Having customers build their own cheap furniture helped IKEA build an empire. So a Canadian company hopes the same approach will work when it comes to custom-fitted earbuds.
When using earbud-style headphones, you typically want to block any other sounds from coming in, and the most effective way to do that is with a custom set designed to perfectly fit your ear. But those are also very expensive, so most consumer make do with the included silicon inserts that fit well enough.
Sharkfin’s approach takes advantage of the years we all spent mashing up wads of Play-doh as kids. For $US5 you get a set of grey and black soft-squishable material that when combined, chemically react to form a flexible silicone that won’t lose its shape.
Once you’ve mashed them together you only have five minutes to roll the material out into a snake, wrap it around your earbud, and then stick it in your ear. But once it’s hardened you’re left with custom fitted earbuds which only cost you $US5. They don’t exactly look amazing, but for $US5 who cares as long as they work as promised. [Sharkfin]