Skullcandy Smokin' Buds Headphones

Product Review: Skull Candy Smokin Buds
By Soren McCarty
Skull Candy Ear Phone for use with iPod/MP3 players

First Impression: I needed a new pair of ear buds and everyone told me I should get a pair of Skull Candy headphones. I wanted something small enough to fit under my Giro Snowboard and Bike Helmets.

I also need ear buds that to use around town and would fit into my pocket when needed.
I chose the Skull Candy Smokin Buds for the size and audio quality. The ear buds come with three different sizes earpieces to fit various size ears.

Fit: The Skull Candy Smokin Buds fit snugly in the ear offering great sound quality and a comfortable fit. The rubber coating of the audio wire is durable and easy to untangle, the Smokin Buds are also available with a microphone for the iphone and Droid.

Performance: I was amazed at the sound quality when I first used the Smokin Buds; the sound quality was noticeable compared to my previous ear buds. I also noticed that I did not need to set my volume as high on my iPod to hear my music. The Smokin Buds also work well with my Blackberry Curve when listing to Pandora Radio.

Colors: Various available (Black and Red used for Testing)

Overall Impression: I have been really happy with the sound quality of the Smokin Buds; they have been durable, comfortable and have enhanced my music experience. I look forward to listing to new music with my Smokin Buds, Skull Candy makes other Earphone, and I look forward to testing out their other audio devices. I also love that the Smokin Buds fit comfortably in my ears, and fit in my helmet when I am skiing or biking.

These little headphones have great sound, and are durable, if you like ear bud style these are inexpensive and great.

I have these in rasta colors and the sound is actually pretty good for how inexpensive the headphones are. also they do a good job of staying in your ears and seem pretty durable

I have worn these mountain biking and backcountry skiing.
Any time I'm climbing up hill.Cheap, but eventially one ear phone goes.That might be the same with all these style of headphones.

Great value for your money and great sound for such a cheap set of cans!!

not a bad bud, the cord is super long often getting caught and ripping the buds out of your ears. had a problem with a short in the cord and skullcandy replace them for free which was sweet. buy them on sac and enjoy them for about a year, good bud, cheap price.

I have had these for a while, and they are pretty good. The sound is ok, and they block outside noise pretty good. The downside I think the cord is a bit on the long side, and the volume control is bouncing around. I taped the volume control in the max position with some tape, that fixed that problem.

Light, comfortable, cool colors, cheap price, solid sound, definitely worth it.

Light, comfortable, cool colors, cheap price, solid sound, definitely worth it.

I had some of these in rasta for a few months, and then they just kinda died, I don't know haha, but they were quality while they lasted.

I found the build quality to be poor and the sound quality to be even worse. What was deluxe was the packaging and the relatively high price. I would expect to find these in the dollar store if it weren't for the name-brand logo on them, which is all I would be willing to pay for these. I'll give them a little prop in that they do have an in-line volume control; while not a quality one, it is a decent feature.

I got better ear-buds for 'free' on an airplane, and those suck. My Smokin' Buds got sent back. I have small ear canals, and these didn't fit me well enough for the buds to stay in either, but that is typical for me, so I'm not knocking them for that.

I got this order pretty quickly (A+)! I gave them to my niece as a Christmas present and she liked them so much she went and got a new MP3 player just for them. I like how they have the bud sizes so you can adjust to your ear. Great sound quality too and it was a great price!!!

when I snowboard. The only thing I'm not into is that even when I have the music off or use the switch that puts the volume at MIN.. I still have trouble hearing. It really blocks the external sound out, which I'm sure a lot of people are into anyways. The way they are shaped also aren't as comfortable as standard ipod earbud when wearing a helmet with the ear covers. It could be my helmt, but it feels like they are being pressed into my ears a little too much. I usually switch between using these and the ipod ones when I ride. The only reason why I use these earbuds snowboarding is because I like the little switch to MAX and MIN the volume without having to take your ipod in and out of your pocket while you're riding. Other than that, when I use them normally for walking around town, etc.. they are awesome!

great price and solid performance for 3+yrs. Fit great and stayed in all the time. Finally got beat up at the plug area and sent them back for aggressive listening discount on new product. Skull candy rocks. Also they are a sponsor of Diablo Freeride Park. SkullCandy FTW.

The Smokin Buds are a great upgrade from the stock headphones. They have a good snug fit with 3 differently sized ear pieces. The sound quality is decent, like a said its a step up. The reason I give these a 5 star is because of Skullcandy's return policy. I dropped a bud in a cup of water, sent it back and they gave me a brand new pair in package. Can't be that.

Bought 3 pairs of these on S&C thinking that would take care of my headphone needs for quite a while. I was wrong. 1 month later and I was down to 1 pair, and they cut out a few weeks later. Left earpiece went out every time.

Comfortable and stay in place during work outs. Great sound.

Hey! they don't fall out and the volume control works for me. My only guess for the too-long cord is it gives you the option of tucking your I-Pod (or reasonable facsimile) into your sock when transversing rough nieghborhoods.(Please don't go to the other extreme and make it too short so people look like a hunchback)

The "light pink" product shot is a bit off (I was stoked to find) - when the Pink pair I ordered arrived, they were the perfect shade of HOT PINK to match my pink shuffle. They don't come w/a plastic carrying case either (as shown online), but rather a better & smaller black carrying bag. Just enough to keep the dust off if the buds ever end up shelved...

I'm stoked with these earbuds, they sound as great as they look!

I think the sound is fine but the cord seems too long and the weight of the volume controller bouncing about is kind of irritating at time. I don't know that I'd buy them again.

Nice head gear. We will see how long they will last... They so fit in your ear! Like sucktion cups! Blackberry wasnt loud enough. Get a true MP3 player for loud volume. A++ on the style and fit. Wont come out of your ear if you eat nozzle snow... Enjoy them and we will see if they last... Good warrenty i hear.

I own multiple pairs of the Smokin' Buds and they sound great and have really good sound quality for the price! My only complaint is they don't fit in really small ears like mine very well.

It is true that they will eventually break/stop working, but when that happens, simply send them to Skullcandy and they will send you the most up to date pair for free with their Lifetime Warranty! You can't go wrong with that! Beware that if you smash them or something where it is your fault they broke you will only get %50 off your replacement pair from Skullcandy, but if they break on their own, Skullcandy will replace them for free!

I can't really complain too much that these suck, because I got them for free. But that does not change the fact that they suck. They really do. Mine were black. I can't tell really if they suck because mine were defective, which is why, I guess, that I say they suck. I can't comment on the sound quality of a non-defective pair, since mine were defective. By defective I mean that the volume adjuster on the cord was broken. What does that mean exactly? Well, it means that when I turned the volume bar all the way up, the volume was somewhat normal, yet quiet. When I turned it down, the sound kept playing, but only the bass part. My volume adjuster was turning on and off the treble sounds. This was quite strange and made me somewhat sick to my stomach, so I threw them away.

These are just what you need! For such a small size, they pack a punch with the sound. They're perfect for just cruising around campus or for skiing or biking.

They are pretty inexpensive, the sound quality is great! If they break, Skullcandy has your back, they offer an awesome warranty or replacement plan.

Work sucks way less with these things jammed in your ears.

Bought my first pair about a year and a half ago, and the left bud went dead within two weeks. I returned it, and about a month later the same thing happened. Then on a trip about a year later, I lost my Sony ear buds, so I was forced to buy a pair of cheap headphones. I didn't buy the Smokin' Buds, rather I got another set of Skullcandies since they were the cheapest. I hoped for the best but, low and behold, one bud went dead, again. Skullcandy is THE worst manufacturer of headphones out there. A cool logo hardly makes up for shoddy craftsmanship. They may be cheap in price, with serviceable quality, but you will be replacing these soon.