Summary
The Bose QuietComfort3 headphones are comfortable. They have foam padding on the ear cups and the band, which is covered with a soft faux-leather material. As on-ear headphones without a collapsible band, these headphones aren't very portable. Fortunately, their ear cups can be rotated to help the headphones lie flat. Also, the case certainly helps keep everything together. Unfortunately, the case itself is rather large. In terms of customizability, the QC3s don't offer many options.
Comfort (8.00)
There aren't many customization options that come in the Bose QuietComfort 3's box, such as different ear cups. That being said, to get comfortable all we had to do was fiddle with the band setting until it fit our noggin snugly.
 
We think the QC3s are very comfortable. The padded band keeps the hard plastic off our head, and the padded ear cups don't put much pressure at all on our ears. As with all larger-sized on-ear or over-ear headphones, moving your head around causes them to slip. We wouldn't recommend using these as workout headphones.
The only comfort issue users should look out for is the noise cancelling feature. If you're not used to this feature, it'll certainly be a weird sensation. After wearing it for a few minutes you might feel like you need to pop your ears. The worst part is you can't disable noise cancellation, so you'll just have to deal with the discomfort until you get used to it or send the headphones back for a refund.
Extended Use (8.00)
Good on-ear and over-ear headphones tend to be comfortable for extended use, because there is no pressure on the inside of your ear canal. The cup padding and its covering are soft enough to not even cause mild trauma to your ears. The benefit of wearing them for a while is that you'll get used to the noise cancelling (if you aren't already). And they might slide off if you're an invetres head-jiggler who likes to nod along to the music.
Cable Connectivity (5.31)
 The cable is a good thickness, measuring 0.078 inches in diameter. Its coating feels fairly robust, but like most plastic wire coating it might pick up cuts easily. The cable holds a bit of a shape, but you'll never have to worry about it getting wrinkled into knots.
The cord is more than four feet: a good length. In case this isn't long enough, an extension cord is also included.
Since the headphones have a 2.5mm jack, replacing the included cable might be difficult. Also, the 3.5mm plug at the other end has a thick casing around it. This means the plug might easily slip out of devices with recessed jacks, like the iPhone, because the plug can't fit far enough into the jack to catch.
There is also an included airplane adapter, which is built to conform to the double jacks on airplane arm rests.
Portability (5.00)
The Bose QuietComfort3s aren't the most portable headphones out there, but they are better off than many on-ear headphones. For one, the cups can rotate so the headphones can lie relatively flat. Also, the QC3s come with a semi-rigid case that holds them and all their accessories tightly. The case is pretty big, however, and it'll definitely take up a lot of room in your bag.
If you want, you could use the courtesy card holder as a wallet.
Customizability (1.50)
The QC3s can twist around within a 100-degree arc, and have a 45-degree range of motion for tilting. This is a relatively small range of motion, but should be more than enough to conform to your head. The box also contains three different adapters to plug the cord into: a 3.5mm to 1/4-inch plug adapter, an airplane jack adapter, and an extension cord. There aren't any additional cups included, or any face plates or color options. Still, the Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones come with more options than the average set of headphones.
Maintenance (2.00)
 
Cleaning these headphones seems to be easy. Once you've snapped off the ear cups - which is very easy to do - everything is basically exposed. The downside to this is that you run a higher risk of damaging the sound element when you clean. There aren't any included cleaning instruments or replacement parts. Fortunately, since you can disconnect the cups, you will be able to find replacements, though the cloth on the band is stuck there, meaning it'll be very hard to clean or replace. Overall, however, these headphones should be relatively easy to clean and maintain.
Other Features (0.0)
Battery Dependency
In a stunning display of poor design, the Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones won't work without a battery. This is simply absurd, and drastically limits their functionality; if the battery runs out halfway through a flight, you'll be stuck flicking peanuts at your neighbors for amusement while they enjoy the in-flight movie or music on their cheaper (but still usable) headphones.
 
 
Noise Cancelling
This score accounts for anything interesting functionality the noise cancellation feature adds to the headphones above and beyond isolation (which, of course we score). In the case of the Bost QuietComfort 3 headphones, there is no "above and beyond," just "won't work without": music playback is totally dependent on whether noise cancellation is powered on. This, to put it simply, is stupid, because it means the headphones won't function as headphones without a battery. If you run out of battery life, the Bose QC3s just become an expensive pair of ear muffs, which are attached to your media player with a leash. Unfortunately, this is the status quo for most noise cancelling headphones. If you want to see more robust noise cancellation, check out the
Sony NC500Ds
, which let you choose from a few different cancellation curves, and the
Creative Aurvana X-Fis
, which will let you turn off your headphones.
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