Best Running Headphones: Stay Motivated And Safe On Your Run

Picking the best running headphones can make or break your running experience. Whether you are heading out for a few hours on the trails or going for a quick blast around the block. With the right headphones, you can stay motivated and importantly stay safe.

In this post we’ll consider the pros and cons of different types of running headphones, how to stay aware of your surroundings and how to deal with sweat, as well as our recommendations.

Running with music or a podcast is the default for most people. 

Technology has moved on a long way since I started running. Gone are the days of having to carefully run a wire down the back of a shirt and securing it in place with tape just so the running motion doesn’t rip the buds out of your ears! 

These days, pretty much all running headphones will be wireless, will offer a decent battery life, certainly enough for a long run and will offer some protection against sweat. 

You can pick up a pair of sensible quality running headphones from as little as £20, or spend over £230.

There are a few common types of headphones, some of which you may be able to rule out very quickly. Picking the right type of headphones is going to go a long way to ensuring you find the best running headphones for you.  

Over Ear

Over ear headphones, typically two large cups, one over each ear and joined by a band over the head.

These will often offer the best sound quality however they come at the cost of being rather cumbersome. They’ll likely also block out some of the background noise.

In Ear

In ear buds, Apple AirPods are a popular example. They fit tight in your ears offer a range of features including noise candling or noise isolation. Many people get along great with these and use them for a range of physical activities. 

You’ll get decent enough sounds quality, particularly with a premium purchase. These are a lot less cumbersome than over ear headphones.

Whilst there is a risk of losing these if they fall out of your ears, particularly if you end up with a poorly fitting pair, most manufacturers provide multiple caps for the end to ensure a secure fit. Premium pairs will also offer tracking to help you pinpoint a lost ear bud.

Bone Conducting

Bone conducting headphones are a more niche example. These don’t fit in your ear but rather close to them, sending the audio through the bones around your ear. Being much less common the choice available here is much more limited. 

The obvious issue here is that sound quality simply isn’t going to be as good as with the other types of headphones. The technology here has moved on significantly in recent years however so has the technology for more traditional headphones. If audio quality is your primary aim then bone conducting headphones are simply not for you.

Bone conducting headphones are typically lightweight and come joined with a small band around the back of the neck. This ensures even with bouncing up and down on rough ground that you don’t lose them.

If you like running races, but still want to run with music, then bone conduction headphones are likely one of very few types of headphones permitted for events. Banning traditional headphones is a fairly common approach in the interests of safety. Many events want to ensure participants can hear safety instructions, hence unless you have open ear headphones you won’t be allowed to wear them and race.

Dealing With Sweat

Another consideration for me is sweat. I sweat a lot when running which causes two problems. Firstly, sweat is pretty damaging to devices. Whilst many headphones are designed to be splash or sweat proof previous headphones I have owned didn’t last very long after a few of my runs.

Clearly cleaning sweat off devices as soon as you get back in the door prolongs the lifespan. I expect I’m not in the minority here when I say that’s not my priority when I finish a run! It is worth a clean whenever you remember though. I find even wiping the sweat off with my shirt can help.

Secondly sweat can impact comfort. I’ve experienced sweat getting trapped in my ear canal, blocked by the end bud. Whilst quickly sorted by taking the bud out, a quick wipe and replacing, it’s an inconvenience I could do without. 

Staying Safe

Most of us will want some amount of hearing awareness when out for a run. It’s a matter of safety and hence being able to hear traffic or other hazards is important.

Some of the more expensive devices come with noise isolation. In this approach noise is filtered out but sharper noises such a close traffic or voices are still passed through. The alternative is the bone conducting headphones. These leave the ear canal open so any noises can simply pass through. 

Even on the trails, I find I still want to hear what is going on around me. Hearing the bike coming up behind you on a bridleway or the two people in just round the next bend you may crash into. On the slightly scarier end of the spectrum I’ve been able to hear wild boar getting a little too close. On the nicer end of the spectrum, I’ve seen picturesque scenes of a stag at sunset.

I was very quickly able to discount the over ear headphones. I simply can’t see how anyone would enjoy running with such a weight on their head and something covering their ears. Surely this is incredibly uncomfortable? Do they get knocked off on tight twisty trails with low branches?

Narrowing down further was much harder. I have a perhaps irrational fear of any ear buds simply falling out of my ears whilst running never to be found again. You see stories all the time of someone loosing an ear bud and whilst I expect this is a classic case of only seeing negative stories I do wonder how well fitting an ear bud would be when bounding around on trails. 

After much deliberation I punted for a pair of AfterShokz Aeropex headphones. They are bone conducting, a single unit with a band that goes behind the back of the neck and weigh a mere 26 grams. They also offer IP67 rating which means they should be good for pretty much everything other than swimming – so should withstand my sweating and the British weather! Whilst I joke about swimming Shokz do offer a set of headphones designed for swimming!!

I was conscious that the audio quality would be worse than most alternatives however the peace of mind that I’d be able to hear my surroundings and I wouldn’t be at any risk of buds falling out of my ears won me over. Cost wise, they are comparable to a good set of ear buds, but still cheaper than some of the premium products from Apple or Samsung. 

Having used these for a fair while now, I can safely say I love them. The audio quality is pretty good without having to faff over positioning, they are so light you barely notice them. If you don’t want music for a bit you can just pop them round your neck. 

The AfterShokz have stood up to horrendous weather and my perfuse sweating. In fact the only problem I’ve had with them is when it comes to charing.

Occasionally if I put them on charge too quickly after a run they won’t charge. They issue a warning beep and prevent charging because they are still damp. Dry them off a bit or wait for a few minutes and everything is fine again. I have had to replace the charing cable; I bought a cheap unbranded replacement for a few £s. Over time and a few too many attempts at charing too soon after wearing them, my sweat had corroded the charing cable. In fairness, whilst the headphones are IP rated the charing cable most certainly is not. This issue is on me – I should just be more patient! 

Battery life is pretty good, advertised at 8 hours I get at least 6 per charge. I only really think about charing them if I hear the ‘low battery’ audio reminder. They are so easy to throw in a bag if going away, the only annoyance is remembering to pack the proprietary charing cable. Worth noting that because these don’t fit directly in your ear there is audio leakage; no one is going to hear this when you’re running down the street or out on the trail but these are not suitable for listening to a podcast on a train or bus. 

Overall, if you are looking for a lightweight, robust solution for all weathers then the AfterShokz Aeropex (now Shokz OpenRun) are a great choice and the positives more than overcome the few obvious downsides. They’ve accompanied me for many miles and I wouldn’t leave home without them. 

The company AfterShokz are now named simply Shokz. This rebrand coincided with their 10 year anniversary. The AfterShokz Aeropex have been uplifted to the Shokz OpenRun and have had a quick charge feature added but otherwise are the same.