[dandandan]

Hello. I keep having this same problem. Around this time of year, the plastic coating on my earphone cable becomes inflexible and eventually snaps.

For example, my current earphones have lasted me about 9 months with absolutely no signs of wear or damage (they've even been through the washing machine once!!!), but over the past 2-3 weeks, the wire has cracked in no less than 6 places. I can still hear audio through them, but today I noticed that sound to one of the earbuds kept cutting out intermittently.

So it's time for me to buy some more. But winter has barely begun and I don't want to keep having to buy new ones every 2-3 weeks, so can anyone recommend some earphones that will see me through winter...?

They need to be:
- cheap (less than £15)
- noise cancelling
- robust/flexible

I'm not much of a music aficionado. The sound quality would have to be pretty bad for me to notice it or care about it. I've been using Griffin Earbuds/Earthumps for the past couple of years. They only cost £5-8, but I've been through about 5 pairs now. I'm very happy with them while they last. The sound is pretty good to my ears (a bit flat, maybe), they're great at cancelling-out noise, they're perfectly comfortable, and they're cheap. It's just a shame that they can't handle the cold weather.

So... any suggestions?

[tudj]

Are you looking for ear buds or in-ear earphones? In-ear give better noise isolation.

[dandandan]

Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know there was a difference. I suppose I'm after the in-ear ones. I think that's what the Griffin ones are. I'll be happy with any kind of noise-reduction just as long as I don't have to keep replacing them every few weeks.

[dandandan]

Come on - somebody must be able to help me. What earphones do they use in really cold countries?

I just want some earphones that will last me through the winter...