Planet Buddies Wireless Headphones Review

Reviewed by Elly Sax

The Pepper the Penguin Planet Buddies Wireless Headphones were sent to me to try out, my 10 year old was very excited, and these headphones did not disappoint. At Easter we are going away on holiday and these will definitely be going on the journey with us. They are a great addition to our household technology and would make an excellent gift for any child aged 3 and up.

For anyone looking for an environmentally aware gift, or for people who prefer to buy from more environmentally aware companies, Planet Buddies have you covered. They have obviously really thought about the ethos of their company and it shows straight away in their choice of packaging. No plastic packaging in sight, instead the headphones came in a cardboard box. It had internal cardboard packaging rather than the usual polystyrene, which protected the contents perfectly whilst the headphones were in transit, and flattened down easily to save space in the recycling bin. Not only is the packaging recyclable and totally plastic free but it is only made from recycled cardboard and they only use soy-based inks. As well as this, Planet Buddies donate a proportion of their revenue to the Marine Conservation Society, which works to protect the seas marine life and World Land Trust which aims to create reserves and protect habitats for wildlife. I could tell me and Planet Buddies were going to get along.

Once we opened the box we found the wireless headphones, a carry pouch, a USB charging cable, an AUX cable and an instruction manual. The manual was really easy to follow and kept things simple, which I like. My first impressions of the actual headphones were that they would be really comfortable to wear, the headband has a cushioned section, as do the earphones. I also loved the colour we had chosen; the Pepper Penguin are a minty blue green. The wireless headphones are also available in a coral colour with a cute Olive the Owl design, and a black and white Pippin the Panda version.

I read the instructions and popped the headphones on to charge prior to their first use. It says in the manual that a full charge takes 2 hours but that gives you up to 38 hours of total playtime. The instructions are really clear with regards to charging, a small red LED light will come on and then stay on until the headphones are fully charged. This makes it easy to know when they are ready to use, the same LED will flash red when the headphones are low on battery and need recharging.

Once charged, which took about an hour the first time, we set about trying to connect the headphones to our device. With products in the past, I have had to try multiple times to connect, and it has been really tricky, but that was not the case with these headphones. Once the Bluetooth on our device was turned on we had to turn on the headphones. This was simple, push and hold the power button for about 3 seconds until the LED went blue and then we searched for ‘PB Penguin HP’ on the devices list, it appeared almost immediately and that was it.

The controls on the headphones were easy to understand and use. There is one toggle button on the right earphone which controls the volume and track number. Pressing the button up or down controls the volume, and left or right skips the track forward or back. The power button can be used to pause and restart the music by pressing it and then letting go. On the left earphone there in an AUX point to allow you to share music by connecting another set of headphones. Great if you have two people sharing one device. I loved the fact that the headphones were decibel limited to protect my child’s hearing, it is easy to listen to music too loudly without even realising it, and setting then to the World Health Organisation limit of 85db means that thankfully can’t happen. I was also very impressed with the working range the headphones have, it says in the manual that the working range is 8-10 metres, we left the device downstairs at the back of the house and went upstairs to the front and the headphones stayed connected the entire time. Great if you don’t want children moving around whilst holding a device, much less chance of things getting dropped and broken this way, plus you can keep an eye on what they are listening to.

The headphones are adjustable to allow children from 3 years upwards to achieve a comfortable fit, they also fold in at both sides to allow you to pop them away in the carry bag, which also fits both the USB and AUX leads so everything can be kept safely together, and it doesn’t take up a huge amount of space whilst still being portable. This will be a real bonus when we are travelling as it will take up less space and keep all the bits in one place.

Once we had tried the headphones, I had a quick look around the Planet Buddies website and found they didn’t just do headphones. They also sell Bluetooth speakers, cushion stands for tablets, wired headphones, smartphone holders, light switch stickers and more, all with the adorable animal designs which not only look cute but also raise awareness of animals which are endangered or vulnerable around the world. Prior to testing this product I had not heard of Planet Buddies but I will definitely be ordering from them now I know what the company stand for, and if the quality of their wireless headphones is any indication of their other products I think I will be very happy with any purchases. Their prices are very competitive and they offer free tracked delivery within 1-5 days, plus they have a 30 day returns policy. All that and they help raise awareness and money to protect animals from extinction, what’s not to love?

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £39.99

This product can be purchased from Planet Buddies here.