Way back when I first started running, I really wasn't too fussed about listening to music on my run. I used to go out running a lot with Phillip and/or Phillip's Mum so I never really needed any music to listen to and my runs were fairly short.

As I entered into the Half Marathon world - my need for music and a decent pair of headphones for running became more apparent. My training was more substantial. I had longer runs than usual during the week and a long run on the weekend. I stopped running with other people and ended up being pretty lonely running on my own.

For the longest time, I was a big fan of the Yurbuds headphones and if you're looking for a decent pair of cheaper headphones for running, they are a good brand to look at.

Sometimes, however, I found that I would get tangled in the wires during my run, I'd pull them out or catch them on my hands and it would completely throw me off and it was also a mission to get them to sit in my ears again unless I stopped.

For the last month or so, I've been trying out some Aftershokz Bluez 2 Headphones(Bluez2 are no longer available) and I'm so impressed with them!
Features of Aftershokz Bluez 2
Unlike conventional headphones, AfterShokz use Bone Conduction Technology to deliver sound via the cheekbones to the inner ear. This leaves your ears open to hearing ambient sounds(cars, people.. sounds around you basically). You can read more about the Bone Conduction technology HERE.

This is one of the main advantages to the headphones. Typically with normal headphones, you would have 1 or both of the earphones in and you wouldn't be able to hear sounds around you unless you have your sound volume low. Maybe you may even run without music to go without the risk!

I've never used Bone conduction headphones before, so I was apprehensive as I thought the sound quality wouldn't be very good as they weren't actually in your ears but I was pleasantly surprised. The music quality from the headphones is actually very good and I can hear the music clearly with no issues! The fact that I'm able to listen to music clearly and still be able to hear cars and people around was a massive plus for me!

The headphones also have LeakSlayer technology which is supposed to help with sound leakage with the headphones - so if you're listening to music or on a call, other people don't hear full conversations. As far as I can tell, the sound leakage isn't too bad - I can hear it if the music is fairly loud and surroundings are quiet but I think thats to be expected. If I'm out running and there are cars around and people, I very much doubt that my music or calls would be heard over the ambient sounds.

The headphones are wireless and use Bluetooth technology - eliminating the wires so there is no where for it to get tangled. Connection to my phone was super simple and when the headphones are fully charged, they have 6 hours of music and calls(I've never actually run or tested the headphones for 6 hours though).

The headphones themselves are a one piece, it's a band that goes around the back of the head and hooks over the ears. The bone conduction part of the headphones rest lightly on the cheekbones. The headphones are fairly light and when on, I don't even notice that they're there! The controls are on the underside of the headphones near the ear and they're pretty easy to use once you get used to which buttons are which!
The headphones are sweat-resistant - which I've obviously tried out on sweaty runs and workouts and they're still completely fine - I was apprehensive about using them in the rain but I've been told from Aftershokz that it's perfectly fine for the rain too(we've not had any recently though.. the weather is so not seasonal for this time of year).

Overall Thoughts

Over the month and a half that I've been using the headphones, they're the best I've used and I think they're pretty amazing. I've used them on various training runs, short runs in a busy town, in the city, when it's dark - the great thing is that I can listen to my music and I can hear everything around me still - there's no turning my head to check if anything is around, there's been no bouncing of the headphones,no adjusting earphones in my ears when they feel like they're coming out, no catching of wires mid run and having a complete hoo-ha trying to get them back in without stopping.

I'm highly impressed. So much so, that I was confident enough with Aftershokz that I bought Phillip a pair of the new Trekz Titanium for Christmas this year as I know he will love them as much as I do! I'm also slightly jealous that he's got a newer pair than me, but they function just the same.

The great thing about them being bone conduction and still being able to hear ambient sounds I think will be great for races. I'll still be able to hear cheers and motivation and of course the marshals - I've used them for Parkrun's and I can hear the marshals just fine.

I hope that smaller races allow headphones like this in the future - I know a few local races that don't allow headphones as you cannot hear marshals although this isn't a problem with these headphones, so I'm hoping that the bone conduction tech catches on and smaller races start allowing these headphones, that would be fab!

I genuinely can't recommend the headphones enough - even though they come with a higher price tag, I definitely think they're worth the money for the sound quality and functionality. If you like to listen to music on your runs - I think it's well worth the investment!

Aftershokz Bluez 2 are unfortunately not being sold anymore - however, they have lots of great models like the latest Aeropex and XTrainers(perfect for triathletes). Head on over to the website here: https://aftershokz.co.uk/ to checkout the models available.

I have a discount code for 10% off Aeropex and XTrainers models using: ShokzSquad at checkout!

They'd make a great gift too - or if you have some left over christmas money! ;)

Question: Do you run with Music? What are your favourite brands for headphones? What do you look for in  a pair of headphones?

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