As a driver, the importance of a hands-free earpiece for talking on the phone should never be underestimated. Not only is it crucial to maintaining proper hands-free access to important incoming calls, fact of the matter is that it is the law! As a few posts of mine and other fellow Team Run Smart Pros have pointed out from time to time, finding one that is strong enough to stand up to the day in and day out routine of a professional driver can sometimes be a battle in itself. Just when I finally got a Bluetooth earpiece to last the longest of any previous ones at a ripe old age of one year, it met its end through no fault of its own.
In my previous searches for an earpiece, I had gone with a non-trucking specific earpiece that had stood a very good amount of torture from my daily activities and travel, after not having as good of luck with trucking specific models. Had it of not been for falling out of my sweater pocket without me knowing and having been run over by my trailer tandems, I believe it would have lasted quite a bit longer. Always wanting to be one that keeps current with technology, I decided to research the latest and greatest rather than order an exact replacement for what now lies in pieces in my makeshift earpiece “bone yard”. With newer versions of Bluetooth technology now available, smaller batteries, and easier to use controls, I was blown away with how far industry specific earpieces have come in such a short time.
With a ton of research, I decided not to skimp and try out the new Jabra Steel. It is touted as the brands toughest headset ever, being dust, water and shock resistant. It is even backed by a very solid 5-year limited warranty. Having used it for a few weeks now I have nothing but good things to say about it. Unlike my other earpiece, there is no bulky battery pack to go behind the ear and it is lightweight enough that most times I do not even have to use the ear 
hook. I have only had to charge it about once a week and have no problems with it dropping calls or disconnecting from the phone itself. These were some issues I did have with the other one previously. The buttons are oversized to allow use through gloves and you can answer your calls through voice response as well. It has an app that assists in locating your headset, should you misplace it, which I am notorious for doing!
With hopes that this headset will stand the test of time that my other one did, I feel confident in using it to help safely manage incoming hands-free calling. When choosing a device such as this, remember that there are also a lot of cheap imitators out there and knock-off products have been known to surface, only to take advantage of those looking for a deal too good to be true. Always buy through a reputable authorized dealer and do a bit of research to find one that will last through all the abuse a driver goes through continually. Also remember that hands-free does not necessarily equal distraction-free, so only take the call if it cannot wait until the next fuel stop, lunch break, etc.