Buy a headset?

[syko]

Hey everyone, I'm a student pilot with a little less than 20 hrs, coming up on solo soon. I was thinking of investing in a headset (maybe a David Clark H10-30?), even though I don't absolutely need one yet, since the school provides them free, for now. Once I've got my license, it'll be $10 per flight to rent one, and they're pretty crappy.

Think I should just wait, or get one now? And which one to get, when I eventually buy one? Thanks.

[Jeff S KDTW]

If you plan on finishing and flying after getting your license (some people actual don't) and you can afford the headset now, go ahead and buy one now. No reason to wait.

Also, I'm a big proponent of active noise reduction (aka electronic noise cancellation) in headsets. I've owned a Lightspeed 3G 30, 3G 20, David Clark ENCs, and Bose. I will not go back to just passive noise reduction.

Your hearing is something you can't really get back, so protect it now.

Good luck in your training.

[bluesideup]

The only possible advantage to not wearing a headset is that way in the future the loss of hearing will be a good excuse not to respond to your nagging wife, kids whatever.