I’ve been running, cycling, and lifting with these earbuds for the past year. Here’s what I actually think.

What Are Bone Conduction Headphones?

Shokz defines it as: “Bone conduction technology converts sound into mechanical vibrations transmitted through the skin and temporal bone to the cochlea, bypassing traditional air conduction transmitters like the external auditory canal or eardrum.”

In plain English: sound reaches your ears without going through them. Your ear canal stays open, which is the whole point.

Specs

  • Weight: 29g — I’ve never felt any discomfort or weight, even after long sweaty sessions
  • Water resistance: IP55 — handles sweat and light rain, not submersion
  • Colors: Black, Blue, Pink, Beige (standard); Beige and Black only in mini
  • Sizes: Standard and Mini — the difference is the arch size. Shokz has a fit guide on their website
  • Battery: 10 hours claimed. I found that optimistic — I charge weekly and rarely hit 5 hours of use
  • Quick charge: 5 minutes = up to 1.5 hours of listening
  • Charging: Proprietary magnetic cable with USB-A — not ideal in 2024
  • Microphone: Built-in, works well for calls during workouts
  • Price: $180, with a 2-year warranty
  • Case: Hard shell case that feels genuinely premium

Running

Full situational awareness — always knew what was around me. That alone makes them feel safer than in-ear options. I also appreciated being able to wipe sweat without removing them. Secure fit throughout, zero discomfort.

Cycling

On road riding I’d sometimes leave music off entirely and just wear them for emergency call access — no earbud-induced tunnel vision. On mountain biking they stayed put through rough terrain. The one downside: above ~25 km/h, wind noise through the open structure made podcasts inaudible. I’d end up turning it off.

Sound Quality

Podcasts: excellent. Clear, comfortable, no complaints.

Music: underwhelming. Not loud enough, lacks bass and treble range, and in busy urban areas you’ll barely hear it. The bone conduction vibrations also feel mildly uncomfortable when you’re standing still or walking — it’s only during movement that it disappears.

This is not an all-day headphone replacement.

Bottom Line

If you want sport-dedicated headphones that keep you aware of your surroundings, take calls, and never fall off — these are excellent.

If they’re your only pair and you plan to use them outside workouts, you’ll likely be disappointed.

My take: if you can afford both these and another pair for everything else, go for it. If you can only have one pair, get AirPods Pro — similar price, far better all-around sound, and they have a transparency mode that gets you most of the awareness benefit anyway.