I spend a good 10-15 hours per week (100-150 miles) on my unicycle. With that much time in the saddle, I find it important to entertain myself with some tunes. However, wind noise can really put a damper on my enjoyment. Those that don’t prefer to listen to music during their rides can also be severely bothered by wind noise. So the search was on for a solution…
My first attempt to cure this problem was to install some $12 Decibullz on my earbuds. Decibullz are custom molded earbud adapters. After being heated in the microwave, they snap into your existing earbuds and you then mold them to the shape of your ear to form a perfect fit. Think of Decibullz as an affordable version of ear monitors that professional musicians use. This helps so that your earbuds don’t fall out. Decibullz also, in my opinion, help your existing ear buds sound much better because they make a perfect seal without being pushed into your ear canals. This also makes your earbuds more comfortable because they are sitting in your outer ear. Unfortunately, this didn’t help that much with wind noise, it just made my music sound better. The search continued…
My search ended when I came across Cat-ears. I was certainly skeptical when I saw these weird, furry helmet attachments. After reading several positive reviews, I decided to give them a try. Cat-ears offers several different versions and colors of their product. I settled for the Classics II and the ear covers. Basically they are faux fur that are wrapped around the front strap of your helmet using velcro. The reduction in the wind noise is amazing and so is the look! 
If you don’t mind the large sideburn look, then you’re all good. The first time I tried them out, there wasn’t even a slight breeze, although I still noticed a huge improvement. One of my “sideburns” was placed too high and wasn’t covering my ear properly. With the Cat-ear that was installed correctly, there was complete silence; however I was hearing a lot of noise in the other ear. Today was a good day to give the Cat-ears a true test with high winds. I rode 14 miles in high winds along the coast (or at least what I call high winds…I’m a wimp). I was really impressed with how well these deflected the wind from my ears. I would say that most of the unwanted noise was gone and I could enjoy my music by turning it down quite a bit. I haven’t tried the ear covers yet, so I’ll have to update my review later. For those who are tired of listening to wind noise and don’t mind furry sideburns, then Cat-ears are for you. It just so happens that Cat-ears is offering 20% off during their holiday sale. Now, go save your hearing and support a small business at the same time!
