A couple of months ago I was looking for a cheap (but not too cheap!) pair of in ear headphones, hence when I spotted these in HMV they got added to my basket.

*Pricing and Packaging*

I think I paid £7 for these headphones, but it is possible to buy them elsewhere from about a fiver. What originally drew me to these headphones was the range of colours that they come in. Now I know colour isn't the best way to decide on things like electronic devices, but these headphones were in the right price range and purple!

The packaging is a sort of clear plastic blister which allows you to see the product. I had to use scissors to open the packet, which I guess isn't too much of an issue. The amount of packaging was reasonable, I didn't feel as though I was throwing toooo much plastic into the bin.

*Sound Quality*

Now, these aren't an amazing pair of headphones if you try to compare them to the higher priced end of the market, but for the price and what I use them for they are more than adequate. The sound doesn't come across as tinny and is nice and clear. When using these with my laptop I put the volume up full to test the quality. Even on full volume the sound quality was reasonable. Too loud for my ears mind so I didn't keep it up at the high volume for very long! But yea, both with the mp3 player and my laptop the sound quality is more than adequate for me.

*Comfort*

This is the big one for me. As far as sound quality goes I'm good so long as the sound is clear and isn't tinny. I am guessing the 'Gumy' name comes from the gummyness of the in ear headphones. I've tried some really cheap (think pound shops) headphones as well as ones similar priced to these ones and have always found the hard plastic ear pieces to be hurting my ears within 5 minutes. With these headphones there is a softness to the ear pieces and I can wear them for ages without them hurting my ears. The ear pieces are made from a soft rubber (so not quite gum) but the name of the product does imply the softness. Each earpiece is designed for your ear shape - so the one meant for the left ear has an L on it whereas the other has an R for the right. The shape of each piece adds to the comfort.

As well as the ear pieces being comfier than other earphones I've tried in the past these headphones also have a decent length cable on them (approx 1 meter) which also adds to comfort as allows for movement and not being too restricted to whatever device you are using. As I use mine with my laptop quite a lot I find this a great feature of the product. It is also possible to lengthen/shorten the length of the cable going to each individual earpiece by sliding the little rubber band style thing on the cable.

*Summary*

These are decent headphones for the money. I refuse to spend too much on a pair of headphones considering what I actually use them for. These ones are a nice compromise between price, sound quality and comfort. They are also pretty durable. Mine have been bashed about a bit, but still work as well as the day I bought them. The range of colours is a great feature too - pick your favourite colour or simply a colour to match your device that you are using them with!

I do appreciate that there are many better headphones out there, but I would say these are the best ones I have found in this price range, hence why I have given these 5 stars.