Several people are shocked and some are even laughing in disbelief by what I pull out of my bag: a set of the original Loop earplugs from several years ago that have since been discontinued. As someone who grew up surrounded by large speakers thanks to majoring in music in high school (shout out to performing arts schools) and a long "career" singing in choirs, always having ear protection at concerts and other loud venues was always important to me. So when Loop started to explode on the internet for being the fraction of the price of the custom earplugs I was looking at, I knew I had to try them. Jump a few years later and I'm suddenly in Belgium, the home country of Loop and its creators, to test out their products at full-force.
It's one of the last weeks in July and one of the biggest in the country as they prepare for two major events: Tomorrowland and the Belgian Grand Prix. As an EDM and Formula 1 superfan, this trip was the ultimate dream come true!
"Tomorrowland was a festival that we went to every year, from when it was just one stage in that park to what it is right now," Maarten Bodewes, one of the co-founders of Loop told Cosmopolitan about their partnership. They have also teamed up with Formula 1 team McLaren, hence the two locations for the trip.
"It was kind of a passion thing. If you go to one of those tracks, or if you drive a car or motorcycle yourself, it's super loud. For us, as a way to protect people's ears and as a cool sport for us, Formula 1 just made a lot of sense," he continued. "We talked to a few different teams last year and McLaren—from the drivers and from the team—made most sense for us to collaborate with."
As the company grows, they continue to introduce various new products with their line now providing five different kind of options: Switch 2 for those who want to be prepared for everything, Dream for sleeping, Quiet 2 for deeper focus and travel, Engage 2 for those who are looking to lessen every day noise, and Experience 2 for concerts and festivals.
Maarten notes that he goes to his audience to really find out what they're looking, often going on Reddit to see what they're talking about and working with a network known as "Loop Legends, a close circle of people that we even test new ideas with. We go there for inspiration."
Of course, we got to put these to the ultimate test! Ready to find out how our Loop earplugs journey went? Find out more below!
Days 1-2: Tomorrowland (Experience 2)
It's actually a pretty emotional moment going through the front entrance of Tomorrowland. Shortly before the start of weekend 1, the main stage accidentally caught on fire and fans were left wondering if the festival was even going to happen. For so many people, Tomorrowland is *the* dream festival, and you can certainly feel it as you walk through the crowds. Swedish House Mafia was one of the main headliners of night 1 and we bopped around with Maarten and Dimitri O—Loop's other co-founder—to different stages throughout the day.
Loop was absolutely everywhere! With special traveling carts throughout the festival, fans were able to buy a pair of the Tomorrowland sets for use. No matter the stage, there were people jamming out with them on. While you can't normally tell if someone has them on, especially if they have their hair down, the new Loop Link cord makes it more of an accessory especially thanks to the Tomorrowland colors.
We tested out the Loop Experience 2, which is perfect for concerts and live music events. Not only does it not muffle any of the noise, but the switchable ear tips make it easy to find your perfect size before you head off. The Loop Link immediately became a lifesaver between sets, allowing me to take them on and off easily. And you can still have conversations with the people around you if someone is going to go grab drinks or if you wanna chat about the set.
Day 3: Formula 1 - Belgian Grand Prix (Switch 2)
After two days partying it up at Tomorrowland, we head from Antwerp over to Spa to check out the Formula 1 race. Just when you thought you knew how loud a race can be just based off the speakers on your TV, trust me, it is so much wilder in-person. As we were getting a tour of the McLaren garage, a Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race was starting up and the Switch 2 Loop earplugs came in handy as we were able to set them to the top setting (Quiet Mode) since we were so close.
Heading over the our seats to hang out with champagne and get an up-close look at the race, I switched to Experience mode to let more of the sound in as we were a little further away now. With the race's start a bit up in the air due to a rain delay, I switched over to Engage to keep the conversation going before setting it back to Experience for the rest of the race.
Let me tell you, it was so helpful to switch between the modes as the cars were not always near our side of the track, meaning I can easily go back to Engage as we watched the race from the screens. Plus, a McLaren win meant that it was the ultimate celebration in the tower, so we definitely got a little loud up there!
Day 4: Travel Back Home (Dream)
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and all of a sudden I was on a plane back home. While I often like to listen to music on flights, the days definitely caught up with me and a nap was needed. Luckily, I also got a pair of the Quiet 2 which allowed me to block out all the noise and get the rest I needed. Needless to say, this is now coming with me on future travels. In fact, I brought it with me to Punta Cana on a bachelorette trip and it was so useful at night when I needed some shut eye.
It's clear that Loop has now become a new accessory to show off at events. Maarten notes that they are starting to expand more into viewing the Loop earplugs as accessories, especially after seeing people and how they customize theirs to make it more of their own.
"If you go to Etsy and you look up Loop earplugs, it's amazing how many people are creating accessories for it. For example, they have done an earring with little cable that allows you to put it in or out," he said. "I really think it's very cool that you create that ecosystem and I would love to find a way to put them more in the spotlight."
One way is through future collaborations and while they were pretty quiet about their next big partnership, it's clear that it's different than what they've done in the past.
"There's some cool accessories that we're going to bring out that are going to drive it even more in the jewelry direction," he revealed. "There's also some cool fashion brands that we're going to be working with that is coming towards the end of the year."
And that's not all. While Loop are now considered the standard in earplugs, they're starting to think about the future expansion of the company including moving onto other senses.
"We're helping people sleep, party, or focus with everything to do with hearing. But that's not the only sense that people have," Maarten said. "The way you experience the world is through all of your senses. So we're actually looking at a broader sense of new product categories that can also help our current customers. Our first product will be launched by the end of the year, and then there's two more—Q1 and Q2 of next year—that are going to be launched, that are going to redefine our brand somehow."
