Which equipment to purchase after the flight-bag has been stolen.

I was sceptical about the price/value of Bose A20 until I got one. Now I would not use anything else, from Cub to King Air

I didn’t like the Bose at all. I am very happy with my Phonak, though.

You have to test the headsets if they suit your head and your ears anyway. Headset discussions can become religious in pilot communities :-)

I’m glad to be rid of the clamshell type headset. I use a clarity aloft headset and I am very happy with it.

The in-ear headsets are hard to test though, especially when they are custom made for your ear. But I have never heard of anyone that didn’t like it. Maybe there is an element of self-selection, because in-ear is still rather new and non-standard. Those that buy it are already decided that this is what they want.

I also have an A20, but after wearing it for 3 hours I find it hurts a bit on the sides.

Oh headsets……..

I have both A20 and Clarity Aloft. I tend to use the Clarity more than the Bose, especially during summer season or in hot climates (most flights are 4-5hr duration). In fact, they the Clarity are almost worn out and I’m just pondering a new set or the Phonak.

Bose is good as a back-up. DC10 13.4 are excellent as a back-up, back-up.

mh wrote:

Headset discussions can become religious in pilot communities :-)

I worship at the Church of Bose – other religions are available

There are various threads here on in-ear headsets e.g. here

They clearly can be very good and many people really like then, but all of them require a custom insert to be produced, which isn’t exactly cheap. The non-custom ones IME simply don’t work. I had a Lightspeed Mach 1 which was great until you touched it and the small movement would create an air gap and all the noise got in. I sold it on Ebay before it was too late and it was discontinued soon afterwards. The mike on it was excellent though! BTW, none of the in-ear headsets use ANR because they don’t need it; also it would be very hard to implement.

For me, the Bose A20 totally outclasses everything else, and I have done comparative tests in a headset test booth. It outperforms the Bose X substantially – so much I was thinking there is something wrong with the engine and kept looking at the speed, the fuel flow, etc… The only drawback, compared with the X, is that my ears get a bit more sweaty because it encloses them more than the X did. But I have done 7-8hr flights with the A20 without any issue whatever. Now I have 3 of them, plus an old X for occassional use.

As for other stuff to go into a flight bad, I would have

• a handheld radio which can do an ILS
• a handheld GPS, preferably an old monochrome one which uses AA cells which don’t go flat for a year or more (I bought a 196, IIRC, on Ebay, after selling the Skymap 2)
• a torch
• some sort of backup phone (what kind of SIM card, is another matter….)
• 3/32 allen screwdriver for removing avionics

I’m pretty much with Peter here. Have tried the Clarity Aloft (but, of course, with the generic plugs) and didn’t like them one bit. They kept falling out. They may be great with the custom-moulded plugs, though. Bose is, IMHO, the way to go. Other than that, my flightbag has:

- iPad
- external Bluetooth GPS (a Dual, although if I had to buy it again I’d prob99 go for a Garmin)
- handheld radio with ILS capability (old-ish iCom)
- an old Garmin GPS as backup; it’s a 96 I bought ages ago, but has an endless battery life and will get you home
- Pulse-Oxymeter
- two power packs to provide extra juice for iPad, GPS and phone if needed
- two torches (one standard size and a very small one)
- if going for a night flight an extra LED lamp with a hook than can light up the cockpit on the ground.
- screwdriver

I would add an ADL1x0 to all of the above