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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a nearly indestructible pair of on ear headphones built for very young kids in a classroom or car-seat setting, choose HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones Kids Foam; if you need a lightweight, adjustable on ear headphone that also makes calls or pauses music with an in-line mic and remote, choose Skullcandy Icon 180.
• HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones Kids Foam — biggest strength: a single piece of soft EVA foam that is BPA-free, non-toxic and flexible, plus a hard 85 dB cap and a chew-resistant braided cord built with small children in mind.
• HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones Kids Foam — biggest trade-off: it is a wired, passive-noise headphone with no microphone and no media controls, and it is aimed at ages 3 and up, so older kids and teens will outgrow the fit and the look fast.
• Skullcandy Icon 180 — biggest strength: an on-ear design with a headband that adjusts from 12–18 cm, an in-line microphone with play, pause and skip controls, and an 85 dB limiter that keeps listening at a safe ceiling.
• Skullcandy Icon 180 — biggest trade-off: the earpads use faux leather, plastic and silicone rather than one-piece foam, and there is no active noise cancellation — only the natural seal of an on-ear cup.
• Who each pick is for: HamiltonBuhl for parents, teachers and therapists buying for toddlers and early grade-schoolers; Skullcandy for tweens, teens and adults who want a cheap, comfortable wired headphone for school, travel and everyday listening.
The Flex‑Phones Kids Foam is a product designed around one idea: surviving children. The entire headphone is molded from a single piece of EVA foam, which is why it bends, twists and bounces back instead of snapping the way a plastic headband does. That construction is also why it is BPA-free and non-toxic — a meaningful detail when the headphone is going to end up in a mouth sooner or later. The brand states it is certified to major USA and international child safety testing standards, and lists it for children ages 3 and up.
Audio-wise, this is a deliberately conservative headphone. The 32 ohm impedance and dynamic driver cover a 20Hz–20kHz frequency range, but the stated sensitivity is capped at 85 dB — a hard volume ceiling so young, developing ears never get blasted. There is also a snap-on extension band that tightens the fit for smaller heads, which is the sort of thing that matters when you are buying for a three-year-old and a seven-year-old at the same time. The cable is a 4-foot Dura-Cord: PVC-jacketed, braided nylon, and specifically built to resist chewing, with a standard 3.5mm TRS stereo plug on the end.
Who should buy it: parents of preschoolers and early grade-schoolers, teachers stocking a classroom or listening center, and anyone buying for a child who has destroyed cheaper headphones before. The passive noise cancellation is simply the physical seal of the foam cups — fine for a quiet classroom, not a substitute for real isolation on a plane.
Skullcandy Icon 180: Who It's For
The Icon 180 takes the opposite approach. It is a conventional wired on-ear headphone in a cement colorway, with earpads made from faux leather, plastic and silicone, and a headband that adjusts across a 12–18 cm range. That adjustment range is the headline feature — Skullcandy explicitly frames it as one headphone that fits all ages, which is a real advantage in a house with more than one kid, or for an adult who wants a light pair for the commute.
It also carries the same 85 dB maximum volume limiter as the HamiltonBuhl, so the safe-listening promise holds here too. Where it pulls ahead for older users is the cable: there is a built-in microphone plus play, pause and skip controls right on the wire, so you can take a call or change tracks without pulling out your phone. Controls are push-button and touch-based, and the headphone connects over a standard 3.5mm jack.
The trade-offs are honest ones. There is no active noise cancellation and no noise control at all — you get whatever the on-ear seal gives you. The listed sensitivity is 109 dB, which tells you the driver itself is capable of far more output than the limiter allows, so the 85 dB ceiling is doing real work rather than being a natural limit of the hardware. It weighs 145.5 grams, light enough for long sessions but noticeably more headphone than the foam Flex‑Phones. It is listed for teens, and Skullcandy backs it with a one-year manufacturer warranty.
Who should buy it: tweens, teens and adults who want one wired on-ear headphone for school, study, travel and casual listening, and who care about having a mic and remote on the cable. Who should skip it: anyone buying for a toddler or a child who chews on cables, and anyone who needs genuine noise isolation.
• Best for very young children (ages 3+) → HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones Kids Foam. The one-piece EVA foam build and BPA-free, non-toxic materials are designed specifically for that age group.
• Best for older kids, teens and adults → Skullcandy Icon 180. The 12–18 cm adjustable headband and on-ear cups fit a much wider range of heads.
• Best for taking calls and controlling music → Skullcandy Icon 180. The in-line microphone with play, pause and skip controls has no equivalent on the HamiltonBuhl.
• Best for surviving abuse → HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones Kids Foam. A single molded foam piece plus a chew-resistant braided nylon Dura-Cord beats a conventional plastic-and-faux-leather build for durability with small kids.
• Best for safe volume limiting → a tie, on paper. Both are engineered with an 85 dB maximum, so neither wins this category outright.
• Best for a snug fit on a small head → HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones Kids Foam. The snap-on extension band is made for exactly that.
• Best for travel and everyday carry → Skullcandy Icon 180. At 145.5 g with a folding-friendly on-ear format and a standard 3.5mm AUX plug, it is the more conventional grab-and-go pair.
• Best for quiet environments only → either. Both rely on passive isolation, so neither is the right pick for blocking out airplane or train noise.
In my opinion, the right answer depends entirely on who is wearing them. If the listener is a toddler or early grade-schooler, I would buy the HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones Kids Foam — the single-piece EVA foam construction, the BPA-free materials and the chew-resistant cord are built for the way small children actually treat headphones, and the snap-on extension band solves the fit problem. If the listener is a tween, teen or adult, I would buy the Skullcandy Icon 180: the 12–18 cm adjustable headband, the in-line mic and media controls, and the lighter on-ear fit make it the more useful everyday headphone, and it keeps the same 85 dB safety ceiling. Different buyers, different picks — I would not swap one for the other.
how to clean on ear headphones
For the Skullcandy Icon 180, the earpads are faux leather, plastic and silicone, so they wipe down easily with a soft, slightly damp cloth — no soap soaking, and let them air dry fully before use. The HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones are EVA foam, which is non-porous and BPA-free, so a damp cloth works there too; avoid saturating the foam or the driver area. In both cases, never submerge the headphones or run liquid into the 3.5mm jack.
how to fit on ear headphones
On-ear headphones rest against the outside of your ear rather than around it, so the cups should sit flat and seal lightly without pressing hard. On the Skullcandy Icon 180, slide the headband to your size within its 12–18 cm adjustment range until the cups sit level and comfortable. On the HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones, snap on the included extension band for a more snug fit on a smaller child's head.
how to ear headphones
If you mean which way they go on: both of these are wired on-ear models with a standard 3.5mm TRS stereo plug, so left and right are set by the cable and the cup markings — plug in, seat the cups on your ears, and adjust the band. The Flex‑Phones are molded foam and largely self-orienting, while the Icon 180 has a clearly adjustable headband you size once and forget.
how to open ear headphones
Neither of these is an open-ear design — the HamiltonBuhl Flex‑Phones are foam in-ear/on-ear cups and the Skullcandy Icon 180 is a closed on-ear headphone, so "opening" them is not part of normal use. Both are meant to be worn as-is, plugged into a 3.5mm jack, and stored without disassembly. If a cup or pad comes loose, do not force it — check the manufacturer's documentation rather than prying the housing apart.
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