Review
In this review, I am actually covering two products, but they are so similar that I feel this will work just fine. For our purposes, we will be calling the original Pamu Slide "the Slide", and the Pamu Slide Mini will be referred to as "the Mini." When I first bought the Slide, it was one of the most funded kickstarter campaigns ever, and most certainly for a truly wireless earbud. It was also endorsed by many, many celebrities and very highly reviewed from early testers. Is it worth it? Let's find out!
Inside the Box
Both the Slide and the Mini come with the same contents in the box. You will get extra eartips, a user manual, a carrying bag for the case, and a USBC cable. Of course, each one also comes with the charging case, although if I remember correctly, the earbuds themselves are packaged separately and will have to be put in the case for charging. It is packaged very well and is a relatively small box.
Similarities
Both the Slide and the Mini sound exactly the same. The music is flat, meaning that it hasn't been boosted much. The bass is very clear, and the mids and highs are very well represented by the speakers in the earbuds and not lost or drowned out by the bass. both the Slide and the Mini fit extremely well in your ears, although trying out the different eartips that come with the earbuds to get the most secure seal is highly recommended. I have never had these fall out of my ears no matter how strenuously I move around, a very big plus in my book. The stems of the earbuds rest below your ears and do not stick out thus cutting down on the risk that an external object could knock them out. All in all, these do have great sound and the secure comfortable fit makes these easy earbuds to recommend.
It may take a moment to get used to how these are in the case. When you open the case with the opening closest to you, the earbuds are nested within at an angle. The earbud nearest to you whose stem is on the right is actually the left earbud. The one further away with the stem farther to the left is the right earbud. Again, that may take a little getting used to, but it should not take away your enjoyment of the product and you'll have it figured out in no time.
I find the telephone call quality on both the Slide and the Mini to be very good. Each comes equipped with a Qualcomm QCC3020 chip which provides excellent voice isolation. Also, both pairs are IPX6, meaning being out in the rain will not damage them. However, do not take them swimming and you probably don't want to shower with these.
Pairing
Pairing on these couldn't be easier. Simply open the settings on your device, then take out the earbuds from the case. Find the Pamu Slide or Pamu Slide Mini under devices and pair them. I do not know if they can work independently, using only one at a time, but I believe this is possible.
Differences
Each set of these earbuds offers something slightly different and unique to the other. Let's start with the Slide. The case for the slide is, in a word, big! It can fit in a pocket if it is a large pocket. One thing is for sure; you will not be able to hide its presence in a pocket. The reason it is so big is not because of the earbuds, which are relatively trim and small, but because the case supports a gigantic battery size. The earbuds themselves can support up to 10 hours straight of play or talk time, very awesome for any wireless earbuds. The case, however, let's you recharge these babies five times, giving you a whopping 60 hours of battery life before the case itself needs to be recharged. But that's not the only reason it is so big. This case has a feature found in very few wireless earbuds. If you are out and about and your phone is running low on a charge, there is a button next to the USBC charging port on the back of the case that you can press twice. You then turn the case over, put your phone on the case, and the case can charge your phone. That is a very cool feature and one thing that led me to review these earbuds. So yes the case is big, but there is certainly a reason for it. Also, as the name might imply, to open the case you find the side opposite the USBC port and simply slide the top towards the back. That will open the case and allow you to extract your earphones.
Now onto the Mini. The Mini, although also called the Pamu Slide, has a much smaller case, one that will easily fit into any pocket. Instead of sliding the top open, you simply find the side opposite the USBC port and flip the lid open. This one is a hinged lid instead of a sliding lid. The Mini also gets 10 hours of playtime as do its larger cousins, but this one can only charge the case two times, giving you a still impressive 30 hours of battery life before you need to recharge. Why do I recommend these, other than the small case and great sound? These also have Qi wireless charging. If you have a QI wireless charger, simply plop the case on top and let them charge without having to worry about any pesky cables. This is a great feature and one I wish the Slide also had.
Controls
The controls on these are touch controls. They are very easy to use, but it is here that I take off a full point on my review. This is a personal preference, so to some of you it may not make a difference. To play/pause on these, tap the left or right earbud. To raise the volume, touch and hold on the right earbud and the volume will begin going up. To decrease volume, touch and hold the left earbud. To summon your Google or Siri, tap the left earbud twice. To take a call, tap either earbud when the call comes in. to skip to the next track, double tap the right earbud. to go to the previous track, you … … … … You can't.
That's why I take off a full point on these earbuds. I personally love to replay tracks from time to time, and you cannot do that from these earbuds. Big negative for me, and drops these earbuds down to a 4 star rating.
Pricing
Right now, both of these earbuds are at a good price point. The Slide, also called the Slide Plus, retails for $169.00, but you can get these from their website for $69.00. The link is below.
https://padmate-tech.com/products/pamu-slide-plus
The Mini retails for $149, but right now on their website you can get these for $55.99. The link is below.
https://padmate-tech.com/products/pamu-slide-mini
Final Thoughts
The sound on these is excellent, and each one offers really cool features from the Slide's ability to charge your phone when needed to the Mini's QI wireless charging capabilities. Both offer excellent battery life for the earbuds and very easy to learn controls. However, each one of these gets a 4-star rating because of their lack of the basic common sense function of being able to play the previous track. If you don't mind not having that feature, then I would highly recommend both the Pamu Slide and the Pamu Slide Mini.