I replaced the item and it was the same thing. Bullets arent BOOMING and BASSY -- unless youre firing a cannon, maybe. But that smell! These are powerlifting-style straps, rather than the speed straps used in Olympic lifting. My daughter wears size 7 in regular shoes, and I purchased size 8. These are alll things you could reasonably expect these hooks to handle. I do have pets and have a little pet fur on it but when I used a lint roller, it came off with no problems. I think there awesome! ? The mic provides excellent audio quality. In fact, I suspect that people with normal hearing may find it too loud and have to keep the volume turned down on the in-cord control.