Thanks to Razer for providing GWW with this review unit.
- Good battery life
- Attractive design
- Cables are a bit long, which affects comfort
With an MSRP of $99 (although you can find it for 25% less from Amazon and others), the Hammerhead BT (Bluetooth) is an excellent value. It’s well built, attractive, and has good sound quality and battery life. Importantly, it also comes with a carrying pouch and MicroUSB charging cable. You can also pair it to devices running either Android or iOS.
…the Hammerhead felt great and sounded really good.
The Good
Generally, I use headphones while exercising or for work calls. In these scenarios, the Hammerhead performs well. I like the quality of the sound coming through the earbuds and the weight of the device around my ears and neck. Included in the box is a protective carrying pouch that is firm all the way around. Inside you’ll find room for your Hammerhead as well as a charging cable. I was also able to fit my car key and ID in it, which is helpful while I’m exercising and need to shed weight. While at the gym, I place my gear in a bag at the center of the weight room. With these Bluetooth headphones I was able to move about the whole weight room without signal degradation. At the furthest I was roughly 25 feet from my phone, which is what I paired the Hammerhead to.
Something Razer once again nailed is the aesthetic. These are gorgeous headphones, and I don’t think that’s easy to pull off as there isn’t a lot of space for flare. But the Hammerhead represents Razer’s brand very well. If you’re into their black and green colors, like I am, then you’ll find the Hammerhead a natural product in the Razer family. Additionally, the back of the earbuds light up green with the Razer snake logo while they’re on and paired. Pairing was easy as well. You simply hold the button between volume up (+) or down (-) for a few seconds and then select the Hammerhead from your phone settings. I had no issues with the Bluetooth dropping or skipping.
Most of my time testing the Hammerhead was in a professional settings. I am generally on 3-4 conference calls a day, plus unscheduled calls that pop up for a few minutes at a time. So whether a tested phone call was 30 minutes or 5 hours, the Hammerhead felt great and sounded really good. In an era where many phones, such as the Pixel 2 XL (mine) do not have a traditional headphone jack, we consumers have to look to either dongles or a Bluetooth interface.
The Bad
The Hammerhead shares the same challenge as other wireless headphones (note: not wireless earbuds): cord management. Some headphones use plastic braids or pins to help tie unneeded cords together so your headphones fit snugly around your neck. With the Hammerhead, there is a magnetic clasp around the base, which is the center of the headphones. This works perfectly for bundling up the device and put it away in your bag or pocket. But when I tried to tuck some of the cord into it and then use the headphones, I found this uncomfortable and unreliable while performing high-intensity exercise, such as jumping rope and sprinting. That doesn’t mean the Hammerhead is uncomfortable for everyone. In fact, while wearing them with the cords fully un-bundled, I had no problem working out with them as long as I did low-kinetic exercise such as a stair-stepper, elliptical or stationary weightlifting.
Who is this For?
If you need headphones with good battery life (7-8 hours) that has good sound reproduction, and you don’t mind a little extra cord around your neck – these are for you.