Skullcandy Indy Fuel & Push Ultra Earbuds Review

If you are going to spend £110 and £120 respectively on a set of “True Wireless Earbuds”, they’d better be amazing. They should stick in your ears no matter what, sound incredible, be comfortable and have great battery life, but these Skullcandy ones… just don’t. Lets run you through them both, but first, if you haven’t already, consider subscribing for more videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

So what have we got here? Well, there’s the £110 Indy Fuel buds, airpod-esque looking things with a pretty standard airpod style case. Then there is the £120 Push Ultra, the “sport” buds that feature an IP67 rating to keep your sweat out them, compared to the IP55 on the Indy’s. Both of these come with wireless charging cases, although you can save a whopping £30 and get the non-wireless charging case for the Indy buds instead.

Lets start with the worst offender, the Push Ultras. First off, they are huge. Not only is the “moldable support” pretty thick, but the actual headphone is a grandpa pill.. What’s worse, is the ear tip. It’s got an airpod tip that’s a fixed size with no way to swap it to something smaller, and doesn’t fit in mine, nor my partners ears. It doesn’t make a seal, ruining any hope of sound quality. That also means they are useless at staying in my ears. The strap just about keeps them on my ear, but the bud itself quickly flaps in the wind at the sign of any motion.

It does have 3 buttons, but they are stiff and behind silicone to waterproof them meaning you often need two hands to press them which isn’t going to be an option when running or cycling or any other sport. 

The case is pretty big too, with quite a frustrating design making it an overly complicated process to just put them in, plus the “moldable support” needs to be un-molded to get it back in the case. Why?

And then, there is the sound quality. Partially because they don’t actually fit in my ears, and partially because they are waterproofed skullcandy’s, they sound dreadful. My partner described them as sounding “quite far away”, and she’s right. They are compressed, distant and frankly inaudible when I take my hands away since they don’t sit in my ears at all. 

So, the “sports” ones are naff, but maybe the standard ones are better? Well, yes and no. They are much more comfortable, thanks to their standard design with silicone ear tips and an in-ear brace. They do look just as dumb as airpods, but they fit fine, come with a small selection of tips and supports, and are a much sleeker, lighter, and comfortable affair. They also stuck in my ears remarkably well even in motion which bodes well for even use while keeping active. 

Sound quality is better too, with a reasonable profile across the board. They still sound a little compressed and lack quality and refinement especially in bass, but they are certainly passable. As you might expect from Skullcandy’s, the bass is turned up more than I’d like which only makes the lack of clarity more obvious. 

You do get quite the array of controls from the single touch sensitive surface on each bud, so much so they included a cheat sheet in the box you will definitely need. The number of times I double pressed instead of triple, pressed the wrong bud, activated google assistant or activated “ambient mode” which then almost instantly screeched in my ears like a mic being shoved into an amp at a school concert, is unbelievable. 

Sure, battery life is quoted as up to 30 hours between the 6 hours in the buds and a further 24 from the case, plus either USB C fast charging on the base, or wireless top up, but for £110 you can’t help but want more. Yes, Airpods are £160, or £250 for the pro’s, but that isn’t an excuse. I reviewed these £35 “HolyHigh” buds a while ago and they sound 95% as good as these for 1/3rd the price, and are more comfortable and secure. 

If better sound quality is what you are after, these 1MORE TWS buds are £80 and offer phenomenal sound instead. They aren’t quite as secure, but man is the clarity better. The point is that TWS buds are a very crowded market, and these just don’t stand out. I’d much rather spend my money on a better sounding, more secure pair, and odds are I can find one for half the price.