Motorola Pulse Escape+ Bluetooth Headphones: Everything You Need and More

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf Motorola. I received a free unit so I could share my experience.

As a work-at-home writer, staying focused on work despite the chaos abounding in my home often means having to disengage myself mentally while remaining physically in the room. With playdates, video games, and the continuous onslaught of noise, I need to have a respite that provides me with the ability to focus. Music has always offered me that focus, so having the right set of noise-isolating headphones matters. However, I also need something portable that connects to multiple devices since my work regularly requires crossing from laptop to mobile device, whether it’s moving from music to taking a call or just doing a video conference call.

What is the sound on the Motorola Pulse Escape+ like?

I’ve played music since I was 8. However, I’m also old enough that I started out with tapes in a boom box as a kid. The idea of understanding “good sound” on headphones still occasionally seems foreign to me.

Luckily, I get to farm those things out to students. As an instructor at the University of Hartford, I have students enrolled in the elite music programs at the HARTT School. The other day before one of my classes, a student was upset she’d forgotten her high-priced headphones. We chatted for a few, and she explained that she’s fussy because she’s a music major, so nothing could compare to her $300 pair.

Cue me asking her to take a look at my brand spanking new Motorola Pulse Escape+ Bluetooth headphones. Once she had them on, I put on some classical music for her. I chose the group Bond because they’re a classical quartet who use electronic instruments. I figured this would be a good way to get a sense of the sound across multiple genres.

My student spent about five minutes listening to the music. When she took the headphones off, she said the sound was pretty good. She’d have preferred a higher bass level and that she could still hear through the noise isolation. I explained that I had the sound at about 30% because I didn’t want to blow out her ears.

I explained that the Motorola Pulse Escape+ had a price point of $69.99.

“Oh my god, they’re amazing for that. No, really. Amazing.”

Well, so, the sound is good for the price point. That’s coming from a fussy music major.

How is the noise isolation on the Motorola Pulse Escape+?

As far as my family is concerned? It’s terrible. As far as I’m concerned? It rocks. Why is this? When I’ve got the Motorola Bluetooth headset on I can’t hear them. My husband came home early the other day, and I was working on the couch with my Motorola Pulse Escape+ on. He came into the room, and I never heard him enter. I was too engrossed into what I was doing and even the dog barking didn’t register because the sound isolation had me ensconced in my own little world.

I can sit on the couch while my husband is watching whatever police procedural of the week he’s into and listen to music without being distracted by some terrible television show.

As I type, my part Jack Russell is yipping at the top of her lungs because the guy next door has construction going on. I can’t even hear her. I turned the volume up to about 70%, and it’s like I’m living in a magical world of solitude.

How does the Motorola Pulse Escape+ Bluetooth 4.1 Technology and Hands-Free Calling Work?

As a part-time instructor in a college, I’m on the move a lot. Half my life is spent moving from classroom to classroom. The other half of my time is spent in my home office. Writing for GeekMom means traveling to different places for press appointments.

In other words, I live a mobile life that requires easy-to-pack tech.

My Motorola wireless headset is perfect for my lifestyle. The Motorola Pulse Escape+ folds up nicely. Granted, I have a purse to carry around. However, they slide nicely into any workbag and fit neatly next to my laptop or tablet taking up a few inches of space. This is perfect when I need to use the Bluetooth technology to switch between laptop and phone for conversations.

The Bluetooth technology is both awesome and the one slight frustration I have with the Motorola Pulse Escape+. I love being connected to more than one device. I’m not tech savvy enough to want to take calls through my laptop. Plus, my Wi-Fi is kind of stupid, so it makes those calls difficult. Moreover, when I’m on the move, I want to listen to the downloaded music on my phone while also being able to do a video call with a client since I’m trying to conserve data. I love being able to have multiple devices connected, is what I’m saying. The Bluetooth technology does this brilliantly.

It does it so brilliantly, in fact, that if you’ve paired it with more than one device is it decidedly sad when it can’t connect to more than one at a given time. It keeps searching for a second device and then beeps annoyingly until you connect it. Since I normally have more than one device with me, that’s not so bad. When I shut down my laptop without disconnecting the Bluetooth, my Pulse Escape+ got confused and beeped until I found it another friend to play with.

In order to check out the calling abilities, I used my Motorola Pulse Escape+ headphones while on the phone with my mom. To understand this, you need to keep in mind my mother is 70 years old and often complains she can’t hear me. When she doesn’t complain, she asks the same question a bunch of times in a row.

The built-in microphone in the Motorola Pulse Escape+ got the Mom Seal of Approval. She specifically told me to tell everyone it was the clearest she could hear me in a while. The other part that’s nice? If we accidentally get disconnected because having my phone in my butt-pocket means I accidentally hang up, all I have to do is touch my ear cup to answer when she calls me back.

What Else Should I Know About the Motorola Pulse Escape+?

The headphones are listed as water resistant. Luckily, I haven’t dropped them in a toilet yet, so I can’t tell you the answer to that all-important question. I’ve worn them in drizzle with no consequences. However, I kind of love them too much to want to do a real test on them.

They offer 20 hours of wireless playtime. I’m the person who doesn’t like to be taken by surprise, so I haven’t really tested this yet. I’ve been so busy using them through the day then charging at night because I want to use them again that I didn’t test this part either. I probably work 8-10 straight hours at a time, and so far, they’ve done well.

Another nice factor is that they have up to 60-foot range of Bluetooth connection. Basically, for me, this means I can get up from my computer and get a cup of coffee without having to disconnect my music or worry about my call.

They’re mostly comfortable. I’ve got a tiny head, so nothing except kids’ headphones ever sits right on me. I also have a ton of piercings in my ears, which makes evaluating comfort a bit challenging. The ear cups do a good job of sitting around my piercings, but I have to put them on at a certain angle to keep them on my head and not have them pressure my industrial and cartilage piercings at the top or my gauging at the lobe. Then again, this is tricky for almost any headphone for me. However, it’s still something for that particular segment of our population that’s full of holes and metal to be aware of.

Are the Motorola Pulse Escape+ Worth the Money?

For $70, I don’t think you’re going to find anything else that meets your needs as well. In fact, my classroom of first years saw me wearing them and went off to Google them. When you’ve got a room of first year college kids at 9:15am looking something up? You know that it’s a sweet looking, sweet sounding product.

I’m in love. Even though this is a sponsored post where I received a free Motorola Pulse Escape+, I wanted to get a solid sense of the product so reached out to additional resources. They all confirmed what I thought: The Motorola Pulse Escape+ is pretty fabulous for the price point and certainly a great investment for someone who might lose something (you know, like a teenager). Plus? They look pretty cool.

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