Bone Conduction Headphones: AfterShokz Trekz Titanium

If you’re unfamiliar with “Bone Conduction Headphones,” you’re not alone.

While bumping like miniature subs, these gizmos drum music into your cheekbones, leaving your ears free to detect ambient noise.

We tested the AfterShokz Trekz Titanium wireless headphones and here are a few thoughts on the tech:

Pros:

• Ambient Noise
  • You can still hear ambient noise—which keeps you safer as you run. From oncoming traffic in cities to run-ins with wild bears in the woods, it’s better to be aware of your surroundings.
• Sweaty Ear Syndrome
  • Ear buds can get gnarly. Between sweat and ear wax, we’ve retired some headphones out of sheer disgust. Since the Aftershokz balance on your cheekbones, you’re basically eliminating Sweaty Ear Syndrome.
• Cord-Free Smart Interface
  • There are plenty of wireless headphones out there, and these Bluetooth models compete with the best of them. Our tester was able to handle the easy-to-use interface (two volume buttons and one main navigation button) while jogging at 75-80% output.
• Durability
  • We dropped ‘em and banged ‘em. We got rained on and got sweaty. For all the tech involved in these bone conduction headphones, they actually seem to have less moving parts than other headphones and are quite durable.

Check out the Trekz Titanium >

Cons:

• Sound quality vs. ambient noise
  • While these headphones sound surprisingly great when you’re not dealing with ambient noise, it’s a different story when there are roaring cars about. Of course, that’s the whole point of these headphones: you use them if you want to be more aware of your surroundings. It’s worth noting that some runners are more concerned with drowning out their surroundings than fine-tuning their senses.
• Fit
  • The fit isn’t perfect, but it isn’t horrible, either. The AfterShokz loop over the ear and are tight without being uncomfortable. However, they don’t quite lock in like quality earbuds, so you do sometimes have to fidget with the fit.

Bottom Line:

These headphones boast some insane tech. We recommend them for any athletes who like to have conversations as they work out, and, most of all, for urban runners and cyclists.

Images via AfterShokz