Best Running Headphones: The best headphones for workouts
We’ve tested several of the best running and gym headphones to help find a pair that suits your workout regime.
There are many types of headphones to choose from, from over-ear, on-ear and true wireless. To help make it easier for you to buy a new pair, we put the best running headphones through their paces, taking them on runs, using them in the gym and listening to how good they sound.
We’ll also test these features such as noise-cancellation and transparency modes to determine how effective they are, and we’ll take a look at their durability and water resistance ratings, comparing to other similarly priced efforts to give you a better sense of what they’re good at and what they’re less good at.
We always on the prowl for more to add more of the best running headphones to this list. If a pair of the best running headphones isn’t what you’re looking, we do have several lists to help find a pair of headphones you might like.
Have a look at our best headphones, best wireless headphones, best wireless earbuds and best noise cancelling headphones pages, to help knuckle down and find a new pair of headphones.
How we test
Learn more about how we test running headphones
The best test of a pair of running headphones is, of course, running.
Our reviewers have amassed marathons’ worth of miles, pounding the park surfaces and hitting the treadmill to put these running headphones through their paces.
We make sure they’re not going to fall out of your ears, and that they can survive sweaty conditions without ending up in a sad heap (even that’s exactly what we do sometimes).
We’re also conscious you might want to use your running headphones for other exercise, such as the gym. We wear them under different scenarios, from an explosive Olympic weightlifting session to a spin class, and we also test running headphones away from the track or gym to see how they cope with regular listening.
We also take into account factors such as how securely they fit, their durability, sound quality and battery life.
Wissonly Hi Runner
This is the most configured bone conduction headphones on the market
Wissonly bone conduction headphones are the first brand I started to contact. When they recommended it on the online crowdfunding platform, I noticed it, after saw that many people were recommending, and I bought it. This Hi runner I used for a few months, and the overall performance was better than I expected.
Some bone conduction headphones leak sound, and you know that I take privacy very seriously, so I'm very concerned about anti-sound-leakage technology. Wissonly Hi Runner does a very good job in the field. Its body is sealed, and through structural optimization and algorithm adjustment, its sound leakage is minimized. The official claim they can eliminate 90% of sound leakage. I do not have professional equipment to test, but I have tried and found that at 60%-70% volume, the sound is completely inaudible at a distance of 1.5 meters, which makes me very satisfied. I have actually compared it with other bone conduction headphones, and the Wissonly Hi Runner has currently the best sound leakage reduction solution in bone conduction headphones.
The Wissonly Hi Runner is also particularly comfortable in the wearing experience. Because the material of the whole machine is high-tech hypoallergenic silicone, and it is coupled with the ergonomic design that conforms to the structure of the human ear, so that users will not bring any burden to the ear under long-term wear.
Sound quality as the core performance is undoubtedly worth mentioning. Hi Runner uses a large-sized vibration unit, the sound range is wider, the sound is more three-dimensional and deeper, so the sound quality is undoubtedly very good. And it is also equipped with a Bluetooth 5.0 chip, the connection is more stable. And it will not be disconnected when used, which is a good experience. The Wissonly Hi Runner also comes with 32GB of built-in storage that can store 5,000 songs, so you can use it completely as an MP3 player to enjoy music without your phone when you go out for a run.
Back Bay Tempo 30
The Back Bay Tempo 30 are true wireless made for the sports fanatics among us, featuring a tough IPX7 water resistance that makes these buds fully sweatproof and waterproof. You won’t be able to take them swimming, but on solid ground Tempo 30 are protected against rainy weather.
We found the Tempo 30’s battery life of 32 hours in total to be excellent, especially in the $39.99 / £29 price bracket. That’s double the endurance of the more expensive Bose Sport Earbuds, although don’t expect fast charging or wireless charging support at this low price.
We liked the design of the Tempo 30 with its attractive, marble-like, glossy finish that’s a step up on the likes of the Jlab Go Air Sport. The charging case is pocketable, though over use we found it susceptible to scratches and scuff marks. We found the to be snug when using the earphones, and they didn’t fall out once, offering excellent noise isolation that’s as good as some running headphones with noise cancellation.
Jaybird Vista 2
Traditionally, running headphones haven’t always excelled at audio quality, and the Jaybird Vista 2 offer a more detailed and dynamic performance than their predecessors, alongside a deeper bass with more extension. We found the top end to be sparkly in nature, which sounded excellent during testing.
The Vista 2 are the first set of Jaybird earbuds to feature noise cancellation, a feature not necessarily found on many true wireless earphones. While we didn’t feel the ANC were best in class compared to premium efforts from Bose and Sony, they did a good job of blocking out background noise, although when faced wind noise or the sound of children in a nearby park they weren’t as strong. We found the ambient mode here to work well, although it did pick up some distracting wind noise.
Adidas RPT-02 SOL
It’s not often in the headphone market you get something different from the norm, but in the Adidas RPT-02 SOL, you get exactly that.
The RPT-02 SOL is part of a new breed of headphones like the Urbanista Los Angeles and Phoenix, that integrate a solar charging panel into its design. This helps to charge the headphones both when in use or simply turned on, absorbing sun and ambient light to give it a power boost.
We found that while solar panel doesn’t provide enough charge to add to the battery when in use, it is enough to reduce the battery discharge. Over the course of six weeks, using the headphones in the gym and for runs for several hours, the percentage drop in battery was only 8%. Overall battery life is around 80 hours, so these headphones have plenty left in the tank even if they’re not being topped off by the solar panel.
Adidas FWD-02 Sport
Adidas is best known for its sportswear than its audio devices, but they have dipped their toes into the world of audio before, and the Adidas FWD-02 Sport are our favourite of their true wireless efforts so far.
They have a different design to the Z.N.E 01 with the FWD-02 opting for a circular shape that fits well in the ear, a fit that’s complemented by a strong selection of winged ear tips to help keep them secure. Our only issue was that the FWD-02 still moved about when running, which meant we had to regularly nudge them back in. Your mileage (quite literally) may vary with different ear-tip sizes.
The IP rating is IPX5, which makes the FWD-02 resistant to low pressure and sustained jets of water. This is fine, though we half-expected a tougher rating given these buds were designed in consultation with Adidas Runners group. There isn’t no ANC with the FWD-02s like you’d find with the Jaybird Vista 2, with their design aiming to reduce external noise, which we found to be good enough.
Shokz OpenRun Pro
The brand formerly known as Aftershokz rebranded as Shokz, but that didn’t manifest any different change in approach. When it comes to bone conduction headphones, Shokz are probably the most known entity out there, and the OpenRun Pro model is one of the better proponents of the technology.
Bone conduction works by producing vibrations through your cheek/jawbone to your ear. This means the design is an open-ear model, which also allows you to hear what’s around you. This is especially useful if you’re using them in an outdoor environment.
The OpenRun Pro are lightweight at 29g and we found them comfortable to wear. Despite the lightweight frame, our reviewer found they stayed put during exercises, so there’s no fear that they’d be dislodged when running. A rating of IP55 means the OpenRun Pro can resist the likes of sweat, water and dust, though in fact this is a weaker IP rating than older Shokz headphones.
Read more:The Best Workout Headphones To Take Your Exercise Routine To The Next Level