UPDATE: The Oregon Aero company have since emailed me and said that the crescent stickers were never meant to be included in the pack, and that is why there was no documentation for how to apply them properly.
The Oregon Aero Gaming Headset Kit is an exciting piece of tech. It’s designed to be installed on most gaming headsets without the need for special tools or wiring. It has a few pros and cons, and it is worth discussing for you readers, here and now.
Oregon Aero Gaming Headset Kit Review: QUALITY
The Oregon Aero upgrade kit is deliberately made to avoid damaging the electronic components in the ear cups. The manual also claims it’s packaged to military standards. Straight out of the bag it seems kind of daunting and not too helpful in terms of requirements. It tells you first how to remove the existing pads carefully, without breaking it. It shows you how to then slide the seals over the flanges of the cups. The manufacturing of the pads is solid, very sturdy and at first feels relatively comfortable. They don’t slip at all, but they do heat up.
Setup
It’s easy to remove and apply the new pads, and they seem to fit almost perfectly. Prior to that, you must insert the filters behind the pads. This can be fiddly as hell and the very first time I did it incorrectly. The manual isn’t all that helpful wth its diagrams or wording. Initially, I stuck the filters on the outside of the pads using the provided stickers.
This was wrong, and I later went back and realized my folly. The stickers provided are there to hold the filters in place behind the pads as you slip them over. There’s a little bit of wiggle room, but ultimately it fits over the cups well enough. The next step is to slide the top head guard up into the top area. You can slide it in, and while it feels like tension could hold the thing in on it’s own, it has a Velcro strap that goes over the actual headset. The material for the strap feels very secure and fits over the headset snuggly. You want to do it up as tight as possible; to prevent it from slipping at all.
The kit comes with these little sticker-like crescents that are clearly designed to go on the filter behind the pads. At least that’s all I could think that it was for. It’s not mentioned anywhere and the first time I applied them incorrectly. I found that to be rather frustrating. You have to be careful when applying them as well, as the glue is very fragile, and it’s easy to apply them poorly. You only get one do-over for one cup, as the kit comes with two spare stickers.
COMFORT
I’ve been wearing the pads non-stop for about a week now, with regular seven to nine-hour sessions. I have noticed a slight difference in comfort. Whereas my ears used to hurt after about six hours of playing, they now seem to last roughly about nine hours. My hair gets more tangled due to the sticky pads for the filters, but there is a noticeable difference in terms of heat generation. The headset feels cooler and it is nice to not have bits of them sticking to my face anymore.
My last pads died pretty severely and were coming apart with pieces sticking to my face. The noise cancelation is reasonably good, encapsulating the sound and providing an atmospheric, immersive experience. The cup pads are made of a pressure sensitive “visco-elastic” foam core. The noise reducing foam initially feels quite weird at first, but the foam conforms to the head over time and with heat, according to the manual.
PRICE
The price of $62—remember these are just headset pads, is a bit steep. The comfort level is better than what I had on my headset prior. While it’s a decent replacement for what I already had, to me personally I can’t justify the price and my ears do still eventually hurt after close to ten hours—five more than was previously possible. The headaches are gone, which is a huge plus. The item comes with a receipt condition, allowing customers to return the kit to the place of purchase within 30 days, as well as two year a limited warranty
Oregon Aero Gaming Headset Kit Review: CONCLUSION
Final verdict? Ultimately the Oregon Aero Gaming Kit has allowed me to wear my Logitech G35s longer than I used to. My headset doesn’t seem to get as hot as it once did, but it does still heat up uncomfortably.
They may give people with long hair some issues, and while I wouldn’t recommend them for players who put in really long gaming sessions, they are suitable for short stretches and do provide more comfort over the default G35 pads. The removal of headaches in itself for me is worth it. In that capacity, the price is probably still a bit much to ask but if you can spare the money it is worth it.
Alternatively, it is worth noting that the asking price is a similar price range to an average complete gaming headset. More than likely though, people with professional high-end gaming headsets will consider this an investment. As for me though, I can’t rate it higher.
