Hearing protection is a concern many riders don't take seriously. I admit I'm one of them. Most earplugs I've found are uncomfortable, and half the time they fall out when I put my helmet on. Earbuds have the same issue and don't provide any hearing protection. Helmet audio isn't that great either. The little speakers are either blasting to get sound through your earplugs, over wind noise, or both, as I've discovered with my Nuviz heads-up display. RiderBuds promise to solve all of these problems in one small package.

Maurice Dziubinski experienced these problems himself. He searched high and low to find a solution, without success. Finally, he decided that if he wanted something done right, he should do it himself. Maurice interviewed 1,000 riders in the process of developing an all-in-one solution for motorcycle audio. The solution is surprisingly simple, and it's amazing that no one's thought of it before.

Essentially, RiderBuds are small earbuds that double as earplugs. They squeeze into your ear canal just like regular earplugs but also contain tiny earphones. These generate the sounds you want to hear — music, navigation instructions, intercom — inside of the hearing protection, further improving the quality of the audio. You won't have to crank your headset or phone to maximum volume just to hear it.

 

RiderBuds are also extremely short and don't stick out beyond your ear when you wear them. This ensures that you don't knock them out of your ears when you put your helmet on like I always do. Their small size also keeps them comfortable by removing the pressure caused by helmet padding over your ears. They are also quite resistant to being pulled out of your ear due to their tight fit. RiderBuds are also built tough to withstand the rigors of motorcycling, unlike those cheap $10 earphones you picked up at Walmart.

The prototype RiderBuds have already worked well, and there is an IndieGogo campaign to fund putting them into full production. During the first day, it made more than double its original $30,000 goal, but there are still 13 days left to get in on this campaign. They're not cheap at $149 (early bird pricing at $129 is almost sold out as I write this), but you can't put a price on your hearing, and to get superior audio quality in the same package looks well worth it. We're looking forward to try out some RiderBuds for ourselves.

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