Jaybird Bluebuds X

Running with music is a great way to stay motivated on a run, but getting your headphone cord snagged on a branch is a better way to do the opposite. Jaybird’s been making some of the best wireless Bluetooth headphones for years now, but they’ve been plagued by minor issues like short battery life and bulky earbuds. Their newest offering, the BlueBuds X headphones, have dialed down any complaints. The earbuds are less cumbersome than previous models: the silicon earpieces provide a secure fit (the buds never fell out of our ears after dozens of hours on the trail), and most importantly, the batteries generate 8 hours of music on a single charge. That’s a good week’s worth of workouts for most of us.

We took these out in the pouring rain and on sweat-soaked sunny days, and the water-resistant buds never failed. The patented silicone ear cushions kept the buds secure in our ears on jarring terrain. We even put them through a few crossfit workouts that included doubleunders, box jumps, and muscle-ups – nothing could shake them out.