It was the kind of itinerary you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
Alaska Airlines flight 9 left Orlando at 8:45 yesterday morning and arrived about 6 hours later in Seattle. After a day of meetings, I returned home on flight 10, leaving Seattle at 11:23 p.m. and landing just after 7 a.m., thanks to favorable tail winds.
What a great opportunity to test my
(In the interests of full disclosure, the company that manufactures this headset is a former sponsor of this Web site. But am I predisposed to writing nice things about its product? Read on …)
The batteries they provided ran out of juice about 10 minutes into the flight. But I continued to use the headset to watch the in-flight movie. The fit was a bit too snug, even after I tried to loosen the settings, but the sound quality was superior than on the disposable headsets.
The headset itself, when used along with the carrying case, is a little too bulky for me. And the price (about $200) is pretty steep.
But after stocking up on fresh batteries, I decided to give the Solitude a second chance on the return. I grabbed a blanket, pillow, eye patch and clamped on the headset. This time, it almost completely blocked all of the engine noise. I slept the entire return flight and was able to do a full day’s work today.
On shorter flights, I would probably leave the Solitude at home. But on longer stretches and red-eyes, I would certainly consider the Solidude – or some other type of noise-canceling device.
Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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