THE MH EDIT OPEN-EAR HEADPHONES
The best open-ear headphones allow for full awareness of your surroundings, without pumping out sub-par audio. Here’s our expert edit
16 HEAR US OUT
Music may be the ultimate performanceenhancer, but dialling it up to 11 on your weekend runs can have its downsides, too. When you’re navigating busy roads, dodging wayward children and dogs, or jostling with fellow runners and cyclists, it can be helpful to maintain some aural awareness.
Unlike in-ear or over-ear phones, the open-ear variety sit outside the ear canal, allowing background noises in. Asubset, known as bone-conduction headphones, rest on the ends of your cheekbones, transmitting sound via vibrations through the bones in your head. These vibrations bypass your eardrums and arrive at the cochleae, where they’re then interpreted in the same way as regular sound waves.
While it’s true that they don’t match the audio quality of the best traditional headphones, open-ear models are no longer tinny and technically limited, as they once were. In recent years, quality has improved drastically, and many people consider them a more comfortable and versatile alternative to in-ear buds.
The MH editors hit the gym in the latest pairs to find the best ones to power you through your next parkrun, pool session or outdoor workout. All you need to do is queue up your playlist.
01 ALL-ROUNDER
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds £299.95, bose.co.uk
Good for: Audio quality and day-to-day wear
THE PROS The biggest drawback of open-ear phones has always been sound quality. With Bose’s OpenAudio tech, these buds help buck that trend. They’re stylish, and the unusual fit (they hover just over the ear canal) makes them comfy enough to use at length. The battery’s decent, too, with seven and a half hours of play time, and the control buttons are intuitive.
THE CONS Though they’re splash- and sweat-resistant, the Ultra Opens aren’t suitable for water-based workouts. The better audio quality is also reflected in the higher price point.
02 GOOD VALUE
Creative Outlier Free Pro £79.99, uk.creative.com
Good for: Those with smaller budgets; swimmers
THE PROS Despite the modest price tag, a lot of Creative’s specs match those you’d find with more expensive alternatives. They have a waterproof rating of IPX8 (meaning you can use them in the pool), a battery life of up to 10 hours, 8GB of memory storage for your audio files, and they’re Bluetooth compatible. They remained comfortable and secure both on our testers’ runs and in the pool.
THE CONS The sound quality isn’t best in class, so if great audio is a priority, you might want to spend a bit more.
