Cat-Ears AirStreamz Slim™ Cycling Wind Noise Reducer

Like: They work. I bought them to to protect the microphone on my bone conduction headphones while cycling. The microphone is right next to my ear. Protecting the ear from the wind buffering ALSO protects the microphone and makes my callers (especially my wife) happy as they can hear my voice clearly and the wind noise is greatly reduced. Any doubts? Buy a pair and use only one. The difference between the protected ear and the other is AMAZING! I think getting multiple pairs of different colors for the same price would make the price more reasonable. Black probably matches everyone's helmet straps and the straps almost disappear. But if you've got multiple helmets (a) colors will make it easier to see the strips are in place on THIS helmet, (b) there'd be a place for extra straps, and (c) multiple straps means you've got spares for when a pair is being washed or is misplaced. (They're small and black: it will be easy for them to go astray.

Have used them for a few weeks. Anecdotally, I feel like they reduce the wind noise by ~50-60% depending on the wind direction and how fast you're going. Hard to judge how well they work until you take them off in midst of a ride and/or ride with just one, then it's easy to hear the difference. I have the 'slim' version, others may be different. Easy to install, they look a little goofy but not too bad. I wear prescription glasses and they're okay with them, as are regular sunglasses. I worried about how they would absorb my sweat on hot days and if they would become saturated and ineffective but they worked well throughout our 90-95 degree summer days. Worth a try in my opinion.

I live in a very windy area in Southern California. Headwinds are daily thing no matter the time of year. Got tired of it after years of cycling in this. I cannot express what a huge difference have made. I think I got lucky because I have a beard and long hair so the pads are not as noticeable. But even then, I don’t think they caused the aesthetics of a helmet to look too much worse besides, I’d rather look just a little more goofy than ever hear extreme headwind noise again they must have for any cyclist.

You have to keep your head straight and not exceed 15 mph for it to be useful. If there is a side wind and your head is tilted then it is not effective at all.

Ordering this on a whim, I’ll admit I did not have high expectations for this product when I ordered it. Bottom line it works, follow the instructions and it will reduce the wind buffeting and turbulence in your ears. On a 20 mile 18mph road ride with cross winds it did reduce the noise caused by the turbulence in the ears. Turn your head sideways or tilt head down to sprint lets the wind back in. No surprise there. You do need to have your straps tight enough so that the Catears are snugly against your cheeks. If not, air gets under the fur causing turbulence in the ears and defeats the purpose. If you have a crosswind, you will hear turbulence in the ear on the windward side as the air will not be deflected but the Catears. Surprising how much sound it removes while headed into the wind or on a windless day. It's not completely quiet, but it does as the company promotes-significantly reduces the in ear turbulence/noise in the ear. It did seem to make the cars and other cyclists sounds louder the first time I tried it. I heard a cyclist slip into my draft before I saw his shadow. In the wind, I normally would not have been able to tell. Surprisingly good results - worth a try. Yes; your shadow makes you look like Elvis in a helmet.

I really wanted these to work. Honestly. Instead, they’re just a waste of money that make you look (at best) like an Elvis impersonator. I feel like I could write a lot about why these didn’t work with my specific helmet but… ultimately? There’s not much point. If your helmet has straps that are anchored in the middle of the helmet shell (as is the case with the POC Octal MIPS)? The straps will never sit close enough to your head in front of your ears for these to do anything. Maybe the original ‘furry’ cat ears work better. I don’t know. But I followed the instructions and tried fitting the slims in both orientations. The difference in wind noise w/ and w/o (if there is one at all) is so subtle that it’s not worth the goofy looks.

This product works pretty well. It's easy to install and use, and the wind noise is in a comfortable range now. The product reduces wind noise noticeably, but not the majority. I started riding a fast pedal-assist electric bike for my commute a few months ago and noticed the large amount of wind noise going ~28 MPH. I started to get concerned because it's easy to sustain that speed for a long time and I realized I might be risking loss of hearing. So I did a little internet research to learn that wind noise on a bike is probably above 80-90 dB above 20 MPH. I bought the Cat-Ears AirStreamz Slim and installed one side in under a minute and pocketed the other one on my first ride to hear the difference, which was noticeable. I guessed it dropped the perceived noise level by about a half--a purely subjective measurement, of course. The graph shown as a product image shows about -12 dbA attenuation at 30 MPH for AirStreamz (-10 dBA is usually perceived by humans as half). With both of the Cat-Ears on my helmet the noise feels much more like when I was riding at about ~15-20 MPH, my non-electric bike commute speed; I can live with that. I'd give the product 4.5 stars if I could: the pair works a little bit less effectively than I hoped (so perhaps I'll later try the standard / non-"slim" product), but it's a good value for a set-and-forget solution and gets me most of what I need.

I have 2 sets of Cat-Ears for different helmets. I can't say with absolutely certainly that wind noise while riding is reduced appreciably. I think it might be, so I use them. I combine this with Shokz bone conduction headphones to listen to music and podcasts while I ride. I still have to turn up the Shokz to near max. But unless it's very windy or I'm ripping downhill at 25+ mph, I can hear quite fine.

My current helmet doesn't work well with these as the straps aren't close to my face being a mountain bike helmet. I put my biking glasses over the straps and it blocks out so much wind noise. Not all but enough that I'm not deaf after a decent ride. Makes hearing traffic and my surrounding much easier. To get the best out of them you must have glasses and a helmet that has the straps close to your head. Without these they are useless.

These flashed up on Facebook so I thought I'd take a chance. I have an hour each way commute, mostly in sight of the North Sea so it's often quite windy. The day before these arrived there was a 25mph head-wind for most of my journey. Deafening roar, as normal. Getting home to these, I fitted them. Not really sure which fitting was "right", I tried one of each. The next morning I set off in slightly less windy conditions, with the left and right sides differently attached. Quite simply, the noise level compared to the previous day was amazing- and noticeably different from ear to ear. Having worked out the best setting for me, I refitted the Airstreamz for my return journey. As described in the ad, you can hear much more around you. I ride country roads, often at night, and hearing vehicles as much as a quarter of a mile away made a real difference on the ride home. As a nice fringe benefit I could also hear more of the sounds of nature. Even though the wind was less in play, the wider benefits of improved hearing were immense. I'd estimate a 60% reduction in noise. I know some reviews mention price. In a lot of pubs you won't get 3 drinks for the cost of these. I pride myself on being a bit tight, but see these as a great purchase. I've already recommended them to my mates.

Seitdem ich ein S-Pedelec fahre (seit ca. 3 Jahren) stören mich die lauten Windgeräusche dabei extrem. Sind diese schon auf einem normalen Fahrrad bei rund 25-30 km/h bereits durchaus nervig, so macht es spätestens auf dem S-Pedelec bei 45 km/h keinen Spaß mehr. Das bestialisch laute dröhnen des Windes in den Ohren macht das Hören mit Kopfhörern in für das Gehör unschädlichen Lautstärken unmöglich und auch sonst hört man vom Verkehr rundum fast nichts, was durchaus für Schreckmomente sorgt, wenn einen ein Auto auf der Landstraße aus dem Nichts heraus von hinten überholt. Seit Jahren suche ich eine Lösung dafür, habe einen teuren Helm mit Visor gekauft, Noise Cancelling Kopfhörer probiert, ein Stirnband aufgesetzt und nichts hat das Problem in einem nennenswerten Maße besser gemacht - das Ergebnis blieb immer weit hinter meinen Erwartungen. Nun kaufe ich mir ein paar Wollknäuel um 15 Euro, schnalle sie mir um das Helmband, setzte meine Erwartungen niedrig an und siehe da - die Windgeräusche sind mit einem Schlag gefühlt geviertelt! Die Dinger funktionieren - sehr zu meiner Überraschung, da ich mir vorher bereits testweise Schaumstoffetzen um den Helmriemen gewickelt hatte ohne einen nennenswerten Effekt zu erzielen. Das verwendete Material ist offensichtlich entscheidend für die Funktionalität. Fazit: dringende Kaufempfehlung!

These things actually work I wear hearing aids and it was driving me nuts with wind noise I had to turn my head to hear what the rider beside me was saying, today I finally got to use them in a proper situation and I was blown away with how good they are, the only time I heard the wind anything close to the same as before was riding into a strong headwind, and they don't look dorky my mate thought they were sweat guards which they also do well. If wind noise annoys you GETTEM THEY WORK. just make sure you wear your sunnies on the outside of them otherwise the wind will get under them.

Definitely reduces wind noise to and from my earphone when cycling. You get the best results if you play with the angle to make sure the pad is deflecting air away from you. Not perfect but reasonably effective and the price is right.