Shaun Conlin takes a look at the new bluetooth stereo headset from Nu Force, going so far as to step on a treadmill to see if they'll fall off. Now that's dedication. Regardless of smartphone or tablet type, decent wireless headsets with which to pair them are hard to find. Sure, there's practical numbers that are all business when it comes to making hands-free VoIP and cell calls, but appeal wears thin after prolonged use, even chaffing after a couple of hours of movie watching on a bumpy plane or kinetic activities at the gym.

But that's not the case with the new BT-860 Bluetooth Headset from NuForce.

Conformable and convenient as all get out, this wireless wonder features Bluetooth V2.1 technology, which means it's capable of acting as a pair of cordless stereo headphones while a discreet, built-in mic makes it a hands-free headset as well (but assumes your device supports Bluetooth A2DP, a protocol for streaming a stereo signal, among other things. Don't worry, most new device do).

Putting neither form nor function first, the 103 gram BT-860's slim, modern aesthetic of a single, sprung steel band terminating in decidedly-square foamy ear pads on both ends allows it to grip ones noggin with surety - not hard enough for discomfort, but not so tentative that they fall off when you're head-banging the rock anthems and bopping along on the treadmill, either. Yup, testing above and beyond the call, that.

Then again, the BT-860 squeeze is not quite enough to keep them from falling off when, say, working on your car or bending over to gas up the lawnmower/snowblower. Pity.

Flush navigation buttons on the left ear activate volume up/down as well as track next/previous. Dead center on the left ear, meanwhile, is a "Multi-function button (MFB)" that controls the gambit of power on/off, answer/end call, mute mic, make call, call transfer, the all essential "reject call" as well as play/pause music. That's a lot of function for something so slim and striking.

Call quality of the BT-860 Stereo Bluetooth headset ranges from adequate to good while its stereo audio is consistently superb.

Oddly, charging the thing requires a USB to 0.7mm ID plug (included), which is not an uncommon DC adapter in the realm of smartphones, but certainly less common that the USB to mini-USB (Type B) plug everyone and their junk drawer has lying around and would have certainly done the trick here. As it happens, if you plan on travelling with the BT-860, be sure to bring along its special power cord.

Thus equipped, the BT-860 headset will fully charge in about 3 hours and deliver about 10 hours of call time, 7 hours of cranked music (more if you're into quiet music) and a couple hundred hours on standby.