she was all smiles when we talked to her. Emily will be 14 months next week. That was a success.