Take a Hike Dime 2 True Wireless Earbuds are limited edition earbuds from Skullcandy in collaboration with their long-term, non-profit partner and friends at POW. The wonderful people at Skullcandy sent us these earbuds for review. The Dime 2 earbuds are designed to encourage people to go outside during the summer and promote non-artisan policies designed, to combat climate change. A portion of the proceeds will be donated; to POW. The earbuds are light, compact and easy to carry and; sell at the price of €44.99.
The packaging for these earbuds is very inviting, with the design being a hilltop, wilderness theme. The logo for the earbuds looks like a campers badge, which fits extremely well with their targeted outdoors theme. The box includes the following items: Take a Hike Dime 2 True Wireless Earbuds, ear gels that come in three different sizes (small, medium, and large), Micro-USB charging cable, a keychain, a user guide and a one-year limited warranty. The addition of ear gels makes it very convenient for people with different ear sizes to find; the best comfort for themselves.
As for the design of the Take a Hike Dime 2 earbuds, the colours very well complemented one another. The top of the case is a pale light brown with white wavy stripes. The bottom of the case is a dark sea green colour. The earbuds have three different colours on them: light blue, pale light brown and orange. The vibrant colours from the earbuds to the case fit extremely well with capturing a wilderness, camping, or hike type of trip. From many other earbuds that I have seen with different colours, the Dime 2 earbuds do the best to create a complementary palette. In addition to this, the earbuds themselves are; extremely light and, when in the ear, are not bothersome.
The ear gels are made out; of silicone which gives them a soft feel and has no roughness to it. This set weighs around 32g, which is very light and easy to carry around. The charging case is about the size of a car key and is made out; of plastic. The feel of the case is very smooth, and the design is slick. Some of the other specifications for these earbuds are the following: The connection type is Bluetooth 5.2, impedance is 16 Ω±15, the driver diameter is 6 mm, the THD is <3%, sound pressure level is 95+/-3dB, and lastly, the frequency response is 20Hz – 20KHz. They are great for the outdoors because they come with IPX4 sweat and water resistance. Another thing to add is the connectivity of the Bluetooth before it disconnects from a distance, roughly 25 feet. I must say that the Dime 2 earbuds are one of a kind.
In our test for the battery life, each bud lasted up to 3 and a half hours before needing a recharge. It takes around 5 hours to completely charge the case with the earbuds inside of it, which is indicated through a red light turning off. A rough total of 9 hours of battery life is supported in total for the earbuds, which is a bit disappointing compared to the promise of a total of 12 hours. For these Dime 2 earbuds, when each earbud is out of charge and put back into the case, you can see a red LED light go off once fully charged. Bluetooth’s connection is very accessible when using a laptop, Android phone and even an Apple iPad. A really nice feature about the earbuds connecting to devices shows a battery bar and percentage to indicate the battery life of the earbuds.
The sound quality for these affordable earbuds is very decent. The sense of isolation in sound and control on these earbuds is not as great compared to more expensive earbuds, but that does not stop them from having satisfactory sound quality. Now, of course, this is mainly based on how the sound is heard by me and can differ from others. For testing the sound quality, the songs I listened to consisted of the genres of R&B and Pop. When adjusting the volume for the earbuds, the sound; quality differs at different volume levels. When; kept at a minimum (around <50), the sound is soft and clear. You can clearly hear the bass and all the different instruments and beats. Whereas, when you turn the volume a lot higher (to its max) for certain songs that have a heavy beat/bass to them, there is a distorted, peaky feedback that can be a bit irritating. The vocals for all of the songs are extremely clear and come out in a fun musical sound. In all honesty, listening to music with these earbuds is good as the song comes out clear, and for the price, you can not expect more.
As well as listening to music, we also used the earbuds while gaming and found that the sound comes out well to loud bangs and noises, especially in FPS (first-person shooter) games like Fortnite or Valorant. Also, in these games, there are noises that are subtle, like footsteps and sneak moves, which get picked up by the earbuds really well. Also, when it comes to watching movies/shows on Netflix or videos on Youtube, the sound is extremely clear, and there seems to be no distortion in the noise at all. Personally, the sound quality for these earbuds is surprisingly good and extremely effective. Many people would prefer different sound tuning and may not find one better than the other, but these earbuds come with a very good tune.
Many people know of AirPods, either they have used or seen them, but a large majority know how AirPods are. Now, let’s compare AirPods Gen 2, which sells for the price of €150, to the Take a Hike Dime 2 True Wireless Earbuds, which sell for €45.
When comparing the mic, both mics are not as great. For the AirPods, it is harder for others to hear without there being a static noise. The Dime 2 earbuds can pick up very quiet noise yet still; has some static noise here and there. The static noise could be due to the specific application used to test this (We used Discord, Whatsapp, and Instagram), but; the Dime 2 earbuds had a better response. We found that the battery alert is much better for the AirPods as it is just a beeping noise compared to a loud lady’s voice which at times can be a scare.
When comparing the sound quality between the AirPods and the Dime 2 earbuds, of course, with the price difference, the AirPods sound a lot better when it comes to much louder sound. There is no need to keep a range of volume to hear the best sound when it comes to the AirPods compared to the Dime 2. AirPods come with more of a noise-cancelling sound. Compared to the Dime 2, the AirPods’ sound quality picks up better bass and does not distort the sound. AirPods are audible and have a more melodic sound to them. They also are much more tuneful, making the sound much crisp.
As for the earbud comfort, where you leave them in for an extensive period of time is much, much better on the Dime 2 earbuds than the Airpods. After about an hour of having AirPods in, it starts to hurt, and you feel major; discomfort when you have to take them off. (We used to use one ear at a time for this very reason, to refrain from hurting my ears simultaneously). Because of the ear gels; that the Dime 2 earbuds have, it is a lot more comforting.
The button control on the Dime 2 earbuds is a bit difficult to work; with. When using the AirPods, you just need to lightly tap the bud for the controls, whereas the Dime 2 earbuds have you holding down the earbud with your thumb to refrain the earbud from pushing straight into your ear.
The Dime 2 earbuds also come with more accessories, for example, the keychain that you can use to attach to a set of keys and ear gels sizes for different people’s preferences. I would say that there are more active features for the AirPods, but then again, AirPods are very Apple specific. The Dime 2 earbuds work very well with all devices making it; a lot more convenient. Personally speaking, after using AirPods for roughly a year and then using these for a week, I would use the Dime 2 earbuds a lot more.
There are a few things here and there that could be taken into account for future reference. For instance, the design of the charging case when the earbuds are not sitting in them. As you are on a walk or running whilst having your earbuds in, you would not plan on holding the case but rather put it in your pocket, due to the design; the hole where the earbuds sit can catch dust or dirt, or even the case could get scratched. For this, it would be helpful if Skullcandy added a little mesh bag or a cloth bag that you can use to keep the; case protected from damage and any dirt.
Lastly, some amazing features these earbuds come with is one being mono-mode, where you can easily use one earbud at a time even; when switching them out, they automatically connect. With IPX4 and tile inclusion, there is no worry about sweat destroying the buds or you losing them. Perfect for when out in the rain as well.
The limited edition Take a Hike Dime 2 True Wireless Earbuds have simple controls, easy carry, and outstanding design, which make them truly effortless and outstanding. These earbuds tell their own story through the theme of outdoors summer time which would be great for anyone out or even in. Extremely easy to use and efficient though the battery life could be a bit better. Other than that, for only €44.99, it can not get better than this for such great quality earbuds! Make sure you go out and buy yourself the Take a Hike Dime 2 True Wireless Earbuds; support the cause; they are limited edition, so hurry!
Overall: 9/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
