Thought clothes were just for wearing - not anymore!!
Clothes are boring.
By which I mean, while we all must necessarily wear them, clothes themselves are less than adventurous when it comes to the services they provide, above and beyond making us generally more weather proof. Well the
Hoodie Buddie might just be the first step in changing all that.
Essentially, the
Hoodie Buddie is a regular, albeit extremely cosy, hoodie top which also includes a set of headphones secreted within its pendulous thoracic drawstrings. These headphones descend through the body to the pocket, where you’ll find a 3.5 mm jack – suitable for all manner of devices made by
Apple as well as every other MP3 player and many phones. Because, in case you’ve forgotten, there are many ways to make music in your ears that have nothing to do with iconographic fruit.
Once connected, the MP3 player can be tucked away in your front pocket, while the tunes are transmitted directly to your ear holes. The big deal, according to hoodiebuddie themselves, is that the design and implementation of the cables means they’ll never suffer from
‘tanglitis’ a terrible malady which they
discuss at length on their blog. What this means for regular folks is that the fabric construction of the cables at your neck can’t get ridiculously convoluted like regular headphones do.
In practise, the
Hoodie Buddie is a thing of refreshing simplicity – just plug in and go – and symbiotic relationship with casual ware makes the phones perfect for a run. Better still; the
Hoodie is 100 percent machine washable, including the headphones.
While I was initially put out by the fact that we received a review sample which was not only an Extra Large but also a particularly effervescent pink. Nonplussed (eventually) I found the
Hoodie Buddie to be extremely warm and comfortable. And pictures do exist, that’s all I’m saying.
The headphones themselves fit neatly into the ear with a choice of caps, and the fit is comparable to many mid range phones. Sound quality is decent, though clearly not up to the quality of a dedicated pair – i.e. one that isn’t permanently attached to a piece of clothing and protected from washing machine damage.
There’s no reason to assume that washing the hoodies would cause any significant damage but there’s a chance that the phones may not be able to withstand hundreds of cleans but that’s only a problem if personal hygiene is something you’re ‘into’.
Hoodie Buddie is the first step in the evolutionary path of clothing towards Swiss Army knifedom. What shall we next find embedded in our day wear? GPS? Kittens? Bladed weapons? In short, they do what they’re supposed to with minimal fuss, helping to streamline your busy lives and come in an array of attractive colours and patterns. We recommend pink.
The Hoodie Buddie is available right now from advancedmp3players.co.uk for around €50.