So you think that your way is better than the law? I think it clouds a safety issue. And I say again, what else is compromised from the legal standard because culturally 'it's better that way' at your current airline?
Take a nice, big breath there and calm down. Feel better?
I said nothing of the law. What law requires a particular headset in the airplane? I said nothing of my "way," or made comparisons between any of this discussion and the law or the regulation. What on earth are you on about?
I never stated I work for an airline in this thread. You make a lot of assumptions, don't you?
Havoc wrought with the radios?? Why?? Pilots using wrong headsets? Pilots clumsy with connections?? No-one maintaining the headsets?
Assumptions, assumptions. Actually, one salaried individual who did nothing but maintain headsets and tackle compatability issues, and who travelled throughout the system doing so.
Of course costs can be lowered if you buy your own, and no-one at the airline has to manage your specification, the purchase, logistics of supply, and registration/maintenance/time-life of the equipment, and you also take the risk of replacement when needed plus the inconvenience of using a communal second best while you wait. But that to me is a sign of a second-rate operation or as I said, a self-employed contractor type pilot/plumber.
You know, this isn't my first rodeo. I've done this for a great many years, as well as a lot of other jobs in this lifetime. As a law enforcement officer, I carried a handgun and handcuffs and other gear...which I purchased. Just like everyone else. Certainly the office for which I worked would provide them; most of us elected to own and carry ours.
Presently I own my own flight case. Nobody bought it for me. Same for the suitcase. Same for the pens, pencils, papers, clipboards, and other gear I use. I don't consider this an imposition.
As a certificated aircraft mechanic, and an inspector who has worked many years on the line and shop floors, I've carried my own tools. I own six rollaway cabinets filled with MAC and SnapOn tools, none of which were poor quality or cheap. No employer bought them for me.
You apparently were in such a rush to dance your little jig on the soapbox that you missed my statement that my employer provides headsets. However, I also carry my own spare.
I've never seen a headset in the airplane which had "previous wearer's sweat, gunge and bacterial infection" on it. We don't have noise attenuating headsets. They're not necessary, and interfere with cockpit communication in our aircraft (which is done verbally, mouth to ear, rather than through an intercom system).
Perhaps you might suggest that each of us should be issued our own oxygen mask and supporting gear, which we carry from airplane to airplane. This would be an utterly ridiculous statement, of course. We could be issued all kinds of equipment which is normally on each airplane when we climb aboard, but I can't imagine having to carry it, or being able to do so. Instead, we are provided antiseptic wipes on board each airplane, and I dutifully wipe down the oxygen mask inside and out prior to testing it for function and fit, as part of my cockpit inspection during the preflight.
Then again, I wipe down the microphone, and the thrust levers, flap handle, and control yoke. You see, the company fails to issue a fresh control yoke to each pilot, too. We're forced to suffer through the "previous wearer's sweat, gunge and bacterial infection" which might be on that control yoke. How unbearable is this? After all, shouldn't the company issue each pilot a new control yoke, as our hands must touch it often during each flight? But no, just a lowly alcohol wipe.
Now, some pilots elect to wear noise attenuating headsets. I've met one at my place of employment, so far. Most don't because one needs to be worn off the ear to properly communicate, thus negating the purpose of the headset. Others elect to wear plantronics or other single ear headsets. I can't wear them, because I can't understand the radio when it's just in one ear. I've worked for many years at over 30 different companies, firms, and agencies...and have never, not once, been issued a headset. Some employers have placed them on airplanes and hard wired them in, giving us no choice but to use the headset in the airplane. Others have placed them in the airplane and given us the choice to bring our own. Others have provided nothing.
Nobody issues me my shoes, my underwear, my belt. I bring my own, and don't feel overly put out in so doing. My headset is not personal protective equipment. It's a communication tool, and it's nothing to do with the law or the regulation. I use what's provided, and I carry my own spare. You do what's appropriate where you work, I'll do what's appropriate where I work. While you're at it, you may mind your own business.