Ha! I just went in 1984. Rush, Ozzy, 38 Special, Gary Moore, and Brian Adams. But I went to a ton of concerts at the now demolished Reunion Arena, and Six Flags had some good stuff back then....Molly Hatchet, Blue Oyster Cult, Pantera....those were the days. Now I need ANR headsets and a Santa Claus AME to do my job.

 

No... I MIGHT find three headsets in the cockpit. Often times, there are only two and once I only found one. I'm sure you're asking yourself "how can that be?" . More than once, we have taken a delay at the gate and one time we had to return to the gate after not getting a headset to work properly on the way out. Yes..no backup on board. Wasted 45 minutes.

So, if we do like you advocate, we drop a headset in our bag. Shouldn't you now write up in the logbook a missing headset so MX will replace it?
And, if asked where it went, what are you going to say?

I know your worried about germs, I get it. With that in mind, don't you sanitize you own headset? It certainly can pick up all sorts of germs along the course of the day. So, if you SHOULD sanitize your own headset prior to flight, for OPTIMUM germ prevention, then (as Hillary famously said), what difference at this point does it make?

As an aside, last fall I decided to carry with me a supply of those Clorox/Lysol soaked wipes. Works great. Not only can I amply sanitize the headset, but the O2 mask and the cockpit nest in general. For the first time in recent memory, I didn't catch the flu or even a cold over winter. Germ problem solved and now I have one less tangled electrical cord to lug around. I rather like it that way.

 

It's all personal preference. I'm on the 737 and started out with the ear mold and hated it. Went to the clarity aloft and liked it better but thought it was uncomfortable and a hassle to remove when getting up to get food/bathroom break/etc. Finally went with the Bose Aviation X. It's great when the CA also has a full headset and we use rubber bands to keep the intercom hot, especially down in Central America and the Caribbean. Much easier to understand ATC. If the CA doesn't have a full headset I just move the left ear back so it sits about halfway off my ear. There is a sweet spot where you can still hear the CA, still get sound in both ears, and reduce most of the wind noise.

 

Wipes aren't going to kill the bugs living in the O2 mask supply line or the spittle and hummus infused mic tube of the company Telex 5x5's.

The rest is spot on. I choose to use my own headset, but I replace the company one when I leave the plane. I do wish guys would quit wrapping the cables in a gordian knot around the sun visor bar, though. Also, whats with the extreme number of headbands hidden throughout the various nooks and crannies lately? We seriously found 11 of 'em shoved everywhere on my last trip.

 

Yea, what was I thinking.

 

You weren't and that's what gets folks in trouble.

 

Good point. I will be more cautious in the future.

 

OK. See that you are.

 

Great to be surrounded by those who care.

 

Go to any CAL hub, call maintenance on the radio and tell them you need a new headset. They will gladly bring out a new headset in a box and give it to you. Don't need to write it up in the logbook. IAH, EWR, LAX, and GUM have a pallet full of these. They really do want you to have your own.

After 42 years and several dozen different headsets. I find the Telex 850 NR the most practical, and use it in the Jets and other GA airplanes that I spend 120 hours a month riding around in. There are no batteries to go bad, and you don't feel like your head is in a vice.
YMMV.