There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.
What We Tried:
TecTecTec’s new TEAM8 E Golf GPS Earbuds. These little earbuds pair with the TecTecTec app to provide verbal distances to hazards and the flag.
Who Tried It:
Connor. Director of Soft Goods Testing and resident sneakerhead. When I play solo, I like to have an earbud to listen to music. The idea of my earbuds reading distances to me was intriguing enough to put these little fellas to the test.
About the TEAM8 E GPS Earbuds
Why might you need golf GPS earbuds?
The value proposition is fairly simple. On the course, they play music and read distances. Off the course, they function just as any other TWS (true wireless) earbud does.
For $129 you’re getting a two-in-one product. If the TEAM8 GPS Earbuds function well as a GPS and a set of earbuds … it’s a pretty insane value considering the cost of buying two devices separately.
That’s the key, though. It has to nail both. Do the TecTecTec TEAM8 GPS Earbuds work well in both facets? I put them to the test to find out.
GPS Functions
Let’s start with the big hitter: GPS. If the earbuds fail to act as a fairly accurate golf GPS, they’re basically just another set of TWS earbuds.
I’m happy to report that the TecTecTec TEAM8 E Golf GPS Earbuds performed pretty darn well. For comparison sake, I pitted them against my go-to GPS, the Garmin Approach S70.
On most every hole, the distances differed by a couple of yards, with some more than five. That is to say, as GPS goes, the earbuds were pretty darn good.
The distances to the pin and distances to hazards (prompted by a double press of the right earbud) were plenty good, especially for a device that’s only $129.
If you’re using a GPS device instead of a rangefinder, you’re expecting small amounts of error, anyways.
Earbud Functions
With GPS out of the way, we can talk about how the TecTecTec TEAM8 E GPS Earbuds perform as a set of wireless headphones.
In this regard, they’re serviceable. Passable. Maybe a little meh … but they still get the job done.
Don’t get me wrong. I loved the fit. Not once did I have to readjust the earbuds throughout my round. With every swing and every step, they stayed securely in my ears.
The sound, however, just isn’t going to be quite as good as, say, a dedicated TWS earbud from Apple, Samsung or Sony.
But that’s not who TecTecTec is competing against. In the world of golf GPS earbuds, they’re pretty much the only player. In this regard, they are the best-sounding golf earbuds out there … and the worst?
All in all, they sound decent enough and get plenty loud—both keys to a fun round.
User Experience
The final thing to touch on is the overall user experience. In some ways, the TecTecTec TEAM8 Golf GPS Earbuds did really well here.
Pairing to the TecTecTec app took mere seconds. From here, the app guides you through using them on the course.
In a matter of minutes, I was rocking and rolling with no problems at all. The app was quick to recognize my location and suggest the courses closest to me. I love that!
The one thing that let me down slightly was the touch control. It worked great to get distances to the flag (one quick touch) and hazards (two quick touches) but the distance measurement function (long press) was pretty finicky.
Once I figured it out, it worked OK. You have to press it for longer than you think.
Outside of this issue, the user experience was largely awesome. Even the charging case was the perfect size to stow in my pocket when not in use.
I do wish the lid felt slightly more secure. But with the earbuds being magnetized into the charging case, this is less of an issue.
Two in One
After spending hours testing the TecTecTec TEAM8 GPS Earbuds, I’m convinced this device has a place in the golf technology market.
I wasn’t quite sure how I’d like having them in my ear the entire round but after a while I didn’t even notice. And it was nice not to look at my watch every time I needed the yardage.
The value here is the most important thing to consider. As I mentioned, getting a device that can be both a GPS and pair of earbuds is pretty darn cool. And for $129, it accomplishes both well enough that this is an easy recommendation on my part.
