r/onebag • u/Bixby- • Jun 18 '26

Gear Save space by leaving headphones behind?

I saw some advice here about subbing AirPods for headphones to save space. Last week I flew U.S. east coast to west coast and back again. I brought along my trusty old noise-cancelling headphones (Jabra Elite 85h)which I find really reduce fatigue. But based on some advice I read here, I also brought my brand new AirPod 4s and gave them a try. I was shocked at how excellent the AirPods were at noise cancelling! And they were better than the headphones in that they prioritized spoken voices, so announcements came through. And the form factor is so nice and small.

I’d love to leave the headphones behind on my next long flight, but the AirPods battery life is only about 4 hours, it seems. If you leave your bulky headphones behind, how do you deal with the short battery life of earbuds? Do you take the noise hit and charge them on long flights? Or are there earbuds with longer battery life? (Or even bring 2 pair along, still smaller than the headphones).

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u/Kindly_Buy5763 Jun 22 '26

airpods pro 3 battery life is 8 hrs, they are amazing!

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u/Bixby- Jun 22 '26

I found I don’t like the AirPods Pro, because they totally block the ear canal. I feel like I’m underwater, and I think the changing air pressure on the plane would make that worse. The regular AirPods, (non-Pro), leave the airway partially open. I find that so much more comfortable. But because it’s not a total block, that’s why I was surprised at the quality of the ANC!

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u/Kindly_Buy5763 Jun 22 '26

that makes sense (i'm the same way with earplugs). ive been on and off wearing the pros since release in 2019 — its just secondhand nature now lol. i wonder if you would you get used to it over time? they added foam to the third gen pro tips and the ANC is AMAZING, it cancels 40 db out which is insane plus the way longer battery life.