I thought I'd always travel with over-ear headphones—until now

For years, I never traveled without a pair of over-ear headphones. I figured the better noise canceling, longer battery life, and extra comfort made them essential for flying. But recently, I took a five-hour flight with both my JBL Tour One M3 headphones and my AirPods Pro 3. I expected to spend most of the trip wearing the JBL headphones. Instead, I barely used them.

After almost eight hours of travel, I realized I’d been packing over-ear headphones out of habit more than necessity. For the first time, I didn’t feel like they were essential for every trip.

My earbuds handled more than just the flight

From the moment I left home, my AirPods stayed in almost the entire journey, only coming out when I went through airport security.

I used ANC in the Uber to the airport, switched to Transparency mode in the terminal so I could hear boarding announcements and order a coffee, then turned ANC back on once I boarded the plane. I never found myself wishing for stronger noise canceling, but I still assumed my over-ear headphones would be more comfortable for the flight. So, after takeoff, I switched to my JBL Tour One M3.

Twenty minutes later, they were back in their case.

The over-ear headphones became less comfortable the longer I wore them

I fully expected my JBL Tour One M3 headphones to take over for the rest of the flight. I still enjoy using them; they’re among the better premium travel headphones I’ve tested. But once I put them on, I started noticing compromises I’d stopped thinking about over the years.

My neck pillow pushed against the ear cups whenever I leaned back, and every time I shifted in my seat, it slightly broke the seal around my ears. That made the noise canceling feel less consistent than it had with a proper fit. Before long, my ears also started to warm up.

None of these issues are unique to the JBL Tour One M3 headphones. They’re simply trade-offs that come with wearing over-ear headphones for long stretches of time. I switched back to my AirPods and left the JBL headphones in their case for the rest of the trip.

I’d been optimizing for the wrong part of travel

Before this trip, I’d always thought about travel as if the flight were the whole experience. In reality, the five-hour flight was only one part of an eight-hour day spent moving between Ubers, security lines, terminals, boarding gates, baggage claim, and another ride to the hotel. I’d been choosing headphones for a flight rather than a full travel day — and on a full travel day, convenience matters more than the absolute best noise canceling or the longest battery life. My AirPods switched between ANC and Transparency mode as the day demanded, and I never had to think about them once.

That doesn’t mean I’m done with over-ear headphones. They still make sense for plenty of trips, especially if battery life is your biggest priority, and I’ll still pack them for some long-haul flights. But this trip changed what I reach for first. For years, that was a pair of over-ear headphones. Now, for most travel days, it’s my earbuds.