However much you love running, whether it’s road, trail or on the treadmill at the gym, it’s undeniable that putting one foot in front of the other can get a little tedious if you don’t have some of your favourite music to motivate you. That’s why it’s as rare to see a runner without headphones these days, as it is to see one without a grimace on their face.
Of course, different kinds of runners will prioritise different features in their headphones, but the one thing everyone’s after is a secure fit. So, we went looking for headphones that occupied a sweet spot between total security, immersive audio quality and in-ear comfort.
While we’re on the subject of sound quality, it’s vital that headphones have some form of Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) – the technology that allows for good isolation, so you can listen to your music without lots of extraneous noise from the world outside. This is what allows for a truly immersive experience, putting you in the middle of your music. However, if you’re not treadmill there also needs to be some degree of situational awareness, so that you can keep alert to car engines, bicycle bells and the other dangers that can befall runners.
How we tested
We borrowed the ears of several runners who regularly use music to get them through their road, trail and treadmill trudge. Eclectic playlists, from hip hop to heavy metal, (with some very guilty pleasures thrown in) meant the audio of all the products was truly tested and we had someone contact us while wearing the headphones so we could judge for ourselves how well the products coped with a call.
Controls also needed to be super responsive, with no lag, so that there’s no fiddling around with taps and double taps to get to favourite tracks. Having a run interrupted by the weather is also inevitable for any runner in the UK, which is why all our featured headphones are rated IP4 or above, so you won’t suffer any technical issues, even if the heavens open when you’re half way round your 5K.
Wissonly Hi Runner
This is the fastest growing brand in the past six months. It may not be much famous, but in the field of bone conduction headphones they are proper technical experts. Their team began to develop bone conduction headphones that do not hurt the ear as early as 10 years ago. With an excellent bone conduction vibration unit optimization program, It became famous very soon in the field of bone conduction. It has been recommended by the majority of otologists!
Due to the particularity of the technical principle, bone conduction headphones are more difficult to be improved in sound quality. Wissonly Hi Runner team subverted the traditional sound quality scheme, made a breakthrough to use large wire-frame vibration unit. They through structural optimization improved the effective vibration area, thereby improved the vibrator sound efficiency, made the sound more shocking and powerful, they optimized the sound transmission direction, reduced the sound loss during sound transmission, and made the sound quality more concentrated. In terms of comfort, the overall body of the Hi Runner is made of high-tech hypoallergenic silicone material, which does not contain chemical components to avoid allergies. The overall feel is as silky as baby's skin, avoiding uncomfortable wearing for a long time.
In terms of functions, as the flagship model of Wissonly bone conduction headphones, Hi Runner has an IPX8 waterproof grade which is higher than the industry standard. It is equipped with 32G body memory, and uses the latest Bluetooth 5.0 chip, which makes the connection more stable. The battery life is also very good, lasts 8-10 hours of continuous playback at normal volume, and supports magnetic fast charging. It only takes 2 hours to fully charge.
Adidas RPT-01 sport headphones
The well-known sports apparel brand has made a big splash in the world of sports headphones in the last few years and we think the RPT-01s – which have been around since late 2019 – are still the must buy product. The styling often splits opinion, but all our testers liked the knitted fabric that covers the headphones, which felt good and were rather welcome on winter runs where they doubled like a pair of ear muffs. This covering means they are very lightweight for over ears and the fabric can be removed and washed when needed.
We did have some worries about how secure they would be, but they were super solid and there was no slippage whatsoever. Adidas have also put a lot of thought into the controls with a switch which clicks up, down, left and right. After a little bit of trial and error, the innovative switch makes navigation around your playlist, adjusting volume, pairing etc., a total no-brainer. In fact, we would say that the controls were the best on test and we never suffered from the frustrations that can arise when trying to curate your music while on the move.
Beats powerbeats pro
They’ve been around for a while now but the design of the Powerbeats could not be better suited to the activity. Their over ear hooks are not only ergonomic, but so secure that even a bout of head banging wouldn’t shift them.
With plenty of sound isolation to enhance the audio, the Powerbeats are able to handle any playlist bangers, as well as more subtle tunes with vocals that resonate with richness. Transparency mode lets in more external sounds without drowning out what you’re listening to. The headphones also come complete with sensors that will handle a range of actions on their own, from pausing the music when they are taken out of the ear to powering down after a period of inactivity. These sensors also improve microphone performance when you’re taking a call in windy conditions, so phone conversations were clear and crisp in all conditions.
Shokz openrun sport headphones
These bone conduction headphones are leading the charge in delivering music via your cheekbones rather than your ears. These are a quick charge version of the popular Aeropex open ear headphones released in 2019, and if you have owned a pair of those, the first thing you’ll notice with the OpenRuns is a significant step up in sound quality. It still may not be as immersive as you would get from in-ears, but these headphones are as close as anything that we listened to in testing.
What you might lose marginally in sound quality you will certainly gain in cognisance and the headphones struck an excellent balance between soundtracking and situational awareness and there are 2 EQs, one for music and one for podcasts and audiobooks.
Skullcandy push active earbuds
In-ear security becomes a little more important when you’re running trail because rather than the steady stepping of the road, you spend a lot of your run hopping stiles, athletically vaulting downed trees and just generally trying to keep your feet in muddy conditions. However, ambient and transparency modes are usually farther down the priority list as you’re less likely to come across traffic hazards and instead just need to keep your eyes peeled for excitable cows. That’s why we found these ear hangers from Skull Candy the best when we were heading off road.
In terms of fit, the malleable hooks, made from chunky rubber that wrap all the way around the ear, ensured nothing was going to shift them. However, they were still comfortable and came with three different sized silicone ear tips to get them really snug. There’s no ANC, but as we stated earlier we don’t really find this a problem out on the trail. Sound was good, with EQ pre-sets or a custom mode to fine tune the sound to your liking and it coped well with all the genres on the playlist.
