Whether you are already a passionate runner or hope to be one when you start a new training diet, you will get more from your exercise routine if you have good music to accompany you. Entering the area during a long race with your favorite music, whether it is rap, classic rock or today’s pop tubes, can completely change your experience for the best. To do this, you have to start with a good pair of running headphones.
But not all wireless training headphones are created, and runners must consider specific factors before investing in a pair like the duration of your races, the type of music or any other audio you prefer to listen to and how much you want to block the world during a session. I tested more than a dozen pairs to find which are the best headphones to run for all budgets and all kinds of runners.
Table of contents
Best earphones to run in 2025
What to look for in the headphones being executed
Design
Before diving, it should be mentioned that this guide focuses on wireless headphones. Although you can wear over-ear or ear Bluetooth headphones during a race, most of the best available headphones now do not have the same level of sustainability. Resistance to water and dust, especially the first, is important for all audio equipment with which you plan to sweat or take outside, and this is more widespread in the world of wireless headphones.
Most headphones have one of the three models: intra-ear, atrial with hook or open-oral. The first two are the most popular. The ears are undoubtedly the most common, while those who have hooks promise better safety and in good shape because they have an appendix which curls around the top of your ear. The open conceptions do not remain in your ear canal, but rather remain just outside. This makes it easier to hear the world around you while listening to audio, and could be more comfortable for those who do not like the intrusiveness of the integrated buds.
Water resistance and dust protection
Water resistance and dust protection are crucial for the best running headphones, as you will probably sweat while carrying them. In addition, if you have the unfortunate chance of getting caught in the rain during a race, at least your equipment will survive. Here is a quick overview of incoming protective notes (IP), which you will see attached to many headphones on the market today. The first figure after the abbreviation protection rate against dust on a scale of one to six – the more there is, the better. The second figure refers to water resistance, or to waterproofing in some cases, classified on a new to nine scale. A letter “X” in one or the other position means that the device is not assessed for the corresponding material.
Check This guide for even more detailed ventilation. All the headphones we have tested for this guide have at least one IPX4 note (most of them have even more protection), which means that they can resist perspiration and splashes but have no protection against dust.
Active noise cancellation and transparency mode
The active cancellation of noise (ANC) becomes a standard characteristic on wireless headphones, at least in those above a certain price. If you are looking for a pair of buds that can be your training companion and continue to serve yourself when you are out of the path, the ANC is good to have. It adds versatility by allowing you to block the buzzing of your home or office so that you can concentrate or give you a certain solitude during a well -train trip.
But the ability of a earpiece to block the world goes hand in hand with its ability to open things if you need it. Many headphones with ANC support a kind of “transparency mode” or different levels of noise reduction. This is important to run headphones because you do not want to be completely unconscious of what is going on around you when you do the exercise outside along the animated streets. Reducing noise cancellation levels to increase your conscience will help you.
Battery life
All the headphones we tested have a battery life from six to eight hours. In general, this is what you can expect from this space, with some aberrant values which can reach 15 hours of life in charge. Even the low -end of the spectrum should be good enough for most runners, but it will be practical to keep the charge of the buds on you if you think you will be nearly using all their juice for a single session.
Speaking of, you will get an average of 20 to 28 overtime battery hours from most load cases and all the headphones we tested had holders who provided at least 15 hours. This will dictate the frequency to which you really have to load the device – as if to physically connect the housing to headphones inside to a load cable, or put it on a wireless charger to eat.
How to test the headphones to run
During the test to determine the best headphones in progress, I wear each competitor for as many races as possible. I generally run from three to five days a week, completing at least 5 km (3.01 miles) each time. I am probably looking for comfort, because you should never be mistaken with your headphones when you are on the rolling strip or the path (as a note, I run mainly outside). I also pay attention to the adjustment over time, especially if the headphones become slippery or cowardly while I sweat, or if they tend to go out or feel less stable in my ears while I gain speed or make quick movements.
I also use the headphones when he does not run to take calls and listen to music, podcasts and others throughout the day. Many people will only want one pair of headphones that they can use while exercising and doing daily things, so I assess each pair on their ability to be comfortable and offer a good listening experience in several different activities.
Although I also listen to the quality of the audio, I am certainly not an expert in this space. My colleague Billy Steele holds this title in Engadget, and you will find much more detailed information on sound quality for some of our best choices in its criticisms and purchasing guides. Here, however, I will note that the characteristics of audio quality if they stood out (that is to say that if a pair of headphones had clearly strong bass, weak ups, etc.). Most of the wireless training headphones we have tested work with companion applications that have adjustable equalization settings, so you can change sound profiles to your taste in most cases.
A note on the Jabra headphones
Jabra has announced that she was leaving the general public headphones, which is disappointing since the company has made excellent headphones for the race (and all other types of exercises). Our best choices include two Jabra models and we feel at ease to recommend them again because Jabra plans to support its current headphones for "Several years." However, we are constantly testing new buds and reassess our best choices, so we update this list accordingly in the future.
Other headphones to run, we tested
Apple AirPods Pro
The Apple AirPods Pro has an IP54 note, which protects them from brief encounters with dust and splashes. Although it is more protection against dust than many other headphones that we have tested, it is the same level of water resistance as most competitors specific to exercise. We generally like the AirPods Pro, but the Beats Fit Pro offer several of the same features and amenities (namely a good mode of transparency and the H1 chip), with a more appropriate design for training.
Beats PowerBeats Pro
THE Pro PowerBeats are a good alternative to the Beats Fit Pro if you are a stickler for a hook design. However, they cost $ 50 more than the PIT (although they often oscillate around $ 180) and do not offer significant upgrades or additional features outside their design. They are also quite old at this stage (having launched in 2019) and it seems that Beats devotes more efforts to updating his new models instead.
Anker Soundcore Aerofit Pro
THE Soundcore Aerofit Pro is the version of Anker of the OpenFit Shokz, but I found that the shape was less safe and not as comfortable. The real headphones on the Aerofit Pro are substantially larger than those of the OpenFit and that made them change and move much more during the exercise. They never fell completely from my ears, but I spent more time adjusting them than I appreciated it.
JBL ENDURANCE PEAK 3
The most remarkable thing about the Endurance peak 3 is that they have the same IP68 note as the active jabra Elite 8, except that they only cost $ 100. But, although you get the same protection here, you will have to sacrifice yourself in other areas. The Endurance Peak 3 did not blunt me with regard to sound quality or comfort (its hook is more rigid than those of my favorite buds in the same way) and their load case is massive compared to most competitors.
This article originally appeared on engadget to
