To hell with the schmucks at the office who pointed fingers and doubled over with laughter as we walked around the building—Oakley’s Thump might look abominable, but the sound quality and build far surpassed our expectations, and this most unlikely of convergence devices comes in handy like no other MP3 player can.

The Thump is much lighter and more comfortable to wear than it looks. The glasses go on and come off effortlessly, thanks to adjustable earbuds that face your ear canals instead of resting inside them.

Although this design choice means you don’t get the same brawny bass punch that traditional earbuds deliver, bass notes were nonetheless clear and distinct, with lower frequencies sitting beautifully in the mix beneath crisp highs. Even the delicate reverb on one of our test tracks was reproduced with the same clarity as an iPod paired with Shure’s swank Ec3 earbuds.

This open-air design provides an important advantage: You can enjoy music and still hear warning shouts on the slopes (“Tree! Tree! Look out!”). The MP3 player’s control buttons are equally well designed: You’ll find them placed on the tops of the frame arms, with just enough space between them to be easily manipulated by even gloved fingers.

The Thump connects via a USB 2.0 miniport, loads up through Windows Explorer (yes, you can transfer data files as well), and 512MB is just enough capacity for a day at the park. The lenses are absolutely free of distortion even at the extreme corners, and they flip up for quick peeks at another skier’s butt. The Thump doesn’t support a continuous repeat mode, so it was difficult to get an exact read on battery life, but our informal gauge jibes with Oakley’s six-hour rating.

Whether you’re snowboarding or playing bocce with the crusty Italians in San Francisco’s North Beach, the Oakley Thump is a smart, unique gizmo unlike any other MP3 player we’ve tested. Still, it falls far short of its $495 price tag. At that ridiculous price, we’d just as soon take our chances with an iPod Mini and a fat life-insurance policy.
—Logan Decker

Month Reviewed: September 2005
Verdict: 7
URL: www.oakley.com