My Favorite Workout Headphones Are Perfect for Outdoor Running

I have one piece of advice for anyone who lives to walk, run, ride or really do much of anything outside near cars, and that is to stop wearing normal headphones. As much as I love my great big over-the-ear headphones with spectacular noise-canceling, when I’m near moving cars, it’s a must to hear the world around you. In my opinion, you need OpenFit true wireless headphones from Shokz, because they’re the best you can buy. 

I love a good pair of headphones, but I don’t love spending a ton on them. My threshold for headphones is about $100, which is why when all of my cycling friends started raving about bone-conduction headphones a few years back, I was more than a little hesitant, because I would probably only use them when working out. But the OpenFit headphones from Shokz are designed to use in places where bone conduction may not be enough, and as a result I am rarely seen without mine on.

Shokz makes some of the best open-ear headphones you can buy today.

A week after I picked these up, I was nearly sideswiped by a pickup truck, and the only thing that saved me was hearing it come up behind me. There’s a reason these are recommended on our list of the best running headphones you can buy. 

If you’re only looking for outdoor-friendly workout headphones, my first recommendation is always Shokz. Bone-conduction headphones sit just outside your ear, resting on the bone. Music vibrates through a set of pads into your skull, and you hear those sounds as if they’re coming from a speaker a few feet away. You can hear everything you’re listening to on your phone without interrupting the sounds coming from the rest of the world around you. For cyclists and runners — really anyone who does anything outside — this is a game-changing experience. It’s more accurate and pleasing than normal headphones with “passthrough mode” and you sacrifice very little in audio quality. 

My favorite bone-conduction headphones, and I’ve tried them all, are the OpenRun Pro headphones from Shokz, the company formerly known as Aftershokz. They’re waterproof (which means easy to clean when I’m all sweaty), the battery lasts me about seven hours on a charge (perfect for those 70-mile riding days), and they’re comfortable enough that I can wear them all day and not feel them pressing on me. They charge magnetically with a proprietary charger, but Shokz includes two cables in the box in case you lose things like I do. Oh, and right now the price on these has dropped to an incredible $140.

If these headphones are a little rich for your blood, no worries. Shokz also has cheaper OpenRun and OpenMove bone-conduction headphones with up to six hours of battery life and IP55 dust and water-resistance with prices from $80. 

Whether you’re physically active outdoors or you just like exploring new things, I highly recommend giving these headphones a try.