So Skull Candy Headphones have yet another partnership. The last one we saw was with Budweiser, but this time, the headphone brand has teamed up with snowboard and outdoor activity brand Burton. I only really know Burton through my brother, who is a very keen snowboarder, so I won’t be commenting on them too much in this review, I don’t know them as a brand. Instead, we’re going to be reviewing the Skull Candy Push Active headphones as they are, but of course, also commenting on their design which is somewhat… awesome?
Okay on a serious note though, the Burton design on these headphones is pretty wild. They have an overall cheetah print design with a pink and orange gradient running through it. They’re definitely aimed at a female audience, and most of their marketing materials on the Skull Candy website feature a female snowboarder. What is strange though is the fact that only one of my earbuds here is covered in the cheetah pattern, The other one is just a plain grey colour. I don’t like that. I know it’s supposed to reflect the front and back of the charging case, but it just looks odd as if Skull Candy has made a mistake when packaging their headphones.
You can get the Burton range in three variants: the Skull Candy Mod, the Push Active and the Crusher Evo. The latter which we’ve already reviewed and you can see here. But for now, let’s stick to the Push Active.
The Skull Candy Push Active headphones are an in-ear set of earbuds that have some quite substantial wing tips on them to wrap around the top of your ears. The arms can be comfortably worn with glasses too so that’s a big bonus, especially if you’re someone who wears sunglasses as eye protection when snowboarding or skiing.
They’re pretty bulky too compared to really most other earbuds but I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. They’re extremely rugged and will get you through most weather conditions without of course being dunked in water. I harsh downpour though should be fine. The’re rated for IP55, so no swimming.
There are two buttons available to you, with one on each earbud. One tap on either of them will play and pause your music or answer and end calls. Double taps will turn the volume up and down depending on the earbud. This is now where it gets complex. A one-second hold on the right earbud will power on the headphones and activate Spotify Tap while one second on the left will only power the earbuds. A three-second tap on the left earbud will join the earbuds while three seconds on the right will Share Audio which requires the Skull Candy app. A double tap leading into a one-second hold on each earbud will turn the earbuds off. See, I told you it was complex, and maybe a little too complex for their own good.
The case though is huge. It’s definitely the biggest earbud case I’ve seen, but it would still fit in a pocket no problem. It’s smooth and has the same cheetah pattern and colour scheme. Round back is a USB Type-C input for charging, and the case offers the Push Active earbuds a max battery life of around 32 hours. A quick 10 minute charge in the case and you’ve got 120 minutes of listening time though which is awesome. The buds themselves will last a whopping eight hours, so more than enough for a day on the slopes.
So, do they sound any good? Well, not bad actually. You can’t expect much from a set of earbuds costing around the £80 mark, but if you’re just wanting something that enables music to sound ‘nice’ then you can’t really go wrong with them. There’s a nice mixture of bass, mids and highs, and will give you a pleasant sound. There’s no real overpowering of frequencies, though the app does offer a custom EQ if you wanted a little more bass or treble in your mix which I must say is a nice touch. The Push Active headphones only has an SBC Bluetooth codec, so again, there’s no high-res codecs in play for high-quality audio, but it’s good enough. Bluetooth 5.2 is here too for fast pairing and decent battery life.
And downloading the app onto your device is also quite beneficial actually, only if it’s for the equaliser. But other features inside of the app consist of a voice control toggle, a Stay-Aware feature which aids in hearing sound around you which is perfect for those working out in public or running on a public street or similar. There’s a Take A Photo setting where it can turn an earbud into a wireless remote for photos which is a funny feature to see. The app is pretty feature rich which is definitely impressive, and yes it is definitely worth installing onto your phones.
The Skull Candy Push Active headphones are a nice set of earbuds that look wacky. Though their design definitely won’t be for everyone but in terms of their performance, there’s a lot to like here. The sound is decent, not game-changing or anything but it produces a nice sound. The app is feature rich and finally they’re very comfortable to wear which is a bonus, especially if you’re going to be on the slopes all day snowboarding. For more information, head over to the Skull Candy website where you can find more on the Push Active as well as other models.
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