Nobody wants wires in their way when they’re running or become annoying when cable snags on the back of a neck. Why not find the best combination of great sound and battery life in addition to a wireless pair?
Suffice to say, this is a true question that affects many runners. Although there are many brands and different makes of headphones in the market, not just any headphone can be used for running. Most of the other types of headphones have not been designed to suit the physical nature of running.
Running as a sporting activity, involves quite an amount of perspiration, movement, and depending on the area in which it is done, requires some level of attention. Running could also take a great deal of time and require some level of motivation, and monitoring. Therefore, running earbuds have been designed, taking these factors into consideration.
Many manufacturers have designed running earbuds to be wireless, as this reduces the chances of restriction during runs. This is because the efficiency of runs can be tampered with, due to entanglements caused by wires. Running earbuds have been designed to be sweat or water resistant, and as such, can work effectively under situations of extreme perspiration or whether change.
Due to the speed, vibration, power and air resistance that occurs during runs, running earbuds have also been designed to stay put in the ears, by the modification of earbuds to include tips, wings, and fins.
This modification adheres to the structure of the ear and is comfortable, thereby staying in the ears, no matter the duration of the run. They also provide some health and run tracking features, so as to keep the runner informed on their health and run statistics.
They have good sound quality, which provides runners with the emotional and psychological support they need to set new personal records when listening to their best tracks.
Table could not be displayed.What to consider
Music is a very powerful tool when you going for a run and wireless earbuds are very handy for all runners. But some questions are important to consider before you decide to but ones:
- Do you wear eyeglasses while running?
- Do you perspire a lot?
- How strenuous is your running activity among other things?
These questions help you decide if you should wear full sized headphones or earbuds. They also help you decide if you should get an opened or closed design. This is because the open design is more suited to deal with water or sweat.
Another thing to consider is the weight of your earbuds and how long they stay charged. The lighter earbuds with longer battery life are more suited for long distance runners, as compared to just a jog around the block.
Any pair of good wireless earbuds should fit perfectly. It doesn’t matter if the color and sound quality are great, or even if it is of a popular brand. The equation just doesn’t add up if they don’t fit.
If you are the busy person or you run in busy areas, you might want to get earbuds that have call answering controls as well as noise reduction features, so you can hear horns and sirens of oncoming cars or trains, or have a good chat with your friendly neighbor without taking your head phones off.
Let’s take a look at the 5 best wireless earbuds for running.
Bose SoundSport Free – Keep on working no matter what
The Bose SoundSport Free is identical to the sound sport but without the wires. Both earbuds are covered with a glossy plastic that gives them a classy look. The edges are covered with rubber which helps in providing a firm grip when putting the buds in and out of the ear.
The ear tips of the Bose SoundSport Free don’t exactly go into your the ear canal. This is good for users with sensitive ears. They are quite comfortable and provide the safety of hearing the environment owing to its lack of passive noise isolation.
Construction
They are IPX4 water resistant and come in a portable charging case. They have stayer plus sports tips in small, medium and large sizes. The dimension of each ear is about: 31 x 25 x 30mm and it weighs about 15g.
The ear tips are made of silicone and have sports fins that are joined together in one flexible, soft piece that fits over the earbud.
When fully charged, a person can get up to five hours of use. Within fifteen minutes of charging, the earbuds provide forty-five minutes of use.
Sound Quality
Most genres of music sound really great with these earbuds, whether it is acoustic pop, rock, pop or hip-hop. Bose have implemented into the earbuds volume-optimized EQ which means, whether at low volume or at a high volume, the earbuds still sound great with little distortion.
Bass and mid tones are nice and punchy, but not boosted in such a way, so as not to hear high notes and vocals clearly.
Sound Isolation
Bose SoundSport Free earbuds do not isolate sound as a typical in-ear model. They are intentionally open to allow users hear the external sound while walking, jogging or running in traffic. They don’t open much in a way that is distracting to the people around at moderate or high volumes
Conclusion
The Bose SoundSport Free earbuds provides a good audio experience without any listening fatigue, it also provides good user functionality and is sure to make that run better and more rewarding. It is suited to withstand moisture conditions and as such keep on working no matter how tedious the work out is or how far the run is.
Pros
- Good battery life
- Water-resistant technology
- High definition sound quality
Cons
- Earbuds stick out of the ears due to the design
- The control buns are hard to press
- Notable lag when watching videos before syncing up
Samsung Gear IconX – Touch sensitive and easy to use
All you need do is plug your lightweight Samsung Gear IconX earbuds into your ears and tune it up. They are small, have a low profile, totally wireless, and they come in a small casing.
The earbuds are charged with putting them in the case and plugging up the case. Alternatively, the case can also provide a single full charge without being connected to a power source.
They are touch sensitive, which makes them easy to use and they give more relative freedom than its competitors. It also comes with an inbuilt workout coach, which makes it a good set of wireless earbuds for runners.
Construction
The IconX consists of ear tips and wing tips which gives the most comfortable fit when placing them in the ear. It has a built-in accelerometer which measures distance and speed when walking or running.
It also has about 4gigabyte of storage which can take up to about a thousand mp3’s. It also has an auto tracking function that automatically starts tracking user activity once they’ve been walking or running for more than ten minutes.
The touch sensitive controls provide a host of multi-functions which are quite different from the usual physical buns on other earbuds. These functions include media and playback functions, as well as call functions.
The IconX can last for up to about an hour when charged with the case for just ten minutes. Suffice to say, the battery performance is quite good.
Sound Quality
With the Gear IconX, music is clear and vibrant. The bass, mid and high ranges are well represented. They do not distort, become muddy or lose quality. Although the sound is alive and lacks some warmth, it is invariably dependent on the way the earbuds fit in your ears.
The sound quality noticeably suffers when there isn’t a snug fit and the speakers are not aimed directly down your ear canals.
Sound Isolation
The IconX have passive noise isolation which provides a rich, enclosed and focused listening experience for the user. It also has the ambient sound feature which is toggled on by pressing and holding the touch-sensitive touchpad.
The microphone activates and it pops sound from the environment right into your ears. Hence, its supportive nature for runners.
Conclusion
If you are searching for a lightweight and not too much functionality the Samsung Gear IconX earbuds is a perfect choice. Although the touch sensitivity is responsive and intuitive, the IconX doesn’t really provide a broad spectrum use as the earbuds don’t work with some devices.
Pros
- Great quality sound
- Good battery life
- Useful tracking features
Cons
- Loss of features on other phones
- The interface may be quite complex to use
- Earbuds may have occasional audio dropouts
Jabra Elite Sport – Awesome health tracking and a good quality sound
The Jabra Elite Sports are plastic durable earbuds and are IP67 certified, this means that they are dust tight and water resistant. It uses a physical bun to adjust volume and access other features.
These wireless earbuds come with a trio of ear wings, silicon ear gels and foam tips for the earbuds, which provides comfort such that the earphones never fall out.
They also offer a health tracking function, via the Jabra sports life app which is available for android and apple.
You can create a sports profile for yourself. The Jabra boasts of a built-in heart rate monitor and it costs $250. They do not play music on their own but pull audio from a connected smart device via Bluetooth 4.1.
The battery lasts up to three hours when continually playing music, with or without the health tracking function being on. A full charge on the buds and the case gives a total of about thirteen and a half hours of continuous use.
Construction
The Jabra is among the beefiest wireless earbuds with dimensions of 1.06 by 1.18 by 0.9. They weigh in at 0.23 ounces per earbud. The manufacturers have stuck to their original Jabra design and shape. Recently, color variety has been added to the family and as such, the elite sports offer more flamboyant options.
Sound Quality
The Elite Sport earbuds have a nice amount of bass, but it is not bass boost sounding like its other competitors but it supplies enough bass on bassy tracks to make the music enjoyable.
The mid and high range registers are also well represented but could shine a little bit more to give the sound more bite or color. Overall, the more popular music genres sound well on the elite sports.
Sound Isolation
Jabra earbuds have a comfortable fit that brings excellent passive sound isolation. They have a pass-through function design for those outside to exercise. It allows ambient noise to be heard in the background of what the user is listening to. This makes it better to hear the surroundings and as such is good for runners in case of traffic.
Conclusion
For those who are more of professional runners or that are really health concerned, this is a good choice. The Jabra Elite Sport earbuds combines some awesome health tracking and monitoring functions with good quality sound, that helps individuals push beyond their personal records, especially with coaching assistance.
Pros
- Good health tracking function
- It is water resistant and dust tight
- The right earbud can work without the other
Cons
- The battery life isn’t that good
- Pain might be experienced when using the silicon ear tips
- It is relatively expensive
Jaybird Run – Weather resistant and have a great functionality
Jaybird Run are comfortable and easy to use wireless earbuds. They are made out of plastic and has a nice metallic finish around its logo. It also comes in a case that can charge the earbuds up to two times from a dead battery.
They automatically turn on when taken out of the case and the right earphones automatically go into pairing mode. This is very handy and convenient.
They come with just a single button on both sides, sound great, are weather resistant, and have some great functionality. Jaybird is relatively cheap as compared to other earbuds for a run, but lack some button function on the more expensive earbuds.
Construction
The Jaybird Run have dimensions of o.56 by 0.77 by 0.75 inches and weigh 0.22 ounces apiece. It features the fin, which fits into the upper groove of the ear to hold them in place.
They come with four sets of silicon tips; small, large as well as two different oval-shaped tips. This provides comfort, although the jaybird runs still have to be jammed a bit down the ear canals. The earbuds also stick out of the ear a bit but it is not so bad.
The Jaybird earbuds offer four hours of playtime off a single charge and it also provides an additional eight hours available in the battery case.
Sound Quality
Jaybird Run have access to its app allowing for some great audio using the apps equalizer. Out of the box, the audio is bass heavy. Mids and high registers are well represented but are subdued or warm. Sound also distorts at times, but it was great for dialogue and podcasts.
Sound Isolation
These earbuds provide users with passive noise cancellation, this is good for the quality of audio but is not too ideal for runners because it doesn’t allow ambient noise to be heard. Therefore, it is not advisable to use them in traffic.
Conclusion
The Jaybird Run earbuds are one of the cheaper, as compared to its counterparts and mostly comes in a black color. The use of its app comes in handy when using the Jaybird, as some earbud function would be inaccessible without it.
Pros
- Good sound and a customizable equalizer
- Track and call control buns built into the cap
- Sweat resistant
Cons
- It comes in a bulk battery case
- Audio tracks can’t be replayed by earbud controls
- Bad environmental awareness for runners
Iyesku YK-T02 – Good acoustic and a clear sound
Iyesku YK-T02 are completely wireless earbuds, giving freedom to the user to perform their daily activities. Easy to set up and it comes with Class 1 Bluetooth technology.
They are IPX4 rated and are sweatproof, thus they won’t damage in the rain. They also have some driving functionality in which, just the right earbuds work during calls, to provide safety for the driver.
The YK-T02 boasts of a three-hour music and talk time. It has a response range of about 10 meters beyond which the sound begins to crackle. These earbuds for runners also come with a small bag for carriage and a charging case.
Construction
The wireless earbuds operate on Bluetooth 4.2 and consist of a one-touch multi-control. They have dimensions of 14mm by 24mm by 26.5mm and weighs 5g, as well as seven pairs of earpieces of various types and sizes.
The single bun on the back of the earbuds control power, call and media playback functions.
The earbuds boast of up to twelve hours of battery which lasts through multiple workouts. Every full charge lasts for about three hours.
Sound Quality
The YK-T02 provides good acoustic components, clear sound, powerful bass with well-balanced mids and trebles.
Sound Isolation
These earbuds offer passive noise isolation with no ambient sound.
Conclusion
The Iyesku YK-T02 earbuds is quite affordable as compared to its other counterparts but still brings some functionality, along with the package. It comes in a few different color variants, among which are black, blue and white.
Pros
- Case can recharge earbuds at least 3 times
- Emits professional-grade music quality
- Affordable
Cons
- Short bluetooth connection distance
- Bad environmental awareness
- It lacks in-built storage
Verdict
Bose Soundsport Free are the best wireless earbuds for running because they possess more well-rounded features for runners. Except for the bulgy shape of the earbuds, one could really not criticize these earbuds.
It is an in-ear model which provides insane sound quality, where bass and mid register are boosted but without sacrificing the richness of higher registers, thus adding color and flavor to the sound.
It allows for a minimum ambient sound seeing as it doesn’t support passive noise isolation. They are IPX4 certified and provides water resistance to weather changes and heavy body perspiration.
Unlike some of its competitors, the Bose SoundSport Free is compatible with a wide variety of smart devices and is quite affordable for the kind of features it wields.
Conclusion
Overall, all of these earbuds are collectively affordable and priced over a wide range, making it easy for buyers to choose from, based on their financial buoyancy.
All five earbuds are of a standard quality, and collectively provide a host of differences and specializations, that gives users a variety of functions based on their preference. Although some better others in functionality, design and sound quality, all of these earbuds still give the buyer undeniable value for their money.
Best wireless earbuds for running have been designed to suit runners and handle other physical sporting activities, but they can still be used and function properly in non-sporting events and situations.
Now, when you are in town, looking to buy a new pair of wireless earbuds for running, you’ll definitely be able to make a more informed decision.