I'd like to buy a set of these for running and cycling for the open ear style that allows you to hear traffic, and because they apparently work well with glasses.
Looked at quite a few online, narrowed it down to Shokz Openrun for £130 and some Amazon knockoffs that look very similar for £35.
Anyone tried both and able to give a firm recommendation for spending four times as much on the Shokz?!
(Sorry the url just brings up blank kindle preview?)
SANOTO Bone Conduction Headphones
Got a pair of Shokz Open Run that I treated myself to with a Strava discount.
I rate them. Son is a music student and saud the quality was better than he expected, and I don't dare ask what his headphone cost.
Comfortable, work with my helmet and Oakleys, can't lose them like earbuds. You might want to borrow a pair to try first maybe. Volume buttons a bit fiddly with thicker gloves.
Like any headphones or earbuds, you only hear the traffic if you have them quiet enough, but can go a little louder than the alternatives. Wind noise always a factor as well.
No, but I love the real ones. Had them about 3 years of near daily use and they’ve been great. Robust, work well, much better for cycling /running than in ears. No issues with helmets / glasses.
The only thing I don’t like is wearing them whilst also wearing a beanie hat. It just doesn’t work. So I use other earphones for the winter dog walks.
I'm tempted with some ive also got garmin radar which rightly it wrongly feels like a counter to the "risk" of head phones.
I have had a pair of Shokz OpenMove headpones for about three years. They are the budget model with USB-C charging and have been very good to cycle commuting, solo audaxes etc. Not so good in the gym as you can hear whatever music is going on in addition to whatever you are listening to.
I also use them for work calls paired to my MacBook. When cycling in noisy traffic or at higher speeds it can be difficult to hear what is playing but it is very easy to pause playback with a simple tap on a button on the left hand side. This can be done even if wearing a buff over the top. They fit me fine even if wearing a helmet and glasses.
I did upgrade to the OpenRun a few months ago. They are a little more comfortable but not worth (for me) the premium over the OpenMove. I mostly listen to audio books and podcasts but they work ok with music too.
Funnily enough I asked the same question last week.....
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/bone-conducting-headphones-yay-or-nay/
I have the Phillips ones, they are also great. I was choosing between them and the Openrun and made the decision based on discount that I could get.
I bought a cheap £25 pair from Amazon but, while they work, all the materials are so cheap.
Thanks everyone, interesting that most people have gone for the branded/premium ones!
@elbows I was lookin at the Philips but got put off when I read that skipping tracks involves holding the button for 2 or 3 seconds...fine at a desk but probably quite annoying when riding offroad. I was also looking at them as they are USBC but then realised its only certain models
I got a cheap pair from amazon for when I was riding around the woods in, so sound quality did not need to be great. Perfectly fine for that task. I work from home, and spend a lot of time in team meetings and now prefer to wear the cheap amazon ones for that rather than conventional head phones. Now other people in my team all have the cheap amazon headphones which they use for cycling and work. Have tried the more expensive ones, they are a little more comfortable, but not that much more.
Have had a few pairs of Skokz. They're great - you may need to turn them down a bit to have a conversation but I never feel I'm shut off from my surroundings. If I go out on the bike in the city without them I sometimes have this weird feeling something is wrong before realising its' the lack of background music!.
Wind noise is only really an issue at downhill speeds. I;ve a vague memory of seeing for sale some fluffy 'deflectors' like the things you stick on a go pro to deal with microphone wind noise (that I think you could attach to helmet straps). I rarely wear mine when I'm riding with a helmet so didn't get around to trying them.
yeah I've had several pairs of shokz, never found they last very well. The switch fails or the charging port.
Use airpods now and they seem more reliable, also much better at dealing with wind and other noise (not perfect though). That's for running, I think I'd be more nervous of losing one on the bike though never had one drop out.
Well good to see some last minute comments as I was deliberating last night and couldn't bring myself to spend the extra £95 having read a few positive reviews by people on their 3rd or 4th set who thought it was worth the money despite going faulty.
Also noticed the Sonoto video shows pairing to two phones so that exactly matches the Shokz instructions (Sonoto doesn't list this feature in the instructions) so it's likely they are using the same electronics.
Re wind noise, I'm hoping a buff pulled over ears will solve that...I normally wear one under helmet as a skull cap.
Will report back
Use airpods now and they seem more reliable, also much better at dealing with wind and other noise (not perfect though). That’s for running, I think I’d be more nervous of losing one on the bike though never had one drop out.
really? I love my AirPods Pro but theres no way I could run with them. I've tried walking to the shops in them and had them fall out when I bent to pick something off a shelf. Are they really that secure for some people? I've tried switching to memory foam tips on them but they're still prone to falling out.
Also noticed the Sonoto video shows pairing to two phones so that exactly matches the Shokz instructions so it’s likely they are using the same electronics.
@spooky_b329
that doesn't mean the quality is the same or that they're made in the same factory or anything. pretty much all devices are made from some 'off the shelf' chips - there were only 2 DAB chipsets for many years so pretty much all early DAB radios work in one of two ways. I'm pretty sure there are a small number of bluetooth 'modules' - I had an expensive, nicely made, Sony headphone adaptor and a £5 Ebay job and they both had the same functionality.
I had some shocks that I wore tones over the pandemic. After 4 years they died.
I used my wife's cheaper jobs. The were irritating in that they repeatedly dropped connection.
Bought myself some more shocks and am happy as a clam again.
I can't hear mine next to a busy road. I don't wear them on the road bike because I'd rather have some extra warning if there is a loud exhaust/ lorry behind me.
There were fine for running on quiet roads and are ace off road
yeah I’ve had several pairs of shokz, never found they last very well. The switch fails or the charging port.
Which charging port? USB-C or free magnetic version?
Used my new Shokz Open Run for the first time in the bike today. Long, long flowy trail in the Appennino hills (awesome trail..... Might give it another go tomorrow!). Worked great. No problem with wind noise... Might be an issue on the road bike on quick descents. On the road at the bottom they worked as expected. Could hear cars approaching from behind.
I've got some that I paid £6 for off ebay. I use them for kayaking more than anything else but will use them for running if I need to - events and such. They're decent enough
I'd like to try some proper shokz ones, but I know they're not going to be as good as airpods, so I might as well just buy £6 ones for when I fall in the canal wearing them.
Well they arrived on Tuesday and yesterday I took them with me on a 95 mile mtb ride. Fit fine with riding glasses and helmet, it was great having tunes on the long traffic free sections yet still be able to hear the birds and noises of the countryside, plus its quite cool in a cinematic way that as the song ends the hum of tyres/crunch of gravel fades up to fill the silence! I think I even heard a soured faced walker respond to my greeting 🙂
Its also nice just to stop the music and not need to pull anything out of your ears when you join a road or want to speak to someone.
I realise the above is more to do with bone conduction than the model I bought but at no point did I feel the quality was lacking. They are missing a battery status check until they warn you at 10%, but you can see it on the phone where they are listed in the bluetooth connections.
@b33k34 all I can say is they work for me. I do use aftermarket foam tips (just some cheap eBay things) and wedge them in quite tight. I have two different ears (injury to one) that often gives problems with earbuds so I was pleasantly surprised with how well they work. I can even pull stuff over my head (like taking off a buff or long sleeve on the move) without knocking them out.
