In-the-Ear Headsets I was interested to read your article on in-the-ear headsets in the February 2011 issue as I converted to an ITE system 3 1/2 years ago. I fly a turbonormalized Cirrus SR22. At Sun-n-Fun 2007 I bought both the Quiet Tech Halo and the Clarity Aloft with the intention of testing them to evaluate them against my Bose headsets. Going into my test I felt the Bose would be superior and the Clarity Aloft would beat the Halo, based on appearances. I typically fly 200 to 275 hours a year and my flying consists of a mixture of short local flights and long cross country trips. On several occasions, I have flown long days back to back and I remember one trip when I flew out to Arizona to pick up my son and returned to my home base at Marthas Vineyard the next morning. That was four days of long legs and the Halo was as invisibly comfortable on the last leg as it was on the first. Comparing the Halo to the Clarity Aloft, the Clarity Aloft seems more robust at first glance, but in real life, the Halo has been a stellar performer. The Halo system seems to fit against my neck more comfortably and when turning my head, the Halo doesnt catch against my collar or rub against the seat back. The long tubes are there for the user who wants to keep the Halo on their shoulders. Trimming the tubes is easy and there is no mystery to their official length. The real test however is noise reduction and microphone performance. Here the Quiet Tech Halo was a standout. It offered noticeably better performance than the Clarity Aloft in both areas. I remember the early testing I did and I was shocked to find that the sound quality and noise reduction was superior to my Bose headsets. I kept switching back and forth from the Bose to the Halo to confirm what I was hearing. One time, I caught the cord under my seat track and nicked the cord. I had to return the Halo for service. Returning to my Bose was like torture. The Halo was returned as new and quickly. I now own four Halos and keep the Bose for those who want more traditional hearing protection. Even after the two-year warranty period has passed, Halo support has been perfect. Phil continues to stand behind the product fully, with customer satisfaction his primary concern. I wish other manufacturers would be half as keen to follow his example. As with other new things, the foam earpieces become second nature after a bit of use. Myron Garfinkle, More on Sunglasses For some time Ive felt that the advantages to wearing vision enhancing sunglasses make them an essential safety tool, so when I saw your sunglasses review, I thought I was in for an education. Unfortunately, I found your review disappointing when it failed to educate your readers in at least two important topics. Your review didnt separate sunglasses that filter all parts of the visual spectrum equally (known as neutral-density filtration, which are always grey lenses) from those that claim to enhance visual perception. The latter is often referred to as Blue-Blocking and are generally rose or yellow tinted. While these claims of visual enhancement may seem like marketing hype, skiers and professional drivers wouldnt be caught without them. In daylight fog, snow, haze 
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Letters: March 2011
I was interested to read your article on in-the-ear headsets in the February 2011 issue as I converted to an ITE system 3 1/2 years ago. I fly a turbonormalized Cirrus SR22. At Sun-n-Fun 2007 I bought both the Quiet Tech Halo and the Clarity Aloft with the intention of testing them to evaluate them against my Bose headsets. Going into my test I felt the Bose would be superior and the Clarity Aloft would beat the Halo, based on appearances.