AFTERSHOKZ Xtrainerz Open-Ear MP3 Swimming Bone Conduction Headphones with 4GB memory

Wow, these are really, really good! Fit, weight, streamlining (very important in swimming - no cables and bulky mp3 players as from other brands), overall comfort - they could not be better engineered and designed!Sound quality - my main concern when choosing bone-conduction headphones - exceeded my expectations or, at the very least, is as good as I could hope for! At first, when I tried them out on dry land with the few songs that came preloaded in the player, I was literally blown away from the sound quality - this is how good it was, exceeding by far any expectations I had for the bone conduction technology. I guess, however, it all depends on the lossless quality of the specific mp3 or wav (etc.) format, because some of my mp3 songs do not sound as good as the factory preloaded ones. With good quality mp3s, though, sound quality is really, really good - both on dry land and in the pool!How songs sound changes when you are in the water swimming, when you pop your head in and out of the water, but that's normal and it can't be any other way, when listening to music while swimming. There are two EQ modes - "general" and "swimming" and both are good in (under) the water, although the swimming mode is definitely better (when your ears are under water) as it is well balanced in terms of bass, etc. The general mode under water is not for the "sound-quality" expert but is sort of cool for certain songs as it sounds really bassy, so it might be fun sometimes, all the more that when your ears are out of the water the general mode sounds definitely better (as in sounds really nice, depending on the quality of the mp3). However, the swimming mode is the one appropriate for use in the water - it does sound really good and balanced under water and to the extent your ears are above water for a second, still filled with water (more or less), the (big) difference in the sound between in and out of water is something you stop even noticing after a couple of lengths.The Xtrainerz come with ear plugs, in case you would like to totally isolate yourself (at least sonically). I have not tried them yet but plugging my ears with my fingers, just to see whether the sound quality would change in any substantial way, I don't think it would change much if using the earplugs and definitely don't think it would somehow improve (contrary to what I read on forums and reviews that sound quality would "improve" when using the earplugs.) I have not tested them together, though (headphones and earplugs), so I can't be really sure about the supposed improvement in sound quality. The thing is, sound quality as really good as it is, so there is no need for me to use the earplugs to improve it.Overall, bone conduction - when made by Aftershokz, anyway - works really great and for me it's the best option, for two reasons: open ear is the best for open water swimming - I would not feel safe or even comfortable swimming in open water without being able to hear what is going on around me (think jet skis, all sorts of boats, other swimmers, your friend or family member calling you from the beach, etc., etc.) Even in the pool, it might be a good idea to be able to hear what is going on around you. The other reason is I hate earplugs type of headphones (i.e., all swimming headphones that are not bone conduction), all the more that in water you better use silicone gel (or something like that) to get a tight fit or else they might easily get dislodged, ruining your listening experience. No such concerns with bone conduction.Now, two minor (for me) negative points: the Xtrainerz do not have bluetooth, so you can only rely on the built-in mp3 player. This is ok as these are primarily swimming headphones and bluetooth does not really work in water, but if you would want to use them on dry land, for other types of workout, you won't be able to use streaming or, for that matter, you won't be able to use them for phone calls. This is rather unfortunate for many users but not a problem for me personally, because I bought them practically exclusively for swimming. If you want to use your bone conduction headphones outside the pool (or ocean), then you should probably consider the newest product of Aftershokz - the Aeropex, which have bluetooth, but don't have a built-in mp3 player, so would not be usable for swimming. There is no perfect world, after all, but the Xtrainerz are more versatile than the Aeropex, although only if you want to use them for swimming. It would have been nice to have swimming headphones that are bone conduction, have a built-in mp3 player (for use in the water), AND have bluetooth (for streaming and phone calls on dry land), AND, I would add, that are manufactured by Aftershokz (because these guys are really good in their engineering and design)... But that does not exist on the market - yet, so that's that.The other minor negative point, which is more of a concern for me, is that the Xtrainerz's player does not, apparently, read any and all mp3s. Depending on the codec used for conversion you might end up with an mp3 that can't be read by the Xtrainerz, so you need to pay attention to that when converting (I am still not sure which codecs exactly do not work.) Besides the two minor points above, however, the Xtrainerz are as perfect product as they get.Packaging, materials, battery life and charging times - everything is at the level one would expect from a product at this price range (these ARE expensive, no question about it.)Overall, these are hands down THE BEST swimming headphones on the market right now, deserving their top place in the various reviews and worth every penny!

First off, just adding music to my swimming (together with a garmin that counts the lengths) made such a difference - no more boredom and counting down.Secondly, my first attempt was with the Sony nw-ws625, which were good initially, in terms of wow-factor of music and carefree training, but I couldn't get a good fit into one ear despite trying all the sizes of buds provided (I never knew I was that asymmetric), and even the better fitting one would ultimately allow water in. Also, the volume is not good with these, to the point where I used the non-swimming buds (having read a review where someone else does), which improved things but it was disappointing to have to keep stopping and either putting back in or clearing water out.Then, stand forward bone conduction. I was a bit sceptical before they arrived, but these are incredible.My first attempt was without any plugs in, and this was immediately better than the experience with the Sony in-ear ones. Louder and clearer. (It's worth noting that the headphones do make an audible sound, albeit very low volume, so these might be irritating if you're using them ordinarily on a flight or somesuch). There's a button to switch from "General" to "Swimming" mode, and this makes a lot of difference because when in the water the sound changes quite a lot. But these really work, and make my swimming workout even better.I then tried with the plugs in. They come with little soft blue plastic plugs, which according to another review I read were not as good as the silicon putty ones for keeping water out, but these work for me. And the effect is even better! This takes out all the swimming sloshing noise, making the music even clearer.They're not cheap, but by not having to go into your ear canal they avoid all that difficulty of getting a good fit versus preventing the water getting in. So for me, these are just right - finally no need to look any further.I dropped one star on the sound quality, just to make the point that these things are never going to be as good as full-cover headphones, and you shouldn't expect them to. But for me I can now trough up and down for over an hour without even thinking about the time.

2 Year review @ Feb 2024. Still using and still providing excellent performance as show below.1 year review @ Feb2023. Waited for 12 months before proving review.After trying several in ear products including iPod nano WaterFi, this has proven to provide far better sound (with swim gel ear plugs) and far easier to use and far more reliable. I swim in an indoor pool 3-4 times per week for around 45 mins per session using gel ear plugs and without swim cap. Free style and I have never managed to knock them, however swim style also doesn’t matter. Battery lasts 2-3 months from high to low. As soon as I hear battery is low (audible messages at switch on high, medium and low) I recharge using supplied adapter and connected to usb port v2.0 on my computer. I can then also update any tracks if I wish just using file explorer.The sound is far superior with ear plugs and when head is submersed in water. Without ear plugs the sound is significantly reduced.For maintenance, I lightly wash and rinse the headset when leaving the pool and dab dry before putting back into the neoprene pouch. I don’t over extend headset (as shown in other reviews) I also place on top of my other swim items to prevent adverse weight / pressure on the headset.The headset still looks like new, with little care required.

works great but broke down structurally without cause

This is my fourth headset to try out while swimming laps. The previous three were the buds that fit directly in the ear canal. The problem with that design is that I could never get my ear sealed. I tried all the bud sizes included in the packaging but it was a total waste of time. I overlooked the 'jawbone conduction' type because I just couldn't see how they would work. BUT I was not giving up...I decided WTH, I'll try the jawbone type headset.First, I was amazed with the easy fit. There are no adjustments for the pesky earbuds.Second, very easy to download the music from my Mac.Third, the sound was good with no glitches or inconsistent music. You just have to remember, when you first put them on out of water the sound is a bit tinny however, as soon as your heads in the water the sound is great.Fourth, The button adjustments are simple to use. Others on the market have too many which is very disruptive when trying to make an adjustment during a swim.Fifth, while you can find cheaper sets, this one is worth money. It also did not matter that this product does not have bluetooth. Bluetooth doesn't work underwater anyway and I already have earbuds for everyday use.Having my music has been unbelievably fun! Now, the next assessment will be for reliability and durability and that will come over time.

Los compré hace más de dos años, y han cumplido perfectamente su función. Nado entre 3 y 5 horas a la semana, y había probado muchos auriculares de distintas marcas. Siempre tenía problemas con la entrada de agua.Cuando descubrí los auriculares de contacto óseo, fue un cambio de paradigma. Empecé con otra marca, con auriculares que abultaban más y que costaba de encontrar su posición buena.Desde que utilizo estos auriculares de Aftershokz, la experiencia es inmejorable: llegas, te los colocas y a nadar. Se escucha con un volumen adecuado (nunca lo tengo al máximo), incluso sin tapones. La navegación entre canciones, modo aleatorio, volumen, etc. está bien pensada y es intuitiva una vez la aprendes.Son muy hidrodinámicos y casi no se notan (en comparación con otras alternativas).Hay que tener en cuenta que son auriculares de contacto óseo. Nunca se escuchará la música con la misma fidelidad que los intraaurales, pero dentro del agua prefiero mil veces un sonido al 80% constante, que escuchar cinco minutos al 100%, y el resto de la hora no escuchar NADA.Por último, quiero mencionar que un tiempo después de usarlos uno de los dos auriculares empezó a funcionar con intermitencia. Contacté con el servicio de atención el cliente y me han tratado de maravilla. En todo momento se mostraron amables, y en pocos días me enviaron unos auriculares nuevos sin cargo alguno y sin poner ningún tipo de problema.Para los nadadores asiduos, totalmente recomendado!

A 65 anni suonati nuoto 2.5 km tutti i giorni; avevo usato il sony ma dopo un po' ho smesso (anche perchè alla lunga si è rotto) per la scomodità, la pessima qualità del suono e l'incompatibilità degli auricolari con le mie orecchie (anche la misura minima è troppo grossa). Questo auricolare invece è eccezionale, trasmissione del suono perfetta (anche senza usare i tappi per le orecchie in dotazione), il flusso dell'acqua non si sente, non da alcuna fastidio (è come non averlo), una voce informa su quale comando è stato selezionato, comandi semplici e logici. Insomma ottimo. Certo sarebbe meglio se avesse 8 GB di memoria (4 sono un po' pochi), i tasti potrebbero essere resi meglio individuabili ed il sistema di interfaccia USB è un po' macchinoso. Ma parliamo di miglioramenti di un ottimo oggetto, speriamo che duri.

Great item. Definitely recommended.PROS: I cycle distance (30-50-75-100 miles), run 5K, 10K, 13.1, and walk/hike numerous miles often. These headphones are excellent for all three since the open-ear design allows the user to hear what's going on around them. Came with a swimmer's cap as well but I have not swam with them on. Literature indicates that as a daily option. Sweat has not changed functionality or appearance.Sound quality is very good, both "regular" and bone conduction components (which are simultaneous). Can be enhanced (louder, more bass, treble, etc) with positional adjustment. Controls are easy to access during use.Headphones remain comfortably in place with all activity. No slipping or worries about loss. Load MANY MP3s directly to the device via USB (provided), which is a very cool feature. No Bluetooth required, so no drain on the cellphone already busy with Strava, etc. Battery life, 3-5 outings, depending on length. Not bad, and charging is fast & easy.CONS: Volume could be a little louder, but that might interfere with safety. Minor issue.Band is pretty large, so a loop sorta' sticks out on the back of the head behind bike helmet. Likely not a problem if they band was over the top of the head. Not obtrusive. Just there.Would love to see an MP3 version in red.OVERALL - Excellent product. Very happy with it. Your significant other is going to want one, too.